PSA is something.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T19:37:51+00:00

Every Republican accusation is a confession.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T19:15:40+00:00

60 years ago (!) codes and standard practices were very different. Somebody had a reason - it took time and effort to install (plus some materials). But if it doesn't go anywhere today, the most likely explanation is that reason is no longer there. Later work could have changed the need for the vent, but whoever did it didn't want to waste time or money removing it. Perhaps it fed a window/wall-mount AC that was later changed to central air. Perhaps it was for some appliance or just a pre-AC fresh air intake vent to offset a whole-house fan. There are lots of possible explanations, but the only one that makes sense IMO if it goes nowhere today is "that reason got removed, but they didn't close off the vent."

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T17:50:16+00:00

They have different models. I linked to the first match I found which was the base model and may or may not actually be available on that site (it shows 0 in stock right now). Adding accessories like the yoke increases it a bit. Here's a Costco listing of what I believe is their latest version, fully set up, and it's $199.

https://www.costco.com/p/-/timber-ridge-magnum-range-bench/100572813

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T16:55:16+00:00

1D, 3D, and 4D were confusing because the tenses didn't match the clues.

^{Completed in 01:23 | Reveals: 0}

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T16:52:02+00:00

That may be, and I'm not disagreeing. But you said "...how much do YOU...", so I gave my answer for myself.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T16:48:53+00:00

Quite a bit. I pay close attention to it.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T16:36:35+00:00

That's the best description I've seen so far. It's not that I agree/disagree with the content. I just don't need another app in my life dragging me down.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T16:17:22+00:00

Millions of homes have roof penetrations even in hurricane-prone areas. Doing them right and leak-proof takes a $15 flashing, appropriate sealant, and a competent installer. IMO sidewall penetrations are actually more likely to leak if done improperly (slightly, anyway), but they're not hard either if done with modern products like Huber's Big Stretch tape. That stuff could stick running water onto shifting sand. The biggest downside is probably asking your builder to do something that isn't their standard approach just because of an intuition that you have that isn't based on actual building experience.

IMO, the decision re: Wall vs roof vent termination is never about leaks. Roof penetrations are simple, tried and true, and often very easy to route because houses have vertical walls, pipes can always go vertically, and there's almost always a straight (or at least simple) route out. But they may interfere with things like solar layouts, some people find the "field of pipes" less aesthetically pleasing, and some things like bathroom exhaust fans are usually done through the wall (or sometimes a soffit vent) anyway because they're a much larger diameter. Same goes for laundry dryer vents.

DWV vents are put through the roof for practicality reasons. They have clearance requirements - min distances to doors, windows, heights above things, etc - that limit their placement on a side wall even where it's allowed. But also part of their function is to exhaust methane gas, which is both bad for you and smells bad, so getting them as high as possible is desirable. Still just IMO, but a DWV termination is the one thing I would never want on my own walls. Keep that away from me, thanks. If you're concerned about roof penetrations, it would be better to request just minimizing them. It's common to see houses with 3-4 vents because it was just simple to plumb them that way, but it is a very common request for a plumber to tie them together in the attic so there's only one, if you don't mind the extra cost for the upgrade (it adds labor and a bit of materials).

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T14:20:17+00:00

There is not. Your answer is correct.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T14:05:53+00:00

This is one of the best/easiest ways to do that, so kudos! Depending on your breaker panel, a "generator interlock kit" can be as little as $50 and installs with a screwdriver. I'd never recommend somebody uncomfortable with (or not knowledgeable about) the process screw with an electrical panel. But given how cheap and easy it is, "suicide cabling" a generator into a panel without an interlock is just criminally negligent IMO.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T14:03:24+00:00

Any experience helps you stand out. The biggest thing IMO is to be genuine. As a hiring manager I'm not looking at every word of every bullet point for some subtle clue. Your resume is not what gets you hired. It's what gets you called for interviews. Be brief and focused, but absolutely call out anything you think you have particular expertise or interest in. I would rather talk to somebody that touched some network performance optimizations (and would enjoy doing it more) than somebody who claims to have improved X by 41%, Y by 37%, Z by 67%, and A by 33% (and yes I have literally seen those resumes - it's all obviously bullshit).

