Bob, so you paid an arm and a leg for health insurance but you only got an arm?
Bob, I've read this several times and get a little more disturbed every time. My conclusion is that EVERY person involved in this debacle failed you in some way. Engineers foisting a not ready for prime time product on the marketplace, Sales people ditto. Prosthesis specialist that saw a blurb in a trade magazine, did no real research and though "that's cool". Insurance folks who also approved a NRFPT product for the customer and also expected you to "buy the car, without wheels".
@Squankum, I'm actually quite good at it. One of my management jobs was the software manuals for the IBM Personal Computer division. After a protracted argument about performance and quality metrics wasn't going my way, I left town (state, country and continent). They gave me a Rolex watch to mark the occasion (actually for completing 25 years of my sentence -- I was paroled after 30).
My bike was a trash recovery model with 28-inch tubeless tires, single speed and coaster brake. I didn't weigh much but it was all bone, sinew and muscle. If I pressed hard on my belly button I think the hard thing I felt was my spine. Sucking in my gut made me a good stand-in for WWII POWs in the Pacific theater.
Cody, my insurance carrier mentions how much they pay with a monthly statement. They never mention what I've paid. In 2023 we paid $41,000 in medical expenses.
@Squankum, those executives have it tough. I know they have to wear disguises when they get in line at the free food kitchens. disguises.
Scott, don't forget, I got three arms. I do have to occasionally donate an organ to stay even.Bob, so you paid an arm and a leg for health insurance but you only got an arm?
@Squankum, as part of my transfer to Florida in 1975 I had to see IBM's doctor about work limitations. I asked him about handicapped parking and I thought he was going to leap across his desk to attack me. Something about having two good legs.
Gerry, I think the underlying problem is a medical system that treats people with a limitation as incapable. My first arm was built as lightweight (flimsy) as possible because I told them I worked in an office environment. The second arm was built as robust as possible because I told them I worked as a ditch digger.
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Reminds me of your early signature line that was removed due to upsetting a few snowflakes.
And just to add to things, your township is keeping an eye on your whereabouts too..
www.thesecuredad.com
Yup, big brother is watching everyone! If I am not mistaken for example in UK at least in major cities there are cameras monitoring most of the streets.And just to add to things, your township is keeping an eye on your whereabouts too..
What Is A Flock Camera?
A new surveillance system has been quietly popping up across America. Flock Safety is a private technology company based in Atlanta.
!Rian, it's probably because we keep 8 spare toilet rolls in each bathroom. Frees up time for playing with things I'm actually clueless about. Sometimes it's just sequencing. I installed four of the eight security cameras I bought but between the heat and the unstable garage drop-down ladder I postponed the last four. We're in the life-threatening attic heat season because of my procrastination. On the bright side, the remaining four cameras are going on the back side of the house.
@gman007, thank you so much for the kind words. How anyone gets through my thread is a mystery to me but I do appreciate all the visitors and commenters..Hello Bob
I want to start by saying that, I have meant to say hello here for a while now! But I was hoping first to catch-up with all of your great thread before doing so. However life and work etc has handed me a defeat
Because of your remarkable talent, skill and equally important great sense of humor, your thread is fun, festive and educational, so I could no longer resist to say hello
So there, Hello
And great job on the honey-do list
Gerry, I'm still live a PC-centric life so all the stuff related to smartphones is Greek to me. When I installed the Swann security camera system I thought I would be able to access it on my wired network. I got it to work one day but that was it. My Samsung Android accesses it just fine but notifies me every time motion is detected. That's every car that drives by, ever palm frond that waves in the breeze and every once in a while notifies me a hatchet murderer is delivering a brown box. Based on that experience I bought a Reolink camera and set it up in the shop. There's a Cat 7 running from the house to the workshop so it could be connected to my network. It was a breeze to set up and is viewable from any PC on the property. Back when I worked for AOL I did have an Apple Macintosh but paying double for everything wasn't (and still isn't) my favorite thing to do.Bob: Ref the Ring doorbell cam...
