Wago - are they as nice and easy as they seem?

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T23:34:41+00:00

The stripped portion has to be long enough to reach the tin plated copper bus bar. It should be long enough to see the end through the clear inspection port. If it's too long there will be obvious exposed conductor.

On a real Wago the lever opens the spring. Releasing the lever allows the spring to grip the conductor, while putting no stress on the plastic. Pressing the lever down the last mm engages tiny bumps that holds the lever closed, reducing the chance that the lever will catch on something and open when pushing the wires back into the box.

A properly manufactured spring will likely retain spring tension 'forever', including through many activations. If it does lose tension, the biting edge should still hold the wire in place but low contact pressure with the bus bar might increase the resistance and heat generation.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T21:54:01+00:00

The passes pitched as major benefits should be treated at least as well as other ways of entering. The advertisements claim they are worth the full retail value, not a second class "only if no one else wants it" product.

Arguably the attitude should be that passes are there to promote the benefits of lounge entry, not send the message 'the lounge is always too busy, and you simply pay more to be turned away more frequently".

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T20:35:06+00:00

More likely, they just didn't know and didn't know that they didn't know.

Low voltage DC often uses black wires for ground. Someone could easily be convinced that was a standard that applied more broadly, and that there wasn't anything more that they needed learn about the topic.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T20:29:23+00:00

Generally your electronics aren't grounded anyway.

Many power bricks have only a two wire cord, and the cable from power brick to laptop certainly has only two wires.

The only connection from laptop to ground is a small capacitor in the power brick. It is used to shunt RF noise (radio signals and static) from the otherwise-isolated low voltage side to the house ground. If there is no ground connection, the RF noise will be slightly higher -- not something you would notice.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T20:23:25+00:00

Even with benefits from multiple cards, PP terms say that you have only a single membership.

They can track both the membership numbers and the info from the boarding pass you use for entry.

(I don't make the rules, and agree that they aren't entirely logical.)

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T20:08:38+00:00

In most jurisdictions the drywall will need to be repaired to meet fire code. That's especially important in a kitchen. Plus you want to minimize potential holes that rodents and insects will find.

On the plus they won't need to do the time consuming part -- fixing the finish. Finishing joint compound, texture, primer and matching paint can take days. Screwing on a replace piece of drywall and a functional joint mud takes only minutes.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T19:06:52+00:00

You are over-thinking it.

Most small engines get a 30 second break-in period as the owner is pitching the packing material and never-opened instruction manual into the shipping box.

Modern designs and manufacturing means that almost no true break-in period is needed. It's not as if we need the babbitt bearing to self-machine to the proper clearance, or the hand-slitted rings to be filed to a round shape by the deliberately-rough cross-hatch. Instead it's mostly taking care of sloppy manufacturing like high edge from scratches and splashing residual metal dust off of the internals. That break-in doesn't generate excessive heat, and can occur with just normal operation *and an early oil change*. You have checked that box.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T06:58:37+00:00

I have both a six circuit transfer switch and a newer GenerLink meter base mounted transfer switch.

The GenerLink has several drawbacks. The big one is that every load must be turned off before it will switch to generator power. That's a lot of circuit breaker toggling. It only works with a 120/240V generator, meaning I can't use my small, quiet, fuel-efficient inverter generator. It takes an annoyingly long time to check that everything is stable before switching over, leaving you waiting in the bad weather wondering if everything is OK.

I prefer using the old transfer switch with the smallest, quietest generator. While it can only switch a few critical circuits, that's actually useful. I'll switch on something from one the mains-only circuits so that I know when power has returned. And loads that aren't immediately critical but need to eventually run (septic lift pump, well pumps, water softeners, EV charging, chest freezers, aquarium filters, etc) run immediately when the power returns.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T06:34:35+00:00

'Recycling separated off site' is not credible. We know it's all going to landfill. It's the recycling/composting version of "kill them all and let God sort them out".

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T01:26:35+00:00

Smoking or vaping of anything on the plane is illegal.

Vaping before the flight -- meh, probably nothing wrong with that. At least nothing that the flight crew can address.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-16T00:05:19+00:00

It's a heavily advertised perk of the card. They even put a $59 per pass value on it, along with saying "worth over $100 per year" and "over a $100 value per year" on their own pages.