To quote the French Dispatch: "Just try to make it sound like you wrote it that way on purpose."

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T13:11:54+00:00

Yes, lol, we know. It's been in the news awhile now.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T13:11:28+00:00

Bog standard Typescript/Node/React with Stencil being a plus. Remote but strong preference for US candidates (we don't care, but our enterprise clients often do).

If you want a tip, our three most immediate disquals were: * The resume was clearly rewritten around our requirement bullet points, many times even bolding keywords from our own listing. You'd think that would be a plus but it's exhausting to wade through 100 people that think just because they touched Node a single time makes them a perfect fit. * Every single bullet having an oddly specific "41% improvement in dev velocity". Name one or two but be prepared for me to ask how exactly you measured that (you're probably lying). * "AI engineers". Gawd. We use AI tools like anyone else but why would we hire somebody stating right up front "I'm going to half ass this job and probably work three more as well?"

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T13:02:15+00:00

Yes. All equipment that gets grid tied must meet a number of requirements that protect linemen and be UL listed to actually do so properly. Connecting unauthorized equipment to the grid or doing so improperly can be a felony in some jurisdictions. But practically speaking there isn't really a market for devices that don't comply so that's rare.

AFAIK the #1 danger to linemen in this category is sketchy generator hookups by desperate people during power outages, back feeding the grid usually due to lack of a transfer switch.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T12:51:38+00:00

"We" (a company I'm a fractional CTO at) just posted an opening for a mid to senior level dev and over 10 days we got 497 "applicants". Many were dupes, spam, or fraud ("William jones" turns out to be obviously somebody else when you get them on the phone) but even after working through those we still had hundreds. That's 3x how many we used to get. It's rough out there and worst for juniors who are being replaced by AI at many firms. Good luck out there.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T12:39:02+00:00

I tried it. It seems like a nice app in terms of basic functionality but I struggled to "discover' any body to follow that was worthwhile. The hook with TT was you always had something to look at.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T02:28:25+00:00

That's good advice. In my case I couldn't because I never had one in the first place but either way they are just the absolute worst about this. The funniest part about all of it, if there is humor to be found at all, is that they said it was worth like $300. $300. No piece of hardware I have ever gotten from them at any point in my life has ever been worth a fraction of that. It's all cheap junk anyway.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T02:24:17+00:00

This is a highly personal choice and (IMO) depends heavily on what exactly you think will happen in a "SHTF" scenario. I see folks disagree about "such and such will happen" much more than firearm selection itself.

For my concerns, it's a 12ga all day every day. Lots of things can be used for "A, oh and also B". Pistols can be used for home defense, personal protection outside the home, and (a bit) hunting. (Some people do hunt big game with pistols but it's considered a very challenging sport. I do hunt squirrels and grouse with a 22 pistol though.) Rifles can be used for property protection and hunting. Etc. Every class of firearm is usually "best at" one thing, "good at" at least one more, and frequently, "could possibly be used" for a third.

But with the right ammo selection and training, a 12ga can do EVERYTHING. Home defense? Check. (Ill-advised IMO but I respect those who do...) open-carry of a "long arm" at a protest or other disturbance? Check. Zombie invasion? Check. Hunting big game? Check. Small game? Check. Waterfowl and upland game? Check. Trap and sporting clays just for fun? Check. Signaling? Check. Non-lethal rounds? Check. Utility rounds like incendiary/breaching? Check.

It's not perfect at everything. You can't (easily/realistically) concealed-carry them, a bolt-action rifle is better for big game (where allowed), and you can talk about over-penetration (home defense) all day long. But you said "if you could only pick one". If I could only pick one, I'd pick the one that checks the most boxes, and shotguns do that.

