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The Minor Pleasure Thread (Page 6)
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Thorzdad
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Jun 2, 2024, 07:22 PM
 
Got a partial early father’s day gift delivered today, from my son and daughter-in-law. A box of books! Apparently more are coming. Very cool.
     
Laminar
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Jun 17, 2024, 04:31 PM
 
I was looking through Marketplace trying to find a new chair for my gaming computer, daughter saw that pink chairs existed and loved the idea. I ran through Goodwill while out doing some errands and found a pink chair for $2.99. Minor pleasure.



Another minor pleasure - now she doesn't need to steal my computer when she wants to play Minecraft or Lego Fortnite (aka Minecraft).
     
subego  (op)
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Jun 17, 2024, 05:08 PM
 
It’s good parenting her desk is cooler than yours.

It’s also good parenting to have the pile of cocaine under your keyboard and not hers.
     
reader50
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Jun 21, 2024, 07:55 PM
 
Regarding Amazon deliveries, they made a change to their tracking sometime recently.

In your Orders, click on the (Track package) button. You get a dialog with shipping info - with a map of your destination in the background. OK ...

I recently noticed the background map is active. When the delivery truck gets close (within 10 stops? of your delivery) the truck becomes visible. You can see it move around nearby streets coming to your address. The truck becomes invisible afterwards - no further tracking once it's no longer your business.
     
subego  (op)
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Jun 21, 2024, 08:14 PM
 
They’ve had this for awhile.

Unfortunately, it’s mostly useless to me on my truck’s normal route. Three stops away is an entire hospital. That one stop can take hours.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jun 22, 2024, 05:24 PM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
Regarding Amazon deliveries, they made a change to their tracking sometime recently.

In your Orders, click on the (Track package) button. You get a dialog with shipping info - with a map of your destination in the background. OK ...

I recently noticed the background map is active. When the delivery truck gets close (within 10 stops? of your delivery) the truck becomes visible. You can see it move around nearby streets coming to your address. The truck becomes invisible afterwards - no further tracking once it's no longer your business.
I've had this for some time now. I think its usually 8 stops away it pings you a notification but the map is available at least a little before. I was waiting on one that needed a code the other day and I popped back to intercept it when it said 9 stops. Driver must have stopped for lunch because he didn't move for 60 minutes after that.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
ghporter
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Jun 24, 2024, 05:35 PM
 
I get notifications when “your package is 10 stops away”, and the app’s map shows the truck.

I consider this a whole universe better than the UPS Tracking app. Their app shows where the truck is. But it does NOT show the driver’s required route. So it is actually normal for the truck to go past one’s neighborhood (maybe even one’s home) more than once before delivering the package. This is maddening. I mentioned it to a driver once, and he said simply “don’t bother watching, it’ll lie to you”. I assume that means the bit about passing your home several times.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
subego  (op)
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Jun 24, 2024, 06:28 PM
 
Last year, all the Dodge dealers around here were effectively unable to offer service. This precipitated a failed search for a new mechanic.

This year it’s been cleared up. I dropped it off today for my 9:30 appointment tomorrow morning. It’s already done.
     
Doc HM
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Jun 25, 2024, 06:18 AM
 
Listening to the multipart review and discussion on the book "The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the fall of New York" by Robert Caro on the 99% Invisible podcast feed is a sublime delight. Superb historical, geographical, political and social education all rolled into one journey enhancing joy.
https://99percentinvisible.org/club/
This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
     
Laminar
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Jun 25, 2024, 02:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
It’s good parenting her desk is cooler than yours.

It’s also good parenting to have the pile of cocaine under your keyboard and not hers.
Wait. The near left desk is my son's, he has an otter-themed desk mat. The far left desk is mine, it has random pieces of paper with drawings and dimensions on them. Which one is a pile of coke?
     
reader50
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Jun 25, 2024, 04:34 PM
 
The near-left mat. At first glance, it appears to have coke powder surrounding the keyboard. On closer look, it might be a bird head with white-ish feathers.

Good snuff. I actually looked for a razor blade, before deciding it was a bald eagle pic.
     
Laminar
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Jun 26, 2024, 08:13 AM
 
The exact one is NLA from Amazon, but I think this one is similar:

https://www.amazon.com/Glaphy-Extend...0B3VK8NTG?th=1
     
subego  (op)
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Jun 26, 2024, 09:50 AM
 
I actually thought it was an eagle as well.

I also realized I have those same speakers in my workshop.
     
subego  (op)
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Jul 3, 2024, 01:35 PM
 


     
Laminar
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Jul 4, 2024, 10:25 AM
 
That's the one!!
     
subego  (op)
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Jul 19, 2024, 12:18 PM
 
Somehow managed to swing 20/20 on an eye test, not that it makes me feel any less blind.
     
Thorzdad
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Jul 20, 2024, 10:24 AM
 
This is a bit more than a minor pleasure...

About a year-and-a-half ago, our son and daughter-in-law got my wife a digital picture frames for mother’s day. It was one of those where you can upload gajillions of pics and it will cycle through them when it’s on. It’s something a mom/grandma absolutely loves. It’s also motion-activated, if you so choose. Both my wife and our son are admins for it.

