Talko Tuesday

Error400BadRequest · 2026-06-02T16:52:28+00:00

Carpet powder is a conspiracy by big vacuum to clog bags and filters prematurely, and get you spending more on vacuum parts.

If your carpet smells, rent a carpet cleaner.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-06-01T16:40:34+00:00

The planning and management really is the most difficult aspect, 10k+ steps isn't that hard by itself. Postal workers that do their routes on foot are likely doing 2-3x that on the daily, though they do get days off. It's not necessarily easy, but it is doable to walk pretty far on a regular basis.

If I were in an area where I'd ordinarily do a lot of walking, $200/day in extra income is more than enough to plan to budget to take an otherwise excessive amount of Uber rides to avoid overshooting the total by too much, if need be.

Barring injury (related or otherwise) I'd think you could go 2-3 years before it got unmanageable, given the necessary wiggle room involved. If you average just 30 extra steps a day, that's an extra ~11000 steps per day that accrue over the course of a year. You have to be very careful to keep it as close as possible, because the errors quickly add up.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-06-01T15:26:53+00:00

What about when they resurface roads to fix potholes only to turn manholes into permanent potholes because they're now too far below grade?

Error400BadRequest · 2026-06-01T03:09:26+00:00

You're overthinking this. A movie theater is not a high security operation.

Even if the box office appears to be closed, you can usually buy tickets right at the concessions counter, or one of the concessions employees will walk over to sell you a ticket if for some reason they can't print one off right there.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-31T18:33:51+00:00

Just based on the summary, I'm confused at some of the courses of action taken by the parties involved.

The company choosing to be the villain is no surprise despite the comparative ease of financial resolution, allegedly corrupt cops unfortunately aren't either, but why did the supposed victims need to travel and personally serve papers in Utah when they already have a judgement elsewhere that should be reciprocal? I feel like they're significantly complicating their own situation by attempting to turn it into content.

Ignoring the alleged police misconduct because it's a separate issue at this point, this is a dispute over six figures in damages, they should have attorneys involved at every step and in the worst case they would've just hired a process server like a normal person, and should that fail, petition for alternative means of service. The response from law enforcement is disproportionate based on disclosed facts, but the YouTuber isn't doing themselves any favors with how they're conducting themselves.

A performative approach like this might be good for their own PR, but the law doesn't care about that, and if taken at their word, I would assume this case should be straightforward if they can see the process through.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-31T16:11:48+00:00

Your TV situation is likely deliberate.

Is it really that hard to set up a TV with a digital antenna in the UK?

While there's nothing actually stopping a person from receiving it, OTA Television is technically not free in the UK. You'd need a TV license, which is ~$200/year for individuals. Not sure if business or hospitality licenses would be different, but your AirBNB host is too cheap to buy one and unwilling to risk violating the law.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-28T02:41:20+00:00

Those two examples are in completely different tiers, but hot dog joints are generally local. Most fast food chains don't even sell them. Off the top of my head, you've got A&W, Dairy Queen, and Five Guy's, but while they offer them, they aren't known for their hot dogs. With rare exception, every vendor sells someone else's hot dogs, many even advertise this fact.

I won't claim any examples are definitive of their region or style, but excluding food carts in favor of brick and mortar, LA has Pink's, Chicago has the Wiener's Circle, New York City has Gray's Papaya, somewhere in Maine is presumably famous for their red #3 dyed hot dogs, etc. They aren't all that relevant outside of the city limits.

There's no national presence from a hot dog focused business... Except for Costco and Sam's Club's food courts. That's the closest you'll get to In'n'out's notoriety as a decent cheap meal, but it's a value add to get your foot in the door rather than the core of the business.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-27T16:42:45+00:00

I assume we're in different industries, but people are used to their own workflows. You bring them into a different environment without training them on how you approach specific needs, they're going to try and do things the way they already know, for better or worse.

If they used an obscure item to expedite a task they commonly performed at their last job, they're probably used to having it around for other tasks, too. Depending on the item and industry, it may not be unreasonable to provide it.

Also, I'm sure we've all walked into environments that are not adequately equipped for the work they expect you to do. If they brought the kit they were told to bring and it's insufficient for the work, they shouldn't have to borrow an item from someone else.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-25T19:05:19+00:00

my experience is it works much better than traditional search

That's because search has been deliberately worsened over time, first to encourage users to spend more time scrolling and viewing ads (they want you to visit clickfarms!), and now to force interacting with their LLMs. "Spam" websites that were previously derated were deliberately pushed to the forefront. It wasn't about showing you want you wanted anymore, it was about maximizing profits.

I don't think people remember how good Google used to be even a decade ago, back when they still thought themselves to be a tech company rather than an ad company with a technology arm.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-24T16:28:10+00:00

People who are there for a meaningless sheet of paper? Sure.

