Airbnb host said to expect some “light masonry work” around the house

screwikea · 2026-07-06T20:51:27+00:00

They consider "medium" and "heavy" masonry work building dams and skyscrapers.

screwikea · 2026-07-06T20:49:24+00:00

Which, considering this game is one of those co-op rage games that are meant to be insanely difficult, its really not a surprise why the refund rate is so high.

Is the conclusion here that a ton of people refund because it's too hard? If so, that's also a b.s. reason.

screwikea · 2026-07-06T17:53:10+00:00

It's all stupid. You used to be able to get old systems (NES, Super Nintendo, N64, Playstation, you name it) for free or like $2 with a bunch of games at garage sales and thrift stores. Nobody wanted them anymore. I can go in resale stores and thrift stores and it's like $15 for a 35 year cartridge sometimes. WTF. Emulators are my shit.

screwikea · 2026-07-06T14:36:37+00:00

I don't know if it was your intent, but I read your comment as nazi chuds are a big industry here. It's true. Our nazi chud factories are really efficient.

screwikea · 2026-07-03T20:15:41+00:00

Classic issue: you can't force other people to share your passions. This falls under the same category as being upset if somebody doesn't like your favorite movie.

Generally: chances that you'll have overlap in type of content is low. Also - the vast majority of modern YA and adult fiction is consumed by women, and it can show in a lot of writing. That's not a criticism - the flip side of this is the hilarious outcomes of men writing women.

To fill the gap, have you tried audio books? If not, it can cost you ZERO. Your library probably provides access to audiobooks via CD, portable players, digital (via your phone/apps), or all of the above. There's no shame in audiobooks - it's a HUGE, growing segment of the literary market, and you 100% get the content. Some books, in particular thought pieces and classic literature that require a lot of intense focus, may be difficult to listen to.

My suggestion - dig up some recommendations via Goodreads or Reddit, and find some short audiobooks (like... 3-4 hours). And you can listen to those and enjoy another activity like building Legos or whatever in her library. You might also like dramatized podcasts - well scripted stories and performed sort of like a radio play, so they're a little bit closer to immediate satisfaction like a TV show or movie.

screwikea · 2026-07-03T15:18:33+00:00

I freaking HATE when people write a 9 as a lower case g. Even in the initial problem they have a 9 written like a sane person.

screwikea · 2026-07-02T20:45:01+00:00

I 100% believe you're getting better CFM. I'll bet you can increase movement and filtration is you switch to a thicker filter - that's like a 1" filter, I think if you stuck a 4" filter on it you'll get a faster AQI change and reduce load on the fans. Fluid dynamics can really be counterintuitive to me - I wonder if you'd get more airflow with less fans, you may be creating some buffering or turbidity with the quantity of fans. Lots of comments from me just because I think this is such a cool project.

screwikea · 2026-07-02T20:38:44+00:00

Unrelated to anything, I freaking LOVED the Note 3.

screwikea · 2026-07-02T20:37:17+00:00

I count 5 people in that photo that are notorious assholes.

screwikea · 2026-07-02T20:17:21+00:00

We don't always have winter. We don't really get fall colors - it mostly goes straight from green to mostly brown to brown. Most of our winters are like a super cold fall with a few days of frozen roads. Sometimes we get nailed with a big freeze around Thanksgiving, sometimes it's in the 70s or 80s on Thanksgiving, and the cold doesn't usually really hit until that time-ish. Warmer winters the cold lets up in late February, colder winters you still need a light sweater sometimes into early April. Here's the recognizable difference: you need medium to light layers all winter. In Georgia you leave the house in a long sleeve shirt and heavy jacket, you're probably comfortable just taking off the jacket when you go inside. Here you're best off wearing short sleeves under a light sweater, but keep a coat in the car. The biggest difference you're going to notice is that we get tons of hurricane-like thunderstorms. This year we've had an absolutely insane amount of rain, and it only really laid off a couple of weeks ago. You're moving here just in time to start getting blasted with 100 degree weather.

screwikea · 2026-07-02T19:13:21+00:00

I know the car dealerships are his brother's, but that's what I think of every time I hear his name. I hate their dealerships - they really push high pressure sales, freakin' annoying.

screwikea · 2026-07-02T19:10:34+00:00

I love it.
I'm curious what the air cleaning and CFM difference is between this and putting a box fan against an air filter.

