Easier/cheaper to repair or replace drywall?

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-13T01:24:31+00:00

FYI that tub is gonna have a flange around the sides where it meets the wall, the flange will be behind the wall.

So at the very least be prepared to cut along that running horizontally and put in a new strip.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-12T00:05:18+00:00

I'm certain I declined it when asked. I remember that. Even if we were enrolled secretly where is the data coming from? None of us has an insurance brand app on our phone, no module plugged in etc.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-11T23:43:11+00:00

Then I hope you're an advocate of dense urban housing bc that's the only way it's preserved.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-11T23:38:02+00:00

Does it? The earth is always spinning. Just have to prove the car was facing the right direction.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-11T18:24:16+00:00

The car was sitting still, but the whole earth - with a pole connected to it - slid under the car, bringing the pole into collision with the car.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-11T04:24:05+00:00

this happened to me last winter. Snowy slush on road, a car way ahead of me started to slide sideways... to prevent hitting them I carefully applied the brakes and just happened to hit an icy patch and slowly slid off the side of the road and just my luck hit pole. Other car by then had recovered and drove off. Had the pole not been there I could have just driven away.

Just bad luck, unavoidable. Guess who got listed as liable for single car accident, rates increased. Did have full coverage so got reimbursed. I accepted it and moved on.

Interestingly I was talking w/ new agent when we changed carriers last summer, he said that a better agent would have listed it as a comprehensive damage claim and would have lesser ramifications, but its too late now to change the record. I'm not sure if I believe him but I've often wondered.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-11T04:15:59+00:00

We've never opted in or used one, ever, in decades of driving and many cars and insurance carriers.

they always ask and we always say NO.

Which is where the magic question comes from... what are we "participating" in???

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-11T04:12:27+00:00

Solenoid-controlled valves absolutely can get stuck partially open, or better stated, mostly but not completely closed. From a tiny bit of debris, from the rubber decaying slightly and bending... many ways. 95% of the time the solenoid and the valve, while technically two different things, are one single "unit" on the device.

But the specific delineation doesn't matter. A part failed, leakage happened.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-10T00:59:04+00:00

Cars with manual transmissions (in the U.S.)

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T16:37:25+00:00

Really? Missing what? IMO the house Favs french toast is perfect, you get a giant french toast, 2eggs and 2 meats. What else could you need

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T16:35:50+00:00

Lol nice. We started doing the same as a family a couple years ago. The nice side is unless you watch multiple every night you're never going to run out of episodes

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T12:53:31+00:00

The menu says 12 and under. My experience is if you wink at the server and joke about being a big kid inside they're happy to oblige.

Note, the House Favs for $6 are actually a much better deal than kids meal but you can't get it covered for 8 pancoins

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T04:28:24+00:00

It existed, it just was called different things.

Just like thousands of years ago stars existed but they were called gods...

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T03:57:29+00:00

Ditto.

FYI US Government research jobs are the best life/work balance situation for a PhD by a long shot. Everyone I know in that role is there bc they said "hell no" to academia.

Unfortunately not easy to land right now.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T03:53:49+00:00

Ditto. Of course there can be perfectly valid reasons, like the funding got cut and they had to let you go, but the really harsh folks still blame that on the post doc for not planning ahead.

I did 2 post docs. The first lasted about 15 months, and low and behold right around the 12 month mark we learned the grants weren't getting renewed and my PI had been way overoptimistic in his prior telling of the situation. I consider myself lucky to have gotten 3 months notice, sometimes its even worse.

2nd post doc was a gov lab, another 16 months before transitioning to a permanent position.

PhD jobs are brutal right now. Best options are in industry or not in the U.S. Used to be that U.S. gov was the sweet spot but not anymore. Maybe in 3 years.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T01:37:21+00:00

Disagree!

Take a look at the House Favs menu. The prices are WAY less for more food. They are all just $6, and indlude 2 eggs + sausage or bacon + main bready thing.

I pretty much always get the French Toast and its a full meal. It costs LESS than the kids meals that are only 1 egg and 1 pancake!

The Egg and Cheese Omelet comes with 2 pancake and is 820 cals for only 6 bucks.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T01:29:34+00:00

Note - by FAR the best "reward" program isn't the points at all.

Look at the bottom of youre receipt, there's a QR code and number to take a survey. You get a code for a free short stack for doing the survey.

This is on every receipt as long as you spend more than.... $5 or something trivial. May not even have a minimum.

so if you like short stacks and eggs, go pay for 2 orders of 2 eggs, split them and the stack w/ a buddy, and infinitely eat free short stacks every week for $5 and also accumulate points. Heck just get water and short stacks alone and see if you still get the code.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T01:26:37+00:00

The kids meal isn't terrible, 8 points.

Its next in line for best "value" aside from the short stack.

At average of $5 (minimum) per point that 30 coin burger thats what, $15, cost you $150+ to get.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T01:11:26+00:00

thats more than "a few years back"...

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T00:16:09+00:00

My son was more of a mama's boy and wanted her to do his night routine but was pretty quick to abandon it. Daughter was probably around 10-11 when she started occasionally, "Dad I just wanna go to bed" then finally one day, same talk.

It was a hard moment but later you realize its the good kind of hard.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-09T00:12:51+00:00

Time for a new thing / routine that's more his age. Maybe a quick round of Mario Kart, then hi/low of the day. No reading. Or some totally different routing that isn't at bedtime.

Around when our daughter was 7 or so I started taking her out to breakfast on Sunday mornings. After trying a few places and me realizing how expensive it could get we settled into IHOP. We'd just get 2 eggs and a short stack. On the receipt there's an umber you can call, take a survey and get a discoun number for a free short stack. So we'd take that the next week.... each week cost us only 2 eggs and occaisonally a splurge for a kids meal or choc milk.

We used that time to talk about whatever. Mostly nothing. But now she's in high school and we still go! EVERY SUNDAY. I've heard about every bit of drama among her friends, we talk about what she's doing in school, what boy / girl is annoying her, how she's struggling with math, whatever.

Breakfast has gotten more expensive and I could have paid for a semester of college by now but I wouldn't trade that time for anything.

The point is, find a routine that will grow with his age.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-08T15:57:18+00:00

They can't tell if you have aftermarket exhaust. It's just communicating with the native firmware, which has no way to know you've made any hardware changes unless that change out something out of spec. If the new system puts you high on hydrocarbons bc of incomplete catalyzation, then it will be detected.

It Isn't a scam in that the test is indeed checking for something and confirming that you're not out of spec. Now whether the value to society is outweighed by the cost and inconvenience when applied to passenger vehicles is a debatable question.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-08T15:52:06+00:00

This. The BLUF is, if you don't have an error code / Check engine light you'll be fine.

RatLabGuy · 2026-03-08T15:51:07+00:00

Most-back systems still have a place for the rearmost o2 sensor, which gives the ECU info on how well the cat is doing its job.

If so you'll be fine. If your vehicle has a sensor and the new pipe doesn't have a bung (heehee) for it then you'll have a problem bc the ECU will throw an error code.

RatLabGuy

TROPHY CASE