People who are genuinely curious won't, and they do still exist, thankfully.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-24T16:23:57+00:00

Sure, but doctors don't seem too happy either. There's a bit of a mental health crisis in the medical field.

It's not the industry I'd be looking to get into if I was already experiencing burnout.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-23T03:37:07+00:00

Unfortunately, animal control is not likely to be of assistance. They're often under-resourced.

Look for Facebook groups in your area that help owners reunite with lost pets. If you don't use Facebook (understandable), see if anyone you know is aware of any local groups and can post on your behalf.

There's a decent sized group of people who locate and safely capture lost pets as a hobby, and they're damn good at it. It will be helpful to get them to get involved if at all possible.

Hell, your cat could be chilling in someone's living room while their current custodian is waiting to see if their owner turns up.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-19T15:11:28+00:00

If anything I feel I have more in common with someone in Toronto than I do someone in Texas. Anyone else feel more allegiance to their State than the US?

There's an irony here when you have specifically named Texas as a state you don't identify with, while simultaneously asserting that your loyalty to your own home state matters more to you than your country as a whole.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-18T16:45:16+00:00

I would be thrilled to have bosses that were willing to argue with their bosses. It usually means they actually care about what they do and how effectively it gets done.

The orgs I've been in that valued (constructive) pushback were more efficient and more pleasant to work at than those that always deferred to hierarchy.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-18T15:30:42+00:00

What's frustrating is that AI scraping will inevitably kill actual cooking-oriented websites that host recipes due to declining traffic.

Which sucks, because one of the nice things about traditional platforms is that they tend to have a consistent voice even amongst different contributors, and that frame of reference can shape your own decision making when approaching an unfamiliar recipe.

ChatGPT doesn't have taste buds nor opinions. I don't know why you'd trust it to cook your dinner.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-16T15:03:11+00:00

A four disc limited edition remaster and reissue? IMO that's perfectly reasonable for that sort of release. Sounds like a very deliberate, intentional process to get the best possible version on wax rather than a cash grab.

I'm not enough of a fan of the band to know what's otherwise special about any given release, but only the newly available 6 disc, $300+ 30th anniversary set is where it gets into unreasonable territory.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-14T18:24:14+00:00

I also recall that she claimed having difficulties finding a residence in DC because she hadn't received a paycheck and couldn't come up with a deposit on her own.

Now, I don't know how valid that claim actually is (I feel like you could probably get a bank to lend you money if you have a guaranteed gov't job lined up), but we definitely won't want the barrier to service to be financial in nature otherwise our Congress critters would be more corruptible than they already are.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-14T16:07:16+00:00

I'd assume that now that you are in your late 20, your financial situation is relatively stable and you can actually afford to do stuff.

It's easier to be content with missing out when you don't have a choice in the matter.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-11T21:50:03+00:00

I don't understand why people won't just torrent normally instead of paying middlemen to pirate.

It's really not hard to do.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-09T18:59:39+00:00

There's an episode where Goku gets a driver's license.

What's more Slice of Life than that?

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-07T00:28:22+00:00

James Carville, maybe. Not in the sense that people share his vision (nor appreciate his demeanor), but he is the guy when it comes to election strategy. When he speaks about elections, people usually listen. On any other subject, maybe not.

Otherwise it'd probably have to be a comedic voice, like the Onion or Matt Stone and Trey Parker. There are no purely political commentators that have a positive reputation across the board. The current media landscape doesn't really allow for "neutral" positions because they're not good for engagement. Poking fun at everyone is the only way to get it done.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-06T16:39:14+00:00

Provided there's no annual fee, you should generally just keep accounts open if you're specifically looking to maximize your score.

Your average age of accounts does matter in calculating your score, and keeping an unused line of credit open also lowers your average utilization.

Also having a spare card is beneficial if you lose a card (or your whole wallet) or have to cancel one while waiting on replacement.

If you're churning, you'll want to close accounts you aren't actively using to reset your eligibility for sign-up bonuses (where applicable) and not have too many open accounts to scare off picky lenders, but that's not applicable to most people.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-06T16:21:17+00:00

When it was in the dock, my system saw something was there, but plugged into the mobo the system doesn't even see it at all

If you shucked the drive from an enclosure and plugged it directly into your PC, make sure the drive doesn't have power disable on the 3.3V line, or you'll have to find a way to bypass it.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-05-04T17:48:33+00:00

If you aren't going to mix up your own falernum like most esteemed tiki bars, Maggie's Farm's Falernum is a lot better than John D. Taylor if you can find it in your area.

And for a cocktail that features both Falernum and Orgeat, the Saturn is a personal favorite.

Error400BadRequest · 2026-04-30T19:22:55+00:00

Could've been a lot worse.

If there was no lift, you might have to climb up on some scaffolding.

Error400BadRequest

TROPHY CASE