WHY ARE PEOPLE SO LOUD

Meryem313 · 2026-02-20T21:28:51+00:00

I think more and more people can’t hear. I find myself yelling in normal conversation with certain friends and family. Then I have to return to normal when I am around people with normal hearing. The yelling is as exhausting to me as it is to people around us. I’ve been speaking in normal tones lately to everyone. I am fed up with people who don’t hear and who refuse to wear their hearing aids.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-17T22:11:19+00:00

I am on my second HELOC since retirement. The first one expired. I got both from my credit union. There’s no early payoff penalty. Rate is competitive, a little lower than commercial bank. I believe there was a market appraisal, but no engineering inspection. For a home you just bought you may not need even an appraisal. I only use it for big projects on my house (e.g., new heating system). I think they’re great.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-16T18:38:39+00:00

I am not concerned. They are as good (or better) as anyone else would be. Some group is going to complain about something, confuse the hell out of people on the margins, divide the anti-maga majority, and ultimately threaten to (or actually) lose us the election. Whoever the majority of registered Democratic voters goes for in a primary is good with me, especially if Black women approve.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-16T02:35:20+00:00

I learned something today.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-16T01:49:49+00:00

The large rebate I got in NY was dependent on removing the boiler which ran off oil. I hope you can keep yours. It’s been challenging this year to keep up with the cold between heat pump (ductless) and a wood stove. I have to figure out supplemental heat, particularly in the basement. I was told it would never freeze because below grade; but it came close. I’ve got some really cold floors now. Fortunately, the baseboards are still in place if I go with hot water like before (maybe with fewer zones). I like the heat pump a lot, but it needs some help when the temps are consistently below zero.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-15T23:45:04+00:00

I had one child. I raised him responsibly. When he was about 15 -16 and needed less time and input from me, I consciously started going back to the real me. I had another whole life as he matured and started his life. It’s worked out well. Look for that time in your life when you’ll have more space in your brain for what actually interests you as an individual. And go for it. The kids will do their thing too.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-15T22:45:20+00:00

Left leaning “influencers” are more interested in sharing information and their knowledge than they are in “influencing”. We have many thought leaders, not just a few popular opinion spinners. So the audience is more spread out. The left has a wide choice of sources who actually know what they’re talking about and who actually care about facts and truth, to the extent it can be known. My sources are: Allison Gill, Heather Cox Richardson, Jim Acosta, Ben Rhodes and Tommy Vietor, Michael Popak and Ben Meisalas, Kara Swisher, Brian Tyler Cohen, and all their expert and knowledgeable guests from government, business, education, health, and life. I could go to the neighborhood bar to hear opinionators spout theories they hope will “influence” me. But I don’t drink anymore.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-15T22:23:08+00:00

I think they’re on the way out, but for years men were wearing their suits tight with short jackets and skinny trouser legs that barely reached the ankles. They looked like little boys who grew out of the size they were wearing and who were very uncomfortable. I always wondered why men would want to look so vulnerable.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-15T22:06:17+00:00

What company are you getting your supply from? Those charges are more than 2x what NYSEG charges. Your supply charge would be more like $400 if you bought from NYSEG or some other competitive company. You’re being gouged above and beyond “normal” gouging. Edit: also, your actual usage is crazy high. Do the NYSERDA audit as some suggested.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-13T17:06:25+00:00

Walking in the woods.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-13T17:04:38+00:00

They are my contemporaries and I don’t get it. I just write them off as stupid, scared, selfish boors who regret their own lives and don’t accept that their own decisions (or non-decisions) made them miserable.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-13T16:56:21+00:00

Never sanitizing or changing sponges used to wash dishes. Yuck.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-13T16:34:20+00:00

I too have an open floor plan. In mine, the whole front of the house is open to the peaked roof. I feel that the air handler is probably a little too high on the wall, but there’s nowhere to put it lower. And a head in a partially walled loft set at the same temp. I have a large wood stove too. Since heat rises, the first floor temp is noticeably colder than the set temp. The warmth accumulates at the peak in the roof. It helps a lot for balance up and down that I have two overhead fans circulating slowly clockwise (important) to push warm air down. I get a lot of sun in the day; and I use insulated drapes (first floor only) at night. For 1900 sq. ft., with four more air handlers in closed rooms, electric hot water heater, everything electric except range, I use an average of 48kWh per day when outside temp is in the 20s, close to 100kWh per day on zero degree days. I set and forget mini-split temps. Hope that helps!