So, on Tuesday, we were sitting in the kitchen (waiting for dinner to finish heating) when my wife notices the frame was on. This was odd because she hadn’t turned it on and neither of us had been anywhere near the thing for the motion sensor to trip it. It also appeared to be cycling through the same five pics, over and over. And they didn’t seem to be pics she was familiar with.

So, we walk over to the frame to see what the pics were. It looked to be a set of five pics from our son and DIL. We watched them cycle...
1) Our son and DIL, with “Hello from your Topeka family” typed across it. awwwwww (Not the Kansas Topeka)
2) One of their cats. awww
3) The other cat. awwwww
4) Son and DIL again, but kissing. awwwwwwww
5) A sonogram. aw....

Wait...

A sonogram?!?!?!!! WTF????

We are immediately on the phone to them and, yep, we are going to be three-time grands. What a ingenious reveal! Epic, really.

It turns out, they got that frame specifically to do this exact reveal, should the time come. A year-and-a-half ago. My son plays the long game, apparently lol.
     
subego  (op)
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Jul 20, 2024, 10:59 AM
 
That’s so awesome!!!
     
andi*pandi
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Jul 20, 2024, 07:29 PM
 
that's wonderful! Very clever! Congrats!

My folks have one of those frames we can email pix to. Nothing so exciting though!
     
Thorzdad
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Jul 24, 2024, 10:31 AM
 
Our daughter took our 6-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter to King's Island yesterday, as a last-hurrah-before-school-starts outing. She rode The Beast twice! She was barely tall enough to ride it, but she liked it a lot.
     
reader50
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Jul 24, 2024, 11:26 AM
 
School starts at the beginning of August now? I seem to remember going back to school in September.
     
andi*pandi
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Jul 24, 2024, 11:51 AM
 
In our area it used to be after labor day, but they added some teacher days so we start end of August, take a long labor day weekend anyway, then start up again. It's silly.

In some parts of the country they start early for agriculture reasons. Then there's the County, which takes a month off for potato harvesting.
     
Thorzdad
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Jul 24, 2024, 06:32 PM
 
All the schools around here start next week. Nothing to do with agriculture, though. I think it has something to do with evening-out the schedules and the breaks, so the kids are on a more regular schedule.
     
subego  (op)
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Jul 24, 2024, 11:36 PM
 
Pelican’s alternative to Pick n Pluck:



Brilliantly utilizes the voids in corrupted plastic.

It comes with a specialized blade that uses those voids as a guide, so you can make a perfectly slice the divider to any length (in 4mm increments) by hand. Then, the dividers then get anchored by U-shaped pins (with red pull-tabs) that slide into the voids. Same 4mm granularity with the placement naturally.
     
reader50
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Jul 25, 2024, 01:04 AM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Brilliantly utilizes the voids in corrupted plastic.
Does "corrupted plastic" steal your credit cards? Hooray for autocorrect.
     
subego  (op)
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Jul 25, 2024, 09:26 AM
 
It’s inundated with microhumans.
     
ghporter
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Jul 26, 2024, 06:00 PM
 
Wow, those Pelican dividers are awesome. I have a Seahorse case for my telescope, and pick and pluck sucked. I used the stuff, sure, but it was like a balance between getting enough room and not having the stuff fall apart. Seahorse is essentially a near peer of Pelican, but not as well known.

Related: Pelican seems to still hold the high ground for weatherproof cases, despite Northern Tool and Harbor Freight having quite credible entries in that market. The NT and HF cases (which may actually be the same items with different brand labels) are at least a B+ quality, but they don’t have the range of sizes, accessories, or (surprise!) foam sets. There’s a whole second market for Pelican foam sets, made of firmer foam that’s hot-wire cut to fit some pre-designed layout, or ($$$$) your custom layout. The second market has all but ignored the NT and HF cases.

I may need to start looking at Pelican for my next case need…

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
subego  (op)
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Jul 27, 2024, 12:49 PM
 
I got hooked on Pelican in the 80s when I used to scuba dive. It was pretty much the only game in town back then. I use them a bunch for AV gear now.

I’ve actually had really good luck with Pick n Pluck, enough I was skeptical of this stuff. A case I settled on only had this or a hot knife option, so I bit the bullet.



Turned out great, and now I’m hooked.


Unrelated minor pleasure: cancer pre-screening came back negative.
     
Thorzdad
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Jul 31, 2024, 03:13 PM
 
My trusty 6s got a security update today. 15.8.3. Crazy cool support!
     
Thorzdad
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Aug 14, 2024, 08:12 AM
 
Am really enjoying the new albums by Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan. Also, my therapist (of all people) recently turned me on to Madelyn Mei. Great stuff!
     
