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Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium

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Squankum

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Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,832
Location
Southeast
@Squankum, my apologies, you're right about the system being in the Catskills. However, that's just the name of one section of the Appalachian Mountain chain, which stretches from Canada to Georgia and includes:

"Appalachian Highlands of the United States​

ic_Provinces_of_the_Appalachian_Highlands_Division.png

Physiographic Provinces of the Appalachian Highlands Division
The second level in the physiographic classification schema for the USGS is "province", the same word as Canada uses to divide its political subdivisions, meaning that the terminology used by the two countries do not match below the region level. The lowest level of classification is "section".
The Appalachian Trail is approximately 2,190 to 2,200 miles long, stretching from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mount Katahdin, Maine, and passing through 14 states."

Yes, I got an A in Geography in grade school. You learn a lot as a hostage in the back seat of a car with two teachers up front for four 75 day trips across North America.

1761978966344.png

Bob, I pretty much knew most of that! They've always been my mountains wherever I've lived. I think my two problems were:

a) my eyeballs thought they were reading "Adirondacks"
2) I grew up with, in my mind, Appalachians to my west, and Catskills northwest of the city.

Now I live in a region which assigns some other regional names to their sections of the Appalachians -- and then, to add to the confusion, geology nerds insist that some other small little regions of mountains are not part of the Appalachian range, and in one of them, you can stand at the summit and look over at the Appalachians about 35 miles away.
 
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Bob Heine

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Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
10,708
Location
Boca Raton, Florida
1761978848967.png

Fondue pot?
@Squankum, heaven forbid. That's our chafing dish where we stored our chaff when it wasn't keeping chili warm for the mob dancing in the basement.

I made the playroom in the basement about 24x24 We had room for a ping pong table in the 86" high section with plenty of clearance around it. There was room for a couple of couches in the 80" high section. I had to assemble the lowest dropped ceiling section a crossbar at a time because the acoustic panels touched the heating ducts.

Lighting was pretty fancy, with two crackle clear 2'x4' panels hiding two porcelain incandescent fixtures in the joist opening along with a separately wired 4-foot fluorescent fixture in the same joist opening. That allowed for adjustable mood lighting as well as game time lighting with the flourescents on a second switch.

The basement section behind the garage was big enough for a laundry room and a tiny workshop for winter projects. I splurged on an accordian door to hide that section for our frequent neighborhood parties.
Entrance Wall 800.jpg
My workshop did have its own window, which was useless other than letting me know it was dark outside and time to quit for dinner.
Laundry (800).jpg
I did everything on the cheap so I turned the section of the basement under the master wing into a guest bedroom. However I did splurge on a real pre-hung hollow door with a button lock doorknob. The crude bar in that corner of the playroom was mainly to solve the problem of the water softener and water heater encroaching on the low dropped ceiling section but making only a shallow storage space behind the bar. I made more than a few 'hidden' 2x2 framed panel doors to save money.
Bar Corner 800.jpg
The actual guest bedroom was more of a dungeon, with no floor covering (hey, I sprung for indoor/outdoor in the main playroom) and no door on the closet. I am using the word closet loosely because it was where the boat canvas lived in the winter and the oil tank lived year round. The only way to check how much oil was left in the tank was to peek in that closet. At the time, Liane grew her hair almost to her waist so the guest bedroom had the obligatory hair dryer and chair. It would have been in the playroom in sight of the TV but you couldn't hear anything once that dome was lowered.
Bedroom 800.JPG
Our useless 'automatic' oil delivery company let us run out of oil for our first Christmas in the house (https://weatherworksinc.com/news/1966-christmas-snowstorm). When the furnace shut down we had 12 people staying with us and the oil truck barely made it to our house. He filled the tank and left. The furnace ran for about three minutes and shut off because the 40-foot line had a bubble at the tank end. When the oil company answered our second call, they told us the storm was preventing anyone from making it back to our house (two feet of snow and four foot drifts and no snow plows because of the wind). Luckily our poorly insulated house (1" thick rock wool bats in walls and ceilings) was one of the five in the 154 home development that had a fireplace. We were about to break up furniture to feed the fire when our neighbor (who had no fireplace but did have a chainsaw) gifted us some huge oak chunks. Turned the furnace fan on to circulate air and set the electric oven and four burners to HIGH.

And just so you don't think we were total hicks, our Fondue pot was 20 feet away from the chafing dish on the sewer pipe shelf near the TV (on the right next to the fancy beer mug).
Video Corner 800.jpg
1761978966344.png

Bob, I pretty much knew most of that! They've always been my mountains wherever I've lived. I think my two problems were:

a) my eyeballs thought they were reading "Adirondacks"
2) I grew up with, in my mind, Appalachians to my west, and Catskills northwest of the city.