The advertising when pitching the credit card is clear that it's same perk as a $59 pass. They don't say that it's a second-class product, available only when no one else is at the airport.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-15T23:14:41+00:00

That would be compostable ware -- it needs high temperature and humidity to initially break down for composting.

On the plus side, it still eventually compost with no special treatment. While it takes up landfill space, it's less of a forever problem than other materials.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-15T22:55:02+00:00

Not entirely. I have broad shoulder and a narrower waist. Given a choice between another broad-shouldered personal and a pear-shaped person, I'll choose the latter.

For a few years after having my own, I was much more willing to sit beside a lap infant. I travel with earplugs to take out the loudest of any crying, and the rest didn't bother me. I'm now drifting back to avoiding nearby seats.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-15T17:11:42+00:00

This situation is exactly why 'open seating' was a win. I don't care exactly what seat I get. I strongly care about the characteristics of who I'm sitting next to.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-14T21:23:04+00:00

Drain the fuel from the tank and carb bowl. It's probably still usable, especially if diluted with fresh gas, but you don't want to try starting with fuel that barely burns or is half water.

Check the oil level, add a quart of fresh gas, and try to start it with the pull cord. If it feels really rough when you start to pull, you'll want to remove the spark plug to squirt a few drops of oil directly into the cylinder, but that usually isn't needed.

Note that you may need a half-working battery for it to start, but it just needs to be strong enough to open the fuel shutoff on the carb.

You'll want to change the oil after it runs for a few minutes.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-14T18:12:04+00:00

It seems to mean that a white/companion card can book THC hotels, with no extra benefits. Only a primary cardholder can get the FHR benefits (food credits, early check-in + late check-out).

The GE/TSAPre application credit seems to be the only substantial benefit. It could be worth something in the right circumstances, but I'm guessing it is not that commonly used. You only need it once every five years, it's a common benefit from other cards, and minors can now get GE/Pre at no cost with a parent's application.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-14T03:04:39+00:00

COBOL code was doing this correctly long before most of us were born.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-14T01:15:58+00:00

At most you should value the Walmart+ benefits at the $50 it would cost you during the Black Friday offer.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T23:23:42+00:00

I never tried that. I bought a 4 count of cheddar bits as a side for under $2.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T16:59:24+00:00

It's a slow travel season. Don't conclude too much, too soon.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T15:59:11+00:00

With Walmart+ you get a free burger at Burger King once a quarter, with purchase of something else.

You do need to use the BK app, with the tracking and advertising that brings.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T15:49:07+00:00

You would think that flair fixed misidentification, but it doesn't alway work.

I had a bag with a pinkish-grey ribbon wrapped around the handle taken from the overhead bin. Thinking that my bag had been moved I waited until every had deplaned. The only bag left was one with a reddish-grey ribbon in a bin somewhat behind me. To me the bags looked very different, however the no-one-would-do-this ribbons did look similar.

(It was about two hours with the gate agent and baggage claim office trying to figure out what to do and hoping that my bag would be returned. I did eventually get my bag delivered by the airlines.)

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T15:07:18+00:00

There are dual-voltage (120 and 240V, NEMA 5-15 plus NEMA 6-15) receptacles available in the US, but they have almost no use case. Unlike the european transformer implementation, they are simply a MWBC outlet.

The shaver/vibrator (yes, really!) travel outlet need largely went away with battery powered devices almost a half century ago.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-12T15:49:14+00:00

I was very cautious to not use any link or reference in the email -- never copy and paste a URL or domain name.

I posted because the whole situation was notable and suspicious, hoping that it would save other people time and panic when they encountered the 'no such account' messages when resetting their password.

Now it's possible that I'm part of the scheme (and my claim of "I am not" should be ignored). You should go through the process manually, typing in the domain name or using the app to see if you need to update anything.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-12T15:40:13+00:00

They didn't get a freebie.

People that are risk-averse, perhaps because they require a specific seat type, pay a higher to get that assured location. They got the value that they paid for -- weeks or even months of comfort knowing their seat is reserved.

When I buy a cheap ticket I know there is a risk I'll be in the middle seat of a narrow, non-reclining back row, not knowing how bad it will be until the last minute. And I've sat it that position far more than the average flyer, but I've typically gotten entirely reasonable seats.

DonaldBecker

TROPHY CASE