I just reviewed my router's list of attached devices, it included 8 Apple Iphones and a Ring doorbell. I don't have any Apple products, but I know where they're coming from (SWMBO's grandson has one and it has multiple personalities), but the Ring has me stumped. All I can figuire out is that one of my Zmodo cameras has decided it is a Ring camera and is now identifying itself as same.
Adam, once I saw the wiring on an IBM 705 computer at Met Life back in the '60s, rat nest wiring doesn't scare me enough to avoid it. The first time I opened that Nutone station up it was to move it 10 feet away. The Nutone systems of the '80s used ribbon cables to connect the stations. When I moved it in the late '90s I couldn't find anyone who sold the ribbon cable so I had to use networking cables but soldering lengths of it into the middle of the ribbon cables. Of course when I Googled 'Nutone intercom ribbon cable' today, a 1000 foot roll pops up on eBay (for $239.06).
@Squankum, until recently I wouldn't worry about the issue they describe. There were a couple of multi-million dollar homes nearby but now the real estate
Andrew, I had that sign on my desk for half my 30 years at IBM and no one turned me in. And IBM had a very sensitive Snowflake Human Resources department (I was reprimanded for providing non-alcoholic beer for an employee's Quarter Century celebration [the employee requested beer and pizza for his party]).
Gerry, not sure they are using Flock cameras but Boca Raton is getting serious about surveillance:And just to add to things, your township is keeping an eye on your whereabouts too..
What Is A Flock Camera?
A new surveillance system has been quietly popping up across America. Flock Safety is a private technology company based in Atlanta.
Gerry, wait until Artificial Intelligence takes over. Oh ****, never mind.I like blaming spellcheck for things, but the "I" is right next to the "O"....
They made me take that sign down in my office. It said, " I'm fun to watch.". They didn't like me mocking myself. They said I needed to be more upbeat. I mean, ****, I owned the floor, I had over a hundred employees, I had the most important IT management title in the agency, I had a conference table covered in toys and coloring books and crayons, every decoration on my walls was rude, and I was enjoying myself. How could I be more upbeat?
Oh, I forgot. On my conference table, with all my other ****, I had a huge engraved glass sculpture thing that was a statewide award for leading the HAPPIEST, most willing, and productive IT team in all the state agencies. And, these assholes sat there in front of this behemoth and told me to be more upbeat.
Learning to drive in the late '60's in a small town in western Nebraska, there weren't too many Porsches around, until a 4 year private college opened in 1968. I got introduced into the quirks of driving a 911 when my sister began dating a classmate with one. I never saw a 914 until attending an autocross in Denver in 1976- a bright orange one with the fibreglass flared fenders, 11"wide front wheels, 13" wide rear wheels and a crazy 327 Chevy SB in the back. OMG that car was fast!Squarish fender flares could be, but very likely were not, a 914/6 GT. A factory GT had those fenders made out of steel. Everybody else, you know... fiberglass.
When I was a teen I was certain that by the time I was 19, I was going to amass $3,500 or so and get myself a used 914. Things changed. Not unhappy with the car I wound up in, though.
I can't find good information right now but best I can figure out, about 59 GT's were made and one recently sold for almost $1M:
This Porsche 914/6 GT Werks in All the Right Ways - Hagerty Media
Raced at the Monte Carlo Rally, this 914/6 GT represents the ultimate iteration of a Porsche that's only recently garnered the respect it deserves.www.hagerty.com
Kay, I believe people who have no life limitations project their own "I couldn't deal with that" issues. With help from my team, wrote a manual for one of my bosses who was getting married. Created it with a typewriter so I don't have a copy. Also don't have a copy of the manual for the first baby when the boss said "I can't wait for her to have the baby so I can get some sleep." Had either of those manuals fallen into the hands of Personnel (pre-Human Resources department) I wouldn't be receiving an IBM pension payment.
Kay, when IBM decided to save money by eliminating food service for meetings, I would stop at Dunkin Donut, a bagel joint and a grocery store to replicate what the company used to provide. Personnel freaked out, telling me I was destroying management's credibility. I had failed to tell my departments the company wasn't paing for the food.