Now I live in a region which assigns some other regional names to their sections of the Appalachians -- and then, to add to the confusion, geology nerds insist that some other small little regions of mountains are not part of the Appalachian range, and in one of them, you can stand at the summit and look over that the Appalachians about 35 miles away.
@Squankum, us Easterners have it easy. The West coast has the Rocky Mountains and there are more than 100 names for the sections in North America.
Is there anyone who doesn't go through an audiophile phase?
Kirk, you are right if you exclude the Millenial generation. None of my 9 grandchildren have an audio system unless you include ear buds or the systems in their cars. The ones who drive have cars with more speakers than our house but those are still basically big earbids for their phones.

Did I put a 4x6 speaker in the package shelf of every car I bought when I was young? Of course. I even put an adjustment knob on the wiring to one of them so it 'reverberated.' Were those radios powerful? No, you kept your windows closed when listening to the radio because the wind noise would drown them out.
 
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Bob Heine

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Oct 24, 2009
Messages
10,708
Location
Boca Raton, Florida
Bob, is that a Day Timer that I see in your picture? I still use mine but mostly as a notebook. My calendar is on my phone because it's always there!:(

Lou
Lou, the '+ Quote" thing is fighting with me. An awful lot of stuff works in new and weird ways on Windows 11. Or I just screwed up.

The Day Timer in front of the monitor is my Geezer Book. There's always a calendar in front but I don't actually use it these days. I manage my calendar in Lotus SmartSuite, in the Organizer app on my computers. It doesn't connect to a cloud and even if it did, few people (besides Kay) could figure out how it works. I use the blank pages in my Geezer Book to write things down with one of my fountain pens. When I open an e-mail that tells me how much the water, electric, credit card or bank transaction is for, l write it down. When a web site sends a pass code to the cell phone sitting on the stand next to my monitor, I often write it down because the phone goes dark pretty fast.

I also print out some stuff from Organizer and specify the layout in the HP software as A6 (3.8"x6.8"). It prints my Network, Password and Serial Number section on 8.5"x11" paper on both sides, up in one corner. A few minutes with a paper cutter and A6 6-hole punch and I have a hard copy of all my passwords and software serial numbers as well as the IP addresses for all the eqipment scattered around the property in a section of the Day Timer tabbed section. The book, like my phone, rarely leaves my office. I also print out all the contact information that might disappear when someone puts ransomware on my computers or cell phones. After AT&T transferred our phone number to a stranger and provided enough information so that person could create two new bank accounts in Liane's name, my faith in phones and the companies who provide service for them was shattered. Had we not been able to recover the $9,000 transferred to those two new bank accounts, I expect I would have a really expensive and nasty lawyer representing us.

I treat my phones like my worst enemies. I tell them nothing, trust them with nothing, and use them like they cost a fortune to turn on. Our cell phones are designed to spy on us and they already know way too much about where we go, what we do, who we talk to and now I learn the damned things can be operateed by someone else without my knowledge to listen, watch and spy on me and everyone I run into. Goddamned thing is making me more paranoid every day.
 

Craptain

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Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Messages
4,029
Location
Tampa Bay FL
Sadly almost all electronics today spy on us. Even the TV. Windows 11 is seemingly one of the worst, with Google not far behind. Everything you do on Windows 11 passes from your keyboard via Microsoft on its way back to your own screen. Depending on your activities they even have the ability to lock your computer remotely. And Apple users needn't gloat because Apple had that ability before Microsoft.
 

scooterbum46

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Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
883
Location
South Central Michigan / ex Gulf Coast Florida
Is there anyone who doesn't go through an audiophile phase?
Go Through?? Interesting concept there....
I've made tons of changes over the last 50+ years in choice of, location of and use of but never have been through with the love of audio gear. I do admit that some of my current stock is a little suspect (a pair of JBL EON 315s fed by a Sony MP3 player the size of a credit card for example - aids me in hearing over the tinnitus and deaf ear) . I still have my first piece of good gear, a Sansui AU555 that I bought from HiFi Buys in East Lansing (1970), just went through the pots recently, sound as good as ever, I use it with my belt drive Pioneer turntable, bought about the time the first Boston album was released. Just gave my large Infinity's to my daughter this summer, so I'm trying to keep another generation in it too!
 