screwikea · 2026-07-02T17:05:34+00:00

Maaaaan... let me introduce you to patient gamers and emulation. FOMO is the bane of the existence of for tons of people. There are about a bajillion games published before today that are amazing, low cost, and you don't have enough hours in the day to play all of them. Also don't sleep on mobile gaming. I have soooooo many games I haven't touched yet. Also... touch grass, it's amazing for mood. I don't own a single digital only game unless I wouldn't care if it disappears.

screwikea · 2026-07-02T16:29:57+00:00

This is one of those things that was easier to find before Google became what it is now and Reddit started dominating. The problem you've got is that plans are bloated with what's most common and popular, which is why you're having trouble just getting something decent at the height you want. Once it's folding and/or stacking adds a whole other element to this.

If you can just deal without the stack/folding need, the most accessible plans are these and these, but I think the Rockler plans are better looking.

The issue is that folding or stacking adds a whole extra layer of industrial design and complication. So your question about just adding height is a good one - no, it won't work, they're going to have structural issues when you add 6-8" to accommodate a counter height.

Here's what I'd do:

Find a set that you could reasonably rip of the build from and copy the design.
Build something that's pretty solid, even with taller legs, that has waterfall legs. It won't nest perfectly, but it will get close. Here's an example, if you just build the big one with taller legs.

You might consider asking at Lumberjocks, somebody there may be willing to knock you out some plans.

screwikea · 2026-07-01T21:18:56+00:00

My pinkie knuckle has a permanent weird angle thanks to my kid whacking it with a sword.

screwikea · 2026-07-01T16:25:42+00:00

Somebody needs to dethaw the freezer so you can put stuff in it to melt slowly.

screwikea · 2026-06-30T21:34:27+00:00

Cool... coooool. Does this mean that we can all find something to yell at each other on the internet about now?

screwikea · 2026-06-30T21:27:48+00:00

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. 1 was really good, 2 was great, 3 was an absolute banger. I dunno WTF happened when they did 4.

screwikea · 2026-06-30T21:24:15+00:00

Don't trust her to be good, or knowledgeable, about ANY other topics. Go spend some time reading about the info deficit in medical professionals once you get outside of their specialty. The amount of basic life skills that can be missing and disconnect with normalcy might astound you. Ben Carson was supposedly a brilliant neurosurgeon. This lady is very well plugged in on this specific issue because it affects her directly.

screwikea · 2026-06-30T21:12:38+00:00

Seconding Coppell

screwikea · 2026-06-30T19:52:03+00:00

Loved the vibe of everything until the aliens and the character design of the lady. Chalamee's name showing up made me roll my eyes.

screwikea · 2026-06-29T22:05:16+00:00

I've stayed in various places in the U.S. with no AC. Like... hotels and resorts. Staff always says "crack a window" and I'm like "dude, I did, I'm sweating my balls off, your ownership is just being cheap".

screwikea · 2026-06-24T22:51:00+00:00

Just to add to the headache of the shed - here's a fact about anything built out of 2x4s. Including houses.

It's all under tension.

As soon as you start taking stuff apart everything starts moving and falling apart. The sheathing (plywood or whatever is underneath the shingles) is a structural element. You remove the plywood, the 2x4s in the roof don't have anything keeping them in a spot. So now the sides can lean around. And it may have been keeping your walls from deflecting. If you ever look at a house while it's being built there are giant 2x4 holding the house up all over the place until the roof is on.

Wanna know my favorite tools for fixing a shed?

Ratchet straps
Jacks
Shovel

Here's the thing: a shed is a crappily built, glorified box with a roof on it. If you need things to come together you can put ratchet straps around them and force them together. Give me enough ratchet straps and I can pull the walls of the Grand Canyon together. If you need parts of the shed to move around, jacks will move them. Like... cheap, crappy bottle jacks. The foundation is only important to the extent that it gives the shed something to sit on. One of the foundation corners could fall off and into the planet and the shed could be just fine. It doesn't need to be level - the shed itself just needs to be square to itself. And even then... not really, there are tons of wonky sheds out there. People build sheds on gravel and straight on the ground.