Ric, I suspect a lot of cars got the small block treatment when their engines blew up. A local mechanic in New York bought an Aston Martin DB4 with a blown engine and replaced the engine with a Pontiac Sprint overhead cam 6. It wasn't a power gain (215 hp Pontiac vs. 220 hp Aston Martin) but a fraction of the money.
Ric, many times I'm not successful. I gave up on the Samsung French Door refrigerator's icemaker after three tries. I thought I fixed the wiring for the Ring doorbell but two hours after the button lit up it stopped working and never finished the install. I cheated a little and used space terminals instead of loops (too lazy to remove screws from switches) and that seems to have backfired. I suspect I broke the fragile plastic pushbutton switch in the 38-year old Nutone Speaker/Doorbell -- waiting on Amazon for two new buttons.
Gerry, thanks for the link. Looks like everyone is taking my picture -- I bet there are a lot of broken cameras in town.
Cody, funny you mention that. I marked the wires when I moved them years ago but used masking tape. I've graduated to Brother P Touch printed flags and even have some shrink tubing label cartridges.
@Squankum, the arm does have a capstan drive but it's a cogged belt setup.
Hi Bob. I definitely like the Travertine stone. I’m guessing it stands the test of time was it done with the original build. How is it bedded, glue, mortar, sand? Any cracking, easy to replace?I've been taking care of some honey-dos that I've postponed far too long. Started sealing the Travertine patio on Friday. It got to 89° before I finished for the day. I pressure washed most of the patio on Wednesday but I didn't plan very well. I didn't move the rug and table to pressure wash under it, thinking it wouldn't be that dirty. Before sealing the area I moved the rug, making a second area I couldn't seal. Same with the market umbrella stand and those pots at the edge of the patio.
I did manage to seal the patio around the perimeter of the pool where it gets sun all day and was faded the worst.
Today I moved all the pots and hand scrubbed the Travertine under them. Next will be moving all the furniture on the patio that's under roof to one end so I can seal those areas. It has been windy the past few days so the vacuum cleaner will make an appearance. I have a doctor appointment Monday and Liane has one Tuesday so this quicky job will become a longy one.
When we bought the house 28 years ago one of the first things I did was expand the archway between the kitchen and great room. To complicate the job I had to move the intercom master station from the kitchen side of the wall next to the original arch over to the wall on the left in the second picture.
In 2013 I sent the Nutone intercom master station that was installed in 1986 to California to be repaired. It worked OK for ten years but when it died last year I started looking for a modern replacement. Those suckers go for $1,300 and up so when I recently found a NOS (New Old Stock) Nutone intercom mater station on eBay and bought it (just under $800 with shipping). One accessory in the master station that stopped working is the doorbell chime but it works in the new station. I've wanted a video doorbell for a while so I broke down and bought a Ring doorbell camera. It's the wired model so it requires installation of a battery on the doorbell transformer.
The master station has two 6-32 screws holding it to the rough-in frame. Just like a light switch plate. Once the master station is opened up I am reminded how glad I am that the doorbell transformer isn't in theatticupstairs sauna. Looking at the photo I'm going to be opening this up again to re-seat that middle connector on the left.
There is a cover on the transformer chamber, held in place by two 1/4" hex head screws. Loosen two straight slotted screws on the transformer and the slip the battery spade connectors in and it's done. I believe I am going to make some labels to remind Dimentia Bob or a repairman where the Ring battery is hiding.
Cover back on and the master station can be closed up -- for today.
I have to install the Ring doorbell camera next to the Nutone station at the front door but it turns out the wires they provided are too short so I need to make new ones. Also need to use my Android smartphone to get the doorbell working. I'm going to need a clear head for that so the current setup will suffice for now. Maybe next weekend -- I've got sealer to roll on, plants and furniture to move and who knows what modern convenience will turn into a crisis this week.