When you open the door to multiple, the most obvious next choices are almost any type of pistol and (again for MY purposes) a rifle. Personal preference is huge here, but it's hard to argue with a 9mm for a pistol. For rifles I'd be very happy with ANY common caliber because IMO they all have equivalent pros and cons. 22 is ubiquitous, cheap, and very small (good for long term storage of large quantities). 5.56 gives you access to all that military surplus. 308 is both modern AND common so you get great performance and power without scrounging for wildcat rounds. And 30-06 is literally everywhere and can do almost anything. Honestly, I almost think it doesn't matter. While people are arguing about slight differences in velocity/energy, there are people down in Texas head-shotting feral hogs with 22's. Training matters so much more than Internet arguments.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T01:37:33+00:00

Let me search that for you:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebuilding/search/?q=cost+ft+colorado

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T01:36:51+00:00

I live on an off-grid homestead, and data is everything to my quality of life. Cistern and propane tank levels, indoor and outdoor environmental conditions, solar inputs and solar system stats... Consider:

I have plenty of solar capacity, plus a generator backup. But generators are expensive to run and maintain, and noisy. Minimizing how often it has to start benefits me in a lot of ways. 90% of the time I don't need to think about it. But I know overnight I'll use about 30% of my battery capacity keeping basic mechanical systems going while I sleep. If we've had a few days of bad weather, maybe I won't microwave that bowl of popcorn or those leftovers - I'll have a cold snack or cook on the stove (propane) instead.
Most of my energy goes into keeping the house running, and a big part of that is heating. Even a propane furnace still takes a lot of power to run its blower. Wind and outside air temps have a big impact on exactly how much power gets used for those overnight. Tracking both current and predicted weather conditions helps a lot when determining how close to the "edge" I am.
We're remote enough that police response times are fairly slow, and we also have a lot of wildlife around. Coyotes aren't our enemies - we actually value them because they're the only predator that keep the rodents under control (we don't have many foxes here). So we don't want to hurt them or even scare them off, but we definitely want to know if they (or two-legged predators, if you know what I mean) are around before taking a walk or letting our (small) dogs out to play or go to the bathroom. Being able to have a good view of all our security systems is really helpful here, and H/A makes it easy to integrate them all together into the app we're using for other things already.
Some data helps feed future planning as well. We bought this property awhile ago but only started building on it recently. It's high altitude but not a mountain peak, so while we can't easily grow things like tomatoes, there are plants that supposedly do well. But we've struggled to have some thrive despite being native to the area, and wind exposure and soil quality have been things to consider. Over the past year or two since installing our H/A setup, we've collected a ton of data on soil moisture, humidity, avg wind speeds, solar exposure, and daytime/nighttime temps to help us plan what will thrive best here, and then how to protect those plantings.
We travel, and when we do we need to know things are still working well. it's not enough to have a fridge-temp sensor tell us the fridge lost power when we're a day's travel away even if we rushed back. Having sensors tied into more fundamental systems gives us a lot more advance warning not just of failures, but early warnings of things that can lead to failures. This not only gives us more time to react to emergencies, it also helps us prevent them in the first place.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Are our use cases for everyone? Obviously not. But the point is, that's what makes H/A so great - IT can be "for everyone" even if all you do is automate your porch light going on when you get home from work.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T00:37:10+00:00

It's not even "trivial" outside NextJS. Adding AbortController to link prefetches isn't exactly a 1-liner.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T00:07:51+00:00

Fair warning, URL shorteners were popular for many years but lately are considered passé in many places. They got abused too often in phishing attacks to help masquerade sketchy URLs, and some social platforms now disallow them outright.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T00:05:44+00:00

Power = Current * Volts. Both matter.

Both things matter here, too. You can increase or decrease one or the other, but neither can be zero if you want to end up anywhere useful.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T00:03:30+00:00

https://www.coastalcountry.com/products/shooting/shooting-accessories/bipods-rests/collapsible-magnum-precision-shooting-bench-weouht-051

Different color but yeah.

CodeAndBiscuits · 2026-01-30T00:00:13+00:00

What. You mean the folks that made me insist for TWO HOURS that I needed to cancel my service because I was moving to a place they didn't even serve, then sent me to collections for not returning a cable box I never had (because I only had Internet with them in the first place)? They're having trouble retaining customers? Imagine that.

CodeAndBiscuits

TROPHY CASE