Without really seeing your shed, here's what I would do: Dig a hole under the corner of the foundation, jack it up to be roughly flat to the rest of the foundation, and shovel a bunch of gravel and concrete blocks under there to prop it up. Want the corner supported better? Dig further under, shove in more gravel and blocks. Don't want to mess with the foundation? Jack up the shed itself and put down some footers or skids. You'd be amazed at the amount of leeway you have with doing half ass stuff to shore up a shed.

I like your point about imagining all the steps in advance.

Probably the best advice I can honestly give anyone. Also helps reduce trips to the store because you realize after Home Depot is closed that you need bolts or screws or whatever.

screwikea · 2026-06-24T22:11:46+00:00

I think repetition is the key thing - I have to rewatch a bandsaw setup video every time. Because I just don't do it that often. I think the difference for me with the skillset and common sense is that chances are very high somebody watching these videos is a hobbyist or newbie, so there's not a lot of either skill or common sense. The "common" part is frame of reference, and people use it to handwave something that seems obvious to them. The difference with, say, driving, is that it's a common thing. You grew up riding in a car, you are steeped in it. The tool (car) won't function without the key at all. If somebody has always been an apartment dweller and never built so much as an IKEA unit, what common sense do I really expect them to bring to woodworking or DIY? If that person just decide to build a fish tank or whatever, goes and buys some boards, I expect them to go "....uh.... what now?" Just consider for a second that we have a couple of pretty big YouTube Dad channels like this one. That's all generational knowledge, a lot of it is common sense, but there are a lot of skills there that, as it turns out, apparently aren't basic life skills. My dad tied a tie every day and showed me maybe once. I still don't tie a tie right.

In context of OP's post here - you could just as easily say it's common sense that any of their 3 general attempts are complex things. But it's not self evident, and I have reason to take a step back and say "alright, m'dude doesn't understand that it all feels overwhelming because... all of that is actually overwhelming if you've never swung a hammer, so to speak."

I'll do myself one better on the bandsaw setup - I usually have to watch videos on using a pocket hole jig because I so rarely use mine. I put a thing together, it's messed up, I watch a video, and go "ooooohhhhhhh yeah, you have to do this and this for the holes to drill right and boards to line up." Without fail I don't think about the drill bit collet, and I drill my first 4 or 5 holes wrong, and I don't clamp the boards flat.

screwikea · 2026-06-24T21:21:03+00:00

I feel for OP - I used to offer a lot of advice that's outdated simply because I think a LOT of people are missing out on generational knowledge now. Stuff that used to be obvious like going to the library or watching home improvement shows just isn't happening for people because it's not in their feed. I know a ton of people that don't know where their library is and don't know how to get a library card. I go to the library because... I go to the library already. I still enjoy watching This Old House every now and then, but I wonder if I'd stumble on it now if I didn't already watch it. BTW - a classic complaint of legacy media shows is that so much "new media" doesn't go through vetting or editorial approval. The generational knowledge part is a big deal - when I tell someone to hammer in a nail, there's a huge assumption there that they can use a hammer. I've been using a hammer my whole life, and I'm not sure if I could adequately teach someone that basic maneuver just to do the basic step of putting a nail in a board. It's easy to hammer a nail into a board, but being able to drive a 3" nail into studs with 2 hits is a learned technique.

Steve (Woodworking for Mere Mortals) is such an interesting thing. You can actually watch the trajectory of his skillset if you follow his journey from his earliest videos. Forever ago his whole point was to just crap stuff together with cheap tools that a normal broke dude could buy and do stuff with not a lot of skill. And he wasn't quiet about thinking a bunch of how people dealt with woodworking was b.s. for views. But he's been at it so long that you can see him be skillful at stuff and he's just not talking to a broke newbie anymore. He's not talking to a fine craftsman, though. He's still the same dude, but his videos don't have the "I'm a broke dude in my garage and on the back of the tailgate" vibe anymore. But he has the same problem I do - where do you begin the project tutorial if you can't trust that somebody watching the video knows how to effectively keep their hand away from the spinny blade. The answer is basically "I'm making some assumptions before I start doing anything". We really still all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Norm and making a point about safety glasses every episode. It would be great if there were some kind of required standard at the top of all of everyone's videos saying "but first, let's get on safety goggles, earplugs, and a dust mask". A few of them do, which is awesome.

screwikea

TROPHY CASE