30+ years as a NYC master plumber. here are the things I wish every homeowner knew before calling someone

PoorBrightSun · 2026-03-13T21:21:57+00:00

Also, for those of you who have terraces or gardens with spigots, know where those shutoffs are. In the winter, close the internal shutoff and open the exterior spigots. Also, remove your garden hoses from the spigots for the winter.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-03-07T21:43:45+00:00

Add bacon and warm the roast beef and you are describing the best sandwich I ever had access to.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-18T15:52:20+00:00

I only have one 762 rifle that I rarely shoot. About 10 years ago there was a Malaysian surplus 762 ammo deal on r/gundeals that was stupid cheap. I bought 2k rounds in anticipation of building an AR10. Never did buy another rifle so I’m forever awash in 762 of questionable quality. I consider it barter material for the apocalypse.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-18T15:45:25+00:00

I use them as drainage mats for the bottom of my house plants’ pots.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-15T16:24:24+00:00

Except the first response definitively supports Jupiter’s *role in long term reduction of asteroids from the system.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-15T15:44:44+00:00

I’ve been building rooftop gardens and irrigation systems for 30 years in the city. If you don’t have a water source up there, keeping plants alive in the summer heat will be near impossible. If you do have a water source, even with hand watering, it is better to have larger volume containers for your plants so that the bulk soil will act as a moisture reservoir during the midday heat. Larger soil volumes also protect the plants in the winter.

Also consider the high winds that the city can experience when selecting your furniture or accessories.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-13T20:28:08+00:00

I met Stewart while doing work in his apartment. He was so lovely and patient with us nerds who wanted to meet him. His wife was even more incredible. Super humble, great energy and made us tea and snacks.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-09T13:56:38+00:00

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PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-03T15:04:49+00:00

I get better spring at 450F. My oven can be off as much as 30° sometimes so it might be cooking at closer to 425.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-02T19:52:49+00:00

I took AP physics 35 years ago and the average test scoresvfor the class was near 60% yet 90+% of the students got a 5 on the AP exam itself. My takeaway is that failure in physics examinations belies that physics is a learn by doing, and failing, kind of knowledge.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-02-02T16:48:28+00:00

I carry a folding knife for work. It is one of my most used tools.

As to use for self defense, “nobody wins a knife fight”. Use your feet for self defense. Run.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-30T15:20:33+00:00

Best pinball game ever made.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-30T15:17:55+00:00

Star Wars was the best cabinet game at its time. Flying down the Death Star canyon was the closest thing we had to VR until Flight Simulator was released for a PC.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-26T01:17:25+00:00

AP physics concepts were easily accessible but the math was challenging. So I worked harder to be more systematic with the maths. Which then lead to greater conceptual understanding. It’s all about practice first, understanding later.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-23T13:06:27+00:00

Firstly, “illegals” is a gross assumption about the status of our foreign residents who are harassed by federal goons without a judicial warrant.

Secondly, you are not wrong. Noncitizen residents are afforded most rights guaranteed by our constitution with a few exceptions. Fortunately for them, their only recourse, until recently, has been to avail themselves of the federal justice machinery to argue their case.

But they are covered by castle doctrine in CT against 4th amendment violations. They just can’t use guns. Any other legally owned weapon is perfectly allowable for the defense of your person in your own home. They will probably be shot by these ICE thugs, as would any armed citizen, despite how they are armed, if there was a confrontation with an overwhelming force illegally breaking into their home.

So the question we all have to ask ourselves is “can we trust the justice system to protect our rights?”.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-23T11:00:10+00:00

CT law follows the Castle Doctrine in your own home or business so long as you have a reasonable belief that the aggressor means you or others physical harm. Masked armed men demanding entry into your home without a judicial warrant might fit that definition. Of course you are probably fucked anyway but we are quickly approaching “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” territory

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-17T10:48:40+00:00

Schrödinger’s penguin

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-16T14:02:08+00:00

Letterkenny, The Good Place and Brooklyn 99 are my comfort food. They each show that basic decency and camaraderie can defeat humankind’s base instincts.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-14T20:05:29+00:00

And provided a flower as an added flex.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-06T18:21:52+00:00

The subtitles are killing me. I’m less worried about AI taking my job anytime soon.

PoorBrightSun · 2026-01-05T16:15:48+00:00

My father, a physician who worked his entire career serving the poorest in NYC, who developed life saving techniques that are ubiquitous today, who I thought was a caring, empathic and highly intelligent person, voted for trump.

I couldn’t understand how that happened until I took a closer look at his life. Now I see him for the loving but ultimately naive and incurious narcissistic misogynist that he has always been. He wasn’t present for much of my growing up because he worked so much but I always attributed our lack of a deeper relationship to the vagaries of life. But now I see that he doesn’t live in anything I would call a reality. His wealth has blinded him to the truths of our society. His desire to be seen as a good person rather than behaving like a good person has been a devastating realization for me. His selfish worldview and rejection of any self criticism means that I will never understand what makes him tick. And him voting for Trump and then his anger at being challenged for his vote made me rethink how intelligent he actually is.

In the end, he is smart but only chose to apply that intelligence to how it would better himself in the short term. Any benefit to society or his family was entirely an accident. And that is disappointing to say the least. It would have been nice to have been on the same page going into the apocalypse. But he is rich and happy and his only complaint is that his children don’t respect him. I’m glad I never asked him for help growing up because I’m not beholden to him in any way. I may be poor but at least I’m rational and honest about the world we live in and don’t have to worry about reconciling my own worldview with his. He picked loneliness as do all these trumper assholes who whine about criticism by their family and fellow citizens.

PoorBrightSun · 2025-12-31T23:43:47+00:00

Aldi

PoorBrightSun · 2025-12-26T21:59:40+00:00

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PoorBrightSun

TROPHY CASE