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scooterbum46

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Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
883
Location
South Central Michigan / ex Gulf Coast Florida
On another hardware note, I too am upgrading my IT equipment along similar line. New refurb Dell desktop for me, a new refurb laptop for Nance, a purple FireWalla for the network, a 16TB Buffalo NAS and a trusty APC UPS for the NAS and networking gear to get their food from.

Quick story about the ABC UPS .. I bought in a hurry on Friday in anticipation of the Buffalo NAS showing up this weekend. Unpacked it and the QC checklist taped to the side was cool right down to where I saw the testing date of 03/24. I didn't have a problem with the electronics being that age, but the lead acid batteries were at least a third of their projected lifetime without any charging (lead acid batteries sulfate when not going through charging cycles once in a while). I took it back to Office Despot, proposed a couple of possible fixes, involving money back or replacement batteries. A quick check of all the APC UPS's they had showed same age..

In the end I returned it, walked next door and got the same UPS for 60 bucks less at Best Buy. Batteries are still from 2024, but the $$ was right if I need to replace them. I asked the child managing the Orfice Despot if he would accept a "new" battery for his car that had set on the shelf a year and half. His response was along the lines of making any adjustment in price was above his pay grade and that he'd mention the age issue with the district manager.... :ROFLMAO:
 

CNC_RICK

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Messages
1,066
Location
Wisconsin
Nice lookin' stereo setup, Bob. I'm sure you've seen my setup, but here's a few more details on mine. I am running the Denon receiver with a small Bluetooth box, about the size of a postage stamp, from my phone, running SiriusXM mostly, and quite often from Spotify. I screwed up and put my "listening chair" (my stool at the workbench) about half-way back (about centered) in my tin can of a shop. (Shipping container). If I take a few steps toward the door about 2/3 back, I get much more thump in the chest from the speakers. I still would like to get at least a graphic equalizer, if not a parametric eq, too. I had that (both) hooked up in my old shop and it worked great that way. At this time of year, I have trouble with WiFi signal if I shut the door. I bought a gizmo to boost wifi signal in the shop, but haven't installed it yet. I need to keep the door mostly shut to heat with my current heater, but leave it open for fresh air, too.
 

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CNC_RICK

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Nov 12, 2016
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Wisconsin
Bob, I've always wanted to build a pair of speakers, called "sweet sixteen". You've probably heard of them. The idea is that you put 16 speakers (per side, stereo) close together into a baffle board. All speaker cones would respond, pushing forward on a bass drum beat. Not only that, but the air in between each speaker also gets involved and goes along for the ride. You can imagine how well that would work! Me thinks... With plenty of horsepower on an amplifier, I can just picture how well that would work. My only nightmare is how do you brace the baffle board enough to prevent flex. Flex would waste power.
 

CNC_RICK

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Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Messages
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Location
Wisconsin
In my mind, that's how my Bose 901 speakers worked. They only used 4" speakers, a few out front, most from the back, bouncing off the walls. Same concept, I think. I loved them. I would go a bit bigger on my speakers on a "16" system.
 

CNC_RICK

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Nov 12, 2016
Messages
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Location
Wisconsin
Granted, my set of Bose 901 speakers were about a Series 2. Made back in the early 70s... Limited on watts from your friendly receiver. My friend/co-worker had a much newer set. Much bigger amplifier... See where this is going? Ha. Along with that, his house had a very large picture window in his living room. Something like 8x8 foot. He had his speakers hanging from chains in each corner for full bass effort. He ended up cracking his window.... Couldn't have been cheap to replace that. The newer systems were advertised to not really have a practical limit on watts. I honestly don't believe in that, but that's what they (Bose) claimed.
 
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Bob Heine

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Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
10,708
Location
Boca Raton, Florida
Sadly almost all electronics today spy on us. Even the TV. Windows 11 is seemingly one of the worst, with Google not far behind. Everything you do on Windows 11 passes from your keyboard via Microsoft on its way back to your own screen. Depending on your activities they even have the ability to lock your computer remotely. And Apple users needn't gloat because Apple had that ability before Microsoft.
Andrew, this tracking started about 25 years ago ironically with the retailer Target :

"The practice of retailers using purchase data, including pregnancy tests, to predict a customer's pregnancy and target them with baby item ads 9 months later began around the early 2000s, most notably by companies like Target."