@Squankum, I have always loved the conversion kit concept. The ones that captured my interest in the 1950s were from JC Whitney and Speedway Motors and they would mail you the parts after you filled out the order form in their catalog, enclosed a check and mailed it to them.Except for Renegade Hybrids, who made their bones making V-6 and V-8 swap kits for 914's and 911's! To hear their customers complain, they still do what they used to do, bellhousing adapters and other bits, now for Boxster/Cayman and 911 -- and as for your particular wiring harness problems, hey, you figure it out!* That being said, video of LS V-8's in Boxster/Cayman that I've seen look insaaaaane.(2)
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* OK, one specific mechanic's complaints.
(2)
Hi Gil, welcome back and thanks for stopping by and posting. I hate chest and bottom freezers because they require digging up the lost treasures in the bottom (I could swear we have a package of sausages in there). I hate refrigerator door ice makers even more and our Samsung French door R/F has both strikes against it. When the icemaker stopped working, Liane went in the garage and got ice from our ancient GE ice maker cube. After I fixed the Samsung ice maker the first time, Liane continued to get her ice from the garage. If you don't use the icemaker and stir up the ice cubes, the icemaker compartment thaws enough to melt the cubes together into a bucket-size block of ice so nothing comes out the door. Next step in the process is the block of ice frosts up so you can't remove the bucket without a forced defrost session. I solved the problem with a small injection of money, replacing the old GE icemaker cube with a new Flurida icemaker cube. Every time I open the left door, the Samsung refrigerator reminds me of the failure.
Hi Emil. When we bought the house in 1996, the pool patio was stamped concrete that looked like flagstones. It was cracked in several places and it was oddly slippery when wet. Our previous home had an epoxied Chattahoochee pebble surface (popular in the 1970s).
Cody, funny you mention that. I marked the wires when I moved them years ago but used masking tape. I've graduated to Brother P Touch printed flags and even have some shrink tubing label cartridges.
I have the same problem. There's a drawer with wire crimping tools and supplies in my 26" US General box, a soldering and supplies drawer in my Costco box, a semi-organized cabinet with plastic organizer bins and another cabinet with the Weller soldering gun and a Chinesium variable power soldering/de-soldering kit and finally a PVC tube to store my Milwaulkee M12 soldering gun over the workbench.
Dan, thanks for the tip. I'll have to call them during the week to see if there's an upgrade for mine as well (I already have a new unit to go in).Bob, regarding your Samsung refrigerator, I had a problem with my ice maker and installed the fix-it kit shown all over on the internet. That improved things only slightly. (For reference, our refrigerator was one of the earlier four door models when they came out.) I noticed that the newer model year fridges came with a new control board with the fix-it kit. Of all the places I saw on the interwebs selling kits, none of them sold the control board for our model.
I contacted Samsung to see if they had a newer version of our board and they did and I ordered it. Our ice maker issues went away after I installed that new control board. We have not had an issue since.
YMMV
Gil, the rest of the refrigerator and freezer works fine. I'd like to have a better excuse to replace it.
Cody, I have reached a point where the current stuff is somewhat organized but every new tool is a challenge and this forum is not helping.Looks better then my current organization, I got cardboard boxes, milk crates, toolboxes, and some drawers holding my collection.
I feel your pain on removing that battery!
Rick, I've replaced quite a few batteries in iPods (my only Apple products) and the tape holding the batteries in place has been no problem. The Fire tablet battery was glued far more securely.
Drives, sometimes I get lucky.
Gil, the only impact was getting Fathers Day cards. Our house is on a ridge 26 feet above sea level but most of Boca Raton is about 7 feet. The route to the Dollar Tree store parking lot was a lake.
@gman007, we're fine. We got around 6 inches of rain (based on water level in pool) but south of us got 20 inches. In the late '70s we got 17 inches of rain in one day. I remember driving my mother-in-law to the airport in our Lincoln Town Car. Avoiding the deepest water, I took some residential streets to get to I95. Mailboxes were the only hint where the street was and water was seeping into the passenger compartment through the bottom of the doors. Made it to the airport on time. I loved my mother-in-law but two weeks was enough love.