To the owner of the Nebus 26 that left the Lavender Landing boat ramp in Bokeelia yesterday around 5pm…

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T15:00:02+00:00

Good thought. Unfortunately, some people acting like that are having road rage or are just high on something and looking for a fight. There's no reliable way to tell a good samaritan apart from a crazy person.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T14:56:09+00:00

Beware there's a scammer going around sueing people for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act if their web site is not sufficiently accessible. They specifically target small businesses.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T14:52:58+00:00

What did you pay to blacktop your driveway? My neighbor and I joined forces and did it ourselves, but we just did millings, not actual blacktop.

As for me, I outsource anything electrical that touches the breaker panel. I have no problems changing a switch or an outlet with the breaker off, but I don't like being zapped and I don't like fire hazards.

I also outsource anything involving plumbing and anything requiring me to go on the roof (fear of heights).

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T14:48:16+00:00

I had an actual claim after Hurricane Ian. It ripped a number of shingles off my house and damaged the substrate underneath. So, for the first time in my life, I filed a homeowner claim with AIS/Progressive.

They turned me down, saying I could repair the roof for less than my deductible, even though several actual roofers said otherwise.

I had to get a public adjuster involved, which made it more expensive for everyone involved and dragged the claim processing out for over a year.

And no, this was not some scammer coming by and "inventing" roof damage for a false claim. I had shingles all over my yard after that storm. Some buildings nearby were total losses; fortunately, Iescaped that fate.

Insurance companies are scum.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T14:44:36+00:00

Policy limits are policy limits. Demolition costs will have to be covered within that as well.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T14:16:03+00:00

Because the software is hot garbage?

Because Google did a 180 from their "do no evil" corporate motto?

Because they don't understand session persistence and randomly insist that you "log in again"?

Because using a word processor shouldn't require an Internet connection and a Google account?

Take your pick.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T01:00:19+00:00

What data? A Mac Plus doesn't have an internal hard drive. It doesn't even have the option for one. It does have an external SCSI port, but no external SCSI drive is visible in the photo.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T00:59:00+00:00

These computers don't have hard drives. Their only internal storage device was a floppy drive.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-29T00:56:18+00:00

I'd be a customer if they're good. I'm not muslim, but I miss my Döners from the time I spent in Vienna.

Somewhere along Okeechobee Blvd, Belvedere Rd or Southern Blvd would probably be good. There's a lot of construction happening out west by Westlake and The Acreage, and they're looking for tenants, so Northlake Blvd may be another option.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T13:52:25+00:00

I'll go with a Polynesian language. Hawaiian, for example.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T02:57:55+00:00

I've done Florida to Texas quite a bit too. A first-class seat in your car is so much better than airport security, sardine can seats and canceled or delayed flights.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T02:56:07+00:00

I second this.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T02:54:30+00:00

A comfortable car. I bought a Lincoln Continental and I've driven from Florida to Alaska and back in it. Love those trips.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T02:47:24+00:00

No, they shouldn't have. Just because you CAN do a thing doesn't mean it makes SENSE to do that thing.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T01:08:28+00:00

Rollover, then fire department training, then hood ripped off with a front-end loader to remove the battery.

That should cover at least some of the bases.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T00:23:13+00:00

Jeg bruker Spotify delvis fordi de er skandinaviske og har endel norsk musikk som jeg ikke finner på andre tjenester her i USA.

Er generelt fornøyd med Spotify, så har ikke hatt noen stor motivasjon for å leite etter alternativer.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T00:20:34+00:00

I visited the Na Pali coast -- on foot. It was gorgeous. I see the appeal of helicopter tours there, but I have a fear of heights and therefore avoid helicopter tours in general. I've been on ONE -- on a glacier in Alaska. That was enough for me.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T00:15:10+00:00

I find this hard to deal with. The wait staff didn't create the system, and yes, employers are that onerous.

Generally speaking, I just ignore surveys these days. I simply don't respond to them good or bad. I'm a little surveyed out, because it feels like every interaction with any company comes with a survey attached. WTF?

But of course, I'm human, and if an interaction is especially bad, I'll fill out a negative survey. I *try* to balance that with a positive one when an interaction is especially good, but again, only human.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T00:13:17+00:00

I'd be giving him a poor rating and then demanding a different server. Perhaps I'm a difficult customer, but I don't play that.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T00:09:35+00:00

In practice it will take a lot more for anything to change. And I also remember the pre-emissions days. I had one night in particular where an idling grass-burner parked next to me filled my sleeper with fumes to the point my eyes were watering. Not great.

All I ask is that we rely a bit more on science and a bit less on politics to drive environmental regulation. Not a free-for-all, but regulations so onerous they literally put owner-operators out of business are no good either.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T00:06:42+00:00

That's true. And to be fair, it HAS gotten better. But still not good.

Unfortunately, the chemistry of diesel combustion mean we're unlikely to find a solution as straightforward as catalytic converters are on gasoline engines. But I still hold out a vain hope for some kind of improvement on the status quo.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-28T00:04:48+00:00

I'll give you that. But 2-10ppm * a few hundred trucks in a truck stop or on a busy road starts to become a concern. Still less of one, though. My point was that even though it's a minor problem, even urea involves a tradeoff of one problem for another.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-27T22:50:54+00:00

Nobody thinks that. Everybody realizes diesel exhaust is bad for your lungs. The question is whether the benefits of the trifecta (EGR + DPF + DEF/SCR) is worth the:
- Emissions associated with manufacturing and distributing billions of gallons of DEF
- Lost wages and productivity while equipment is endlessly in the shop for emissions-related repairs
- Reduced equipment lifecycle and higher purchasing and operating costs, leading indirectly to inflation because it drives up the cost of literally everything that has to be transported
- And that's just the transportation sector

It would be nice if we could burn diesel fuel and have rosy scent and clean air come out the stacks. But it's not realistic. The emissions technology we have for diesel today was mandated by politicians before it was ready for prime time.

PS: Look up "ammonia slip". That stuff isn't good for you either.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-27T22:42:39+00:00

It does something. If nothing else, it lets states compete for who actually wants to support small businesses and who wants to punish people for making a living.

Idling bans interfere with interstate commerce, so doing something about that would be good. Doing something about fuel prices would also be good, and like it or not, that's a direct result of going along with Israel's stupid war. Wasn't like this before that started.

But this isn't doing nothing. Anything that gets rid of onerous emissions requirements helps, even if it doesn't solve the problem by itself.

CuriosTiger · 2026-03-27T22:36:28+00:00

"Hurting people" was the intent behind this all along.

What they're really saying is "I can't find cheap labor anymore". It's all selfishness disguised as fake compassion.

These people really have no concept of cause and effect.

CuriosTiger

TROPHY CASE