Our son and his wife gifted us an Amazon Echo and Liane really like being able to ask it questions when she couldn't remember the answer. We discovered Alexa was living inside our 77" Samsung TV in the master bedroom wen it displayed several 20 year old photos of our family that were stored on a hard drive somewhere else. I assume it was from one of the Kindle Fire tablets but I cant be sure. I bought a Kindle Fire HD8 in 2017 for just over $20 and a Kindle Fire HD10 for $34 in 2024, thinking they would be handier than a laptop. I used to take them out of the office so I could look up recipes in the kitchen (base on what we had in the freezer, refrigerator or pantry). I thought we could look things up in the master bedroom while watching TV (it is large enough for a King size bed, three large dressers, a couch for Liane and a powered recliner for me). When someone on TV asked Alexa a question and the Kindle Fire turned itself on and answered the question I kinda freaked out.
That's what network filters are for.
@M.Brane, I have relied on McAfee software for many years, mostly because AT&T provided it for free. When I hooked up the Windows 11 system I expected to be able to download the software again. Nope, because we don't have a phone account with AT&T and only get Internet (reasonably fast fiber connection) and U-Verse (a discontinued product). Ironically, we don't have a phone with AT&T because they gave our number away to someone on Metro PCS/Sprint, along with enough information for that person to create two two accounts at Wells Fargo and transfer $9,000 from our existing Wells Fargo accounts.

I don't trust Microsoft to protect me so I guess I'll be buying a security suite from someone else. Well, that didn't take long....
Go Through?? Interesting concept there....
I've made tons of changes over the last 50+ years in choice of, location of and use of but never have been through with the love of audio gear. I do admit that some of my current stock is a little suspect (a pair of JBL EON 315s fed by a Sony MP3 player the size of a credit card for example - aids me in hearing over the tinnitus and deaf ear) . I still have my first piece of good gear, a Sansui AU555 that I bought from HiFi Buys in East Lansing (1970), just went through the pots recently, sound as good as ever, I use it with my belt drive Pioneer turntable, bought about the time the first Boston album was released. Just gave my large Infinity's to my daughter this summer, so I'm trying to keep another generation in it too!
Gerry, I too have made many changes over the years. The system in the garage has the two 400-CD changers. One is filled with audio book CDs and the other is filled with music CDs. Then I discovered 32GB iPods could be bought pretty cheap with most needing nothing more than a new battery. I copied all the music from CDs to iTunes on the computer and then copied all 1,500 songs to the iPods for all three cars and the garage audio system. That system allows the music to play through the indoor/outdoor speakers and the Nutone intercom.
On another hardware note, I too am upgrading my IT equipment along similar line. New refurb Dell desktop for me, a new refurb laptop for Nance, a purple FireWalla for the network, a 16TB Buffalo NAS and a trusty APC UPS for the NAS and networking gear to get their food from.

Quick story about the ABC UPS .. I bought in a hurry on Friday in anticipation of the Buffalo NAS showing up this weekend. Unpacked it and the QC checklist taped to the side was cool right down to where I saw the testing date of 03/24. I didn't have a problem with the electronics being that age, but the lead acid batteries were at least a third of their projected lifetime without any charging (lead acid batteries sulfate when not going through charging cycles once in a while). I took it back to Office Despot, proposed a couple of possible fixes, involving money back or replacement batteries. A quick check of all the APC UPS's they had showed same age..

In the end I returned it, walked next door and got the same UPS for 60 bucks less at Best Buy. Batteries are still from 2024, but the $$ was right if I need to replace them. I asked the child managing the Orfice Despot if he would accept a "new" battery for his car that had set on the shelf a year and half. His response was along the lines of making any adjustment in price was above his pay grade and that he'd mention the age issue with the district manager.... :ROFLMAO:
Gerry, sounds like my experience with Amazon. It often has the best price and I pay for Prime so free shipping on most stuff. BUT, I check the Internet before placing orders for anything over $20. I haven't kept track but a lot of times Walmart or some other site has a much better price and free shipping or the shipping cost makes the item still quite a bit cheaper than Amazon.
 

M.Brane

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1,776
Location
1 hr N/W of LA LA Land
@M.Brane, I have relied on McAfee software for many years, mostly because AT&T provided it for free. When I hooked up the Windows 11 system I expected to be able to download the software again. Nope, because we don't have a phone account with AT&T and only get Internet (reasonably fast fiber connection) and U-Verse (a discontinued product). Ironically, we don't have a phone with AT&T because they gave our number away to someone on Metro PCS/Sprint, along with enough information for that person to create two two accounts at Wells Fargo and transfer $9,000 from our existing Wells Fargo accounts.