Thorzdad
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Aug 17, 2024, 07:28 AM
 
It’s chile roasting time! Picked-up two cases of fresh Hatch chilies last night, and will be roasting most of the day today.
     
ghporter
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Aug 17, 2024, 05:04 PM
 
How “roasted” do you get them? Hatch peppers can be anywhere from quite “sharp” to really mellow, depending on how they’re roasted. I love how they taste, but I prefer the mellow end because there are a bunch of subtle flavors that emerge with the mellowness.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Thorzdad
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Aug 27, 2024, 11:27 AM
 
I always try to hit a nice balance between some green, some blistering, and some char. It's not the easiest thing to do on a crappy gas grill, though.
     
Thorzdad
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Aug 27, 2024, 11:28 AM
 
Is it weird that I like getting CT scans?
     
subego  (op)
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Aug 27, 2024, 11:35 AM
 
You can have mine that I’m taking tomorrow. 12:30p. Bring a photo ID and insurance card.
     
Thorzdad
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Aug 27, 2024, 11:39 AM
 
Medicare might ask questions about my getting CTs two days in a row LOL

I dunno. I just like hearing the machine spooling up, like you're about to be transported offworld. It always makes me smile.
     
subego  (op)
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Aug 28, 2024, 03:14 PM
 
I do have to say it’s one of the more pleasant medical procedures, and I’ve had a ton lately because I have a new GP who over-doctors.

Ironically, the pleasantness made me irritated because I had to sit in traffic for an hour to do something which takes literally three minutes.
     
ghporter
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Aug 28, 2024, 07:27 PM
 
What part of the CT do you like? I found one (not scary) side effect to be pretty obnoxious: it is common for contrast die to make people feel like they’ve peed…

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Thorzdad
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Aug 28, 2024, 08:26 PM
 
I’ve only had no-contrast CTs, so I can’t speak to the gotta-pee effect.
     
Demonhood
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Aug 29, 2024, 01:36 AM
 
I kinda dig the industrial house beat of an MRI machine.

The brace to hold my head in place, less so.
     
OreoCookie
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Aug 29, 2024, 04:38 AM
 
Originally Posted by Demonhood View Post
I kinda dig the industrial house beat of an MRI machine.

The brace to hold my head in place, less so.
Haven't had an MRI of my head yet, but my right knee, twice. After 10 minutes, each time I got a strong itch that I wanted to scratch … and I can still hear the nong-nong-nong-nong when I think about it.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
Thorzdad
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Aug 29, 2024, 05:55 AM
 
Originally Posted by Demonhood View Post
I kinda dig the industrial house beat of an MRI machine.
Right?!
The last MRI I had was a couple of years ago. The tech gave me headphones to wear, and asked what sort of music I wanted to listen to. I decided on club music. Dance beats. Perfect choice! That nong-nong-nong blended really well with the music.

I’m still intrigued by headphones (really good ones at that) that can live inside an MRI tunnel. They were wireless, of course. Still...
     
subego  (op)
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Aug 29, 2024, 06:41 AM
 
Not the stethoscope variety?
     
andi*pandi
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Aug 29, 2024, 09:56 AM
 
I remember the headphone option, but the last few times I went there weren't any.

dislike machines where you go in headfirst. very small.
     
subego  (op)
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Aug 29, 2024, 03:25 PM
 
Just had an EEG. I wasn’t kidding about getting almost every test.

I am ostensibly no longer epileptic.

The irony is this is a signal to put me back on epilepsy meds so I can theoretically take Chantix safely to help stop smoking. Chantix lowers seizure thresholds.
     
reader50
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Aug 29, 2024, 03:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
... so I can theoretically take Chantix safely to help stop smoking. Chantix lowers seizure thresholds.
Presumably you mean it raises seizure thresholds? Lowering a threshold makes it easier to cross.

There is an easier way to quit smoking - quit your job. This works for losing weight too.
     
Laminar
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Aug 29, 2024, 04:14 PM
 
I'm assuming Chantix lowers the threshold which is why he hasn't been able to take it so far - it's too much of a risk. But if he goes on seizure meds the lowered threshold isn't as much of a risk.
     
subego  (op)
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Aug 29, 2024, 04:25 PM
 
Edit: you got it!


I may have phrased that confusingly.

The anti-seizure medication (Tegretol) raises the threshold.

The anti-smoking medication (Chantix) lowers it.

That’s why I haven’t been taking Chantix. Too much risk it would induce a seizure.

The EEG today, with no Tegretol in my system, was clear, so it’s been judged my natural threshold is now low enough I can take the Chantix, but they’re going to put me back on Tegretol to mitigate some of the risk.
     
reader50
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Aug 29, 2024, 04:36 PM
 
Thanks for the explanation - that makes more sense. I hadn't heard of either drug before.
     
subego  (op)
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Aug 29, 2024, 04:53 PM
 
I’ve tried Wellbutrin and Chantix.

Wellbutrin made smoking unpleasant, which cut me down, but didn’t do too much for the craving. It’s also an appetite suppressant, and it succeeded too well. I had to force food down, and was lucky if it stayed.

In contrast, Chantix was fantastic. It just killed the craving. Only downside was I couldn’t take it on an empty stomach.

I ran out of the samples I was given and kinda dropped it, fully intending to make it part of the plan when I gave quitting my next shot.

Then, the seizure cut off that avenue, and I’ve been kind of a baby about quitting ever since.
     
 
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