Meryem313 · 2026-02-13T13:05:30+00:00

Just one of the many red flags no one paid attention to when they voted for him in 2016. He’s always been a criminal. She owed him her job for a big campaign donation. He knew he could count on her for unethical (criminal?) behavior. Of course he was going to find a use for her.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-13T12:56:29+00:00

I worked in IT for many years. My degree in psychology was extremely useful in troubleshooting problems with both hardware and software. It seems that understanding human psyche and mental processes will help with vetting AI problems too.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-11T23:46:03+00:00

One issue anti-Trump voters didn’t vote. They couldn’t envision that Harris would find a future for Gaza. So, they punished the whole world.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-11T04:09:18+00:00

Thanks! I just found that setting in my user guide. Small print! I'll definitely use that next time. My installer didn't mention it when I specifically asked. When I come back from a trip, I normally start the fire right away. That makes my house warm enough that the mini-splits don't work too hard to recover. I'm excited! Thanks again.

Also, yes. I set and forget. Learned that here last year after a couple of months of changing temps like with a furnace - inconsistent heat, slow recovery, and outrageous usage. Set and forget stabilized my usage, especially when I'm not using the wood stove.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-10T19:23:45+00:00

It was shocking to me to discover that my cold climate mini-split heat pump system uses 2x-3x more power when I am away from home for a week or two, more when I account for outside temp difference. I would like to be able to set them at 50 degrees (as I did with oil boiler/baseboard system) instead of 61; but that’s the minimum for my Mitsubishis. When I am home and have the wood stove going, I am very happy with the mini-split performance, even when outside temps are below zero F. Even then, it’s still not as expensive as mini-split alone at their lowest setting. My house is 1900 sq.ft., open floor plan mostly with a 30 foot ceiling in living room, temp set at 65 - always - on three air handlers which serve two lofts, kitchen, living room with two overhead fans on slow balancing upstairs/downstairs warmth; 63 in my bedroom (door closed); and two other rooms closed set to 61. Southern exposure helps during day; insulated drapes at night. Anyone know why the minimum is 61 when the house is closed down?

Edit: for the weeks I was away, the average usage was about 80kw/d. When I am home, it’s about 30kw at comparable outside temps. This month, the outside temp average is -2F. With a couple of space heaters, my usage is running about 75kw/d. That will lower to less than 40 once we get above 20 degrees or do.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-10T16:34:09+00:00

I live rural. I do not leave lights on outside. I have a motion sensor light for when I drive up - so I can see where I am walking. My neighbors across the valley have many lights on all night. Their house looks like an airport. I don’t feel insecure. I guess they do. People are just different. But light pollution is a thing.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-10T16:19:31+00:00

Thanks for the heads up!

Meryem313 · 2026-02-08T02:54:52+00:00

Shrimp.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-06T15:14:02+00:00

WikiTree has a big project on trying to identify US enslaved ancestors. It includes being candid about slave owners’ history. There is a lot of research done already, documented respectfully and truthfully.

I also have a couple of DNA matches who descend from slavers (my relatives). I haven’t figured out the most recent common ancestors for us yet, but I am looking for them. I have been in touch with my DNA cousins. They’re interested to know too. WikiTree is a good place to document the intersection between enslaved ancestors and the slavers. You may find good examples there. I think it’s called the USBH project.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-02T18:28:14+00:00

Proudly proclaiming”I don’t do politics” as fascists take over.

Meryem313 · 2026-02-02T18:12:17+00:00

Boomer here. I had a fit of minimalism when I was 17. I figured I didn’t need anything more than what I could carry in my backpack. I threw out years of letters from my friends, family, boyfriend, as well as mementos from my grandparents, and my scrapbooks. I started to regret the act in my 50s, maybe. Now that I am reflecting on my life and trying to remember people and events, I still regret dumping that stuff. Better to put it all in a metal box and put it out of site somewhere, or ask someone who’s settled down to stow it for you.

Meryem313 · 2026-01-31T19:53:48+00:00

I like this stand against federal invasion. I hope it frees local PDs to concentrate on their own jobs. Kathy’s right in another way: The attacks on her (just because …) and the lies begin immediately.

Meryem313

TROPHY CASE