I don't trust Microsoft to protect me so I guess I'll be buying a security suite from someone else. Well, that didn't take long....
I'm a Mac guy so I use an app called Little Snitch. It allows you to block domains. My buddy the Wndows/Linux guy runs his own DNS server. That's way above my skill level as I can stumble my way through a command line, but it's not my forte. I also try to keep a relatively low profile on the net these days.
 

rharman

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
8,897
Location
SoCal
@Bob Heine - I've run MalwareBytes for years. I use it as a secondary to Windows Defender - belt and suspenders, you know. Of course, everyone has their opinions on anti-virus.

One thing I've thought of, and was reminded about by @M.Brane's post, is using an ad/malware blocking DNS instead of Spectrum's default. Haven't made the plunge but may delve a bit deeper soon.
 
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Bob Heine

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
10,708
Location
Boca Raton, Florida
Nice lookin' stereo setup, Bob. I'm sure you've seen my setup, but here's a few more details on mine. I am running the Denon receiver with a small Bluetooth box, about the size of a postage stamp, from my phone, running SiriusXM mostly, and quite often from Spotify. I screwed up and put my "listening chair" (my stool at the workbench) about half-way back (about centered) in my tin can of a shop. (Shipping container). If I take a few steps toward the door about 2/3 back, I get much more thump in the chest from the speakers. I still would like to get at least a graphic equalizer, if not a parametric eq, too. I had that (both) hooked up in my old shop and it worked great that way. At this time of year, I have trouble with WiFi signal if I shut the door. I bought a gizmo to boost wifi signal in the shop, but haven't installed it yet. I need to keep the door mostly shut to heat with my current heater, but leave it open for fresh air, too.
Rick, to stay alive, I am forced to pay for U-Verse, Netflix and Amazon Prime (with ad-free) subscriptions. Disconnecting those services will result in my breathing tube to be disconnected (more likely my daily Diet Coke having a hint of Ethylene Glycol in it) . Because of AT&T and Wells Fargo, I am forced to subscribe to Experian. A subscription to Ancestry.com feeds my family tree hobby but I tend to cancel the subscription every third year. Only our Cadillac has a SiriusXM-capable head in it and whenever I am reminded of a song we loved that isn't on the iPods, I buy the CD and copy it to m iTunes library and then to the half-dozen iPods.

It is so easy to rack up a few thousand in annual subscriptions, I go out of my way to avoid them. I do feel obligated to pay the Alliance membership fee because of all the enjoyment I get from this site.
Bob, I've always wanted to build a pair of speakers, called "sweet sixteen". You've probably heard of them. The idea is that you put 16 speakers (per side, stereo) close together into a baffle board. All speaker cones would respond, pushing forward on a bass drum beat. Not only that, but the air in between each speaker also gets involved and goes along for the ride. You can imagine how well that would work! Me thinks... With plenty of horsepower on an amplifier, I can just picture how well that would work. My only nightmare is how do you brace the baffle board enough to prevent flex. Flex would waste power.
Rick, my list of honey-dos and self-inflicted projects is so large I cannot even think about building speakers. However, you have reminded me of the Klipsch speaker that needs only a couple of banana plugs to replace the little JBL center speaker in the garage. The plugs are expected later today.
In my mind, that's how my Bose 901 speakers worked. They only used 4" speakers, a few out front, most from the back, bouncing off the walls. Same concept, I think. I loved them. I would go a bit bigger on my speakers on a "16" system.
Rick, I bought two well-used Bose 101 outdoor speakers for the patio. They needed new foam so I got them real cheap. It has been a while since they were powered up.
Granted, my set of Bose 901 speakers were about a Series 2. Made back in the early 70s... Limited on watts from your friendly receiver. My friend/co-worker had a much newer set. Much bigger amplifier... See where this is going? Ha. Along with that, his house had a very large picture window in his living room. Something like 8x8 foot. He had his speakers hanging from chains in each corner for full bass effort. He ended up cracking his window.... Couldn't have been cheap to replace that. The newer systems were advertised to not really have a practical limit on watts. I honestly don't believe in that, but that's what they (Bose) claimed.
Rick, even used, those 901s are above my pay grade.
Every time I buy or build a set of speakers, my go-to, my standard, is to play Jefferson Starship (Black Widow). That song will test your speakers............
Rick, I fear music left me in the dust before Jefferson Starship hit the airwaves. Our band was Credence Clearwater Revival. Every party at our house included a couple of warmup tunes. People mingled in the living room, kitchen and hallway (where we had a chessboard set up). Once everyone had arrived (35-40 people in a tiny 3-bedroom ranch) I put Cosmos Factory on. Moved the needle to I Heard It Through The Grapevine. The album version is 11 minutes long and before it was over, every single person was dancing in the basement. Only people who didn't get up and dance when the drummer and John Fogerty got going were legless or deaf. No offense to deaf and legless people but CCR's version was magic.
 

kaymccampbell

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
29,602
Location
Upstate New York
Rick, to stay alive, I am forced to pay for U-Verse, Netflix and Amazon Prime (with ad-free) subscriptions. Disconnecting those services will result in my breathing tube to be disconnected (more likely my daily Diet Coke having a hint of Ethylene Glycol in it) . Because of AT&T and Wells Fargo, I am forced to subscribe to Experian. A subscription to Ancestry.com feeds my family tree hobby but I tend to cancel the subscription every third year. Only our Cadillac has a SiriusXM-capable head in it and whenever I am reminded of a song we loved that isn't on the iPods, I buy the CD and copy it to m iTunes library and then to the half-dozen iPods.

It is so easy to rack up a few thousand in annual subscriptions, I go out of my way to avoid them. I do feel obligated to pay the Alliance membership fee because of all the enjoyment I get from this site.
I make up for you. The only subscription fee I pay is the monthly broadband bill.
 
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Bob Heine

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Oct 24, 2009
Messages
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I'm a Mac guy so I use an app called Little Snitch. It allows you to block domains. My buddy the Wndows/Linux guy runs his own DNS server. That's way above my skill level as I can stumble my way through a command line, but it's not my forte. I also try to keep a relatively low profile on the net these days.
@M.Brane, I have trouble getting networks set up and working and when they stop working I just start unplugging stuff. I had a Mac for about five years and it was a pleasure to learn and quite intuitive. On the downside, every piece of hardware, cable and application seemed stupid expensive compared to PCs. I have several Ubuntu systems and I'm having trouble with the mental shift and learning curve.
@Bob Heine - I've run MalwareBytes for years. I use it as a secondary to Windows Defender - belt and suspenders, you know. Of course, everyone has their opinions on anti-virus.

One thing I've thought of, and was reminded about by @M.Brane's post, is using an ad/malware blocking DNS instead of Spectrum's default. Haven't made the plunge but may delve a bit deeper soon.
Roger, I decided against McAfee and Norton (cloud issue) and settled on TotalAV, which discovered viruses and malware Windows and McAfee didn't. It also has a VPN so I'll be trying that out.
 
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xtremek

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Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
11,603
Location
St. Johns, Mi
Kirk, you are right if you exclude the Millenial generation. None of my 9 grandchildren have an audio system unless you include ear buds or the systems in their cars. The ones who drive have cars with more speakers than our house but those are still basically big earbids for their phones.
Considering how powerful (computing and app wise) the cell phone are, earbuds really are today's equivalent of the home system we had back in the day. I'll admit I paid a decent amount for my Beats, more than I did for some of the speakers I've put in my cars.
 
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Bob Heine

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Oct 24, 2009
Messages
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Boca Raton, Florida
I make up for you. The only subscription fee I pay is the monthly broadband bill.
Kay, you make up for me in so many ways. When we were first married, I needed to work three jobs to pay the bills and put food on the table. Liane raised the children and when they were quiet or in school, she had the TV on to hear the sound of a human voice. Even when I only worked one job, I spent nights either working overtime or going to night school. When my career at IBM took a positive turn, I spent a lot of time doing non-essential special projects that didn't pay off at the time but gave me broader experience and made me more valuable. Getting the 2 year assignment in Australia was probably a result of that effort. Now, when I'm home all the time, Liane still has the TV on from the time she wakes up until she goes to sleep. I end up here in the relatively quiet office, garage or shop and I believe I would be content with nothing more than the Internet connection.
Considering how powerful (computing and app wise) the cell phone are, earbuds really are today's equivalent of the home system we had back in the day. I'll admit I paid a decent amount for my Beats, more than I did for some of the speakers I've put in my cars.
Kirk, you are right. Your comment made me smile, remembering the Christmas our oldest grandson got an iPod. He had the ear buds in and walked around the house with the iPod all day. When I asked what he was listening to, he said "nothing" and my taken aback look brought the "I don't know how to copy music to it" explanation.
 
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Bob Heine

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The past two days have been super productive.

Yesterday I took Liane to her pain doctor but had to leave get to the endodontist two buildings away. I took the car so Liane wouldn't have to waste time getting there. It was a 200 foot walk but a 1.5 mile drive. I haven't seen this endodontist for a decade but they all remembered me. Because Liane had never needed their services, I explained to the receptionist that a gorgeous redhead might show up looking for me. I told her to watch for the young lady in the Senior Prom picture that is the screen background on my phone (took the phone out of the house for a potential call to let the tooth folks know I might be late). The receptionist recognized Liane instantly when she walked in (pretty good match for a 65 year old photo).

Today we went to our primary care doctor for our quarterly visit, with blood and urine tests and prescriptions for Liane's CT scan of her lungs and x-ray of her right hip. While there he called my hematology oncologist to put me on twice yearly Prolia injections to treat my osteoporosis. From there we headed home with a short visit to Aldi so Liane could return the slippers she bought and pick up a package of grapes. We managed to fill two shopping bags with stuff not on the list but made it home in time for me to put the food away and still get to my cardiologist for a pacemaker tuneup and electrocardiogram. Stopped on the way home at Walgreens to pick up two prescriptions and then Trader Joe's for items Aldi doesn't carry.

I'll never reach Kay level productivity but it was better than taking the usual six days to get these things done.

[EDIT: Doctor called that day at 6:00 PM to let us know he got our blood and urine test results back. I'm less anemic and only slightly dehydrated but my Vitamin D level is still at the low end of normal and he wants me to be at the high end. Liane's test results all came back normal so all she has to do is keep me alive or she'll need a new service animal -- I've been trained to be more than just a pet.]
 
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scooterbum46

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South Central Michigan / ex Gulf Coast Florida
"Ear buds really are today's equivalent of the home system we had back in the day."

I'll disagree to a certain extent, I compare my over the ear headphones to what I got out of a good set of 3 or 4 way floor standing speakers like the Infinity's I just gave away. I cannot get any where's near that same quality out of ear buds.
 
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Bob Heine

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One of the backup lights on the PT Cruiser went out and I thought it was just a bulb. As with all the other lights on the car, I decided to upgrade to LEDs for both sides. Opened up the housing and plugged in the new LED. Nothing. Tried the other side, which was working and the LED worked. I either have bad wiring or a bad socket. The connector was delivering 12 volts so it appears it's a bad socket. Searched online and found absolutely outrageous prices for sockets, both new and used. Tried Rock Auto and they had a pair on clearance for ~$26 delivered. Plugged in the first socket and added the LED. Socket goes in the housing with no problem and I re-mounted the housing with new M4 u-clips and stainless screws (one of the original u-clip and screws fell out at some point) .
First (correct) Light Socket.jpg
This was going so well I expected to be finished in ten more minutes. Second socket and LED worked so I tried putting the new socket in the housing. Try as I might, it won't go in. This is not rocket science so I try harder. It's getting late so I take the socket off and dig through the trash bin for the old sockets. Son of a *****, the socket has three tabs instead of two and at way different locations. Both the old sockets have two tabs.
Second (wrong) Socket.jpg
Contacted Rock Auto and they refunded half the money but had no more sockets. Ended up paying $35 to Advance Auto for a single socket. Now I have backup lights that will probably attract airplanes trying to land at night. As a final insult added to injury, an ominous cracking sound and a piece of plastic fell inside the housing when I applied what I thought was gentle pressure on the screw. To make my current self more miserable, my younger self installed silver sensors in the red section of the housing so a pair of housings and set of new backup sensors have arrived at the house.
 

CNC_RICK

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Location
Wisconsin
Bob, you have to realize that most of my stereo equipment has been bought... At least used, if not homemade.... I haven't paid retail prices on pretty much anything I own. I never have. In the case of my Bose 901 speakers, I barely paid 100 clams for the set. I'm not sure if Lianne would be ok, spending $100 on a $1500 set of speakers, (probably more nowadays, but think they quit making them) but Cheryl gave me the green light on them at the time.

A question was asked on the radio today... Who's the best guitar player, ever... I was alone in my shop at the time, but I said out loud... Eddie Van Halen...!! Can you imagine that he has been gone five years already? I have a pic of him, working on a Bridgeport vertical milling machine, milling out a pocket on a solid body guitar, putting in a pick up unit where he thought that pick up unit should go... I had tears in my eyes when that man went. I still watch "Live in Cleveland" with his wife, Valerie Bertinelli, with Betty White... As a kid, I had the biggest crush on Valerie, and still do.
 
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Bob Heine

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I was so pleased with the stainless steel ball bearing hinges on the new front door I decided to fit the same set of hinges to the man door at the back of the garage. Also bought some fresh door seals for both doors with the hope a match or candle can remain lit near the garage man door on windy days.

The old hinges were attached with very small and rusty screws to the wooden frame. For some reason, one of the screws holding the hinge to the door was super long, even though there is nothing behind the sheet metal at the edge of the door.
OldHinge Mount.jpg
I used longer stainless screws supplied with the hinges for three of the hinge mounting holes and one much longer screw that reached the stud behind the frame. The new hinges only have two holes that line up with the old ones so it worked out well.
Old vs New Hinges.jpg
The new hinges and seal are working great. The seals have some slight indentations from the way they were rolled up for packaging but some warm weather should fix that.
Finished -- for Now.jpg
No project that goes this well should be expected to stay simple. I touched a section of the brick mold on the outside of the door and it turned out to be only paint. Termites that ate the whole southern wall of the garage managed to make it to this piece of molding so I have one more detail to finish. Oh, and paint. Did I mention I am not fond of painting things that don't make noise?
Termite Damage.jpg
 

Miss the Pontiacs

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Nov 7, 2016
Messages
16,517
Location
Saskatchewan Canada
I was so pleased with the stainless steel ball bearing hinges on the new front door I decided to fit the same set of hinges to the man door at the back of the garage. Also bought some fresh door seals for both doors with the hope a match or candle can remain lit near the garage man door on windy days.
The old hinges were attached with very small and rusty screws to the wooden frame. For some reason, one of the screws holding the hinge to the door was super long, even though there is nothing behind the sheet metal at the edge of the door.
OldHinge Mount.jpg
I used longer stainless screws supplied with the hinges for three of the hinge mounting holes and one much longer screw that reached the stud behind the frame. The new hinges only have two holes that line up with the old ones so it worked out well.
Old vs New Hinges.jpg
The new hinges and seal are working great. The seals have some slight indentations from the way they were rolled up for packaging but some warm weather should fix that.
Finished -- for Now.jpg
No project that goes this well should be expected to stay simple. I touched a section of the brick mold on the outside of the door and it turned out to be only paint. Termites that ate the whole southern wall of the garage managed to make it to this piece of molding so I have one more detail to finish. Oh, and paint. Did I mention I am not fond of painting things that don't make noise?
Termite Damage.jpg

Always maintenance eh Bob. 😉 I’m not worried about a match or candle, but snow drifting would be detrimental. You showed a gold tone and a stainless/nickel in the pic. No big deal I prefer the silver anyway myself.
Had a taillight on the wife’s DD go bad. The bulb was good but the connector was a little fried. Cleaned it up and good to go. My wife’s vehicle needs a few more miles and should be replaced, but I’ve been saying that for a couple years already. Haven’t found a fit yet but keep looking.
 

CNC_RICK

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Location
Wisconsin
Trick question...... name the genre .. Clapton, Roy Clark, Glen Campbell, Andres Segovia, SRV, Carlos Santana, Prince, Derek Trucks, **** Dale................
Actually, I like a lot of the members on your list. Prince was huge in the eighties. Eric Clapton is famous for many reasons. Prince was a Minnesotan. They (govt) named highways after him. I have a poster on my wall, of Taylor Swift. She's pretty good looking. I like her songs. I don't listen to any of her songs, as well as the likes of Glen Campbell, Eric Clapton, Roy Clark, anymore as I listen to Octane, on siriusXM radio. Not that I don't want to. Just that my stations don't play their stuff. There's a channel 60 out there that promotes Carrie Underwood. I like that channel, too. My wife loves it. I like channel 38, Ozzy's Boneyard.... Ozzy Osbourne....

Hope this makes sense. I'm into music a bit. My family had a band together, so many years ago... Playing accordions.. my Dad's idol was Frankie Yankovic...
 
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CNC_RICK

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Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Messages
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Location
Wisconsin
Trick question...... name the genre .. Clapton, Roy Clark, Glen Campbell, Andres Segovia, SRV, Carlos Santana, Prince, Derek Trucks, **** Dale................
Not sure what the 'trick question' was... Hope I answered that. If not, ask me more... I don't know much about Santana and the rest. Never heard of **** Dale. Tell me more!! I'd like to learn from you.
 
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CNC_RICK

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Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Messages
1,066
Location
Wisconsin
Btw, Bob the door looks great. Not sure about this music thing, going on. It's not yer fault. If this continues, imma take it offline... Hopefully, things are at rest. I'll pick another topic for next week..........
 

CNC_RICK

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Messages
1,066
Location
Wisconsin
I did give away my sawmill blade sharpener... (For band mills). It was my Dad's. You should see the thing! Ha. It's a beast. My friend/ coworker came over last weekend and tried to bring it home. No dice. Too heavy. He has a plan. Should happen tomorrow.
 
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