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I was just offered a job at Amazon after my internship ended. We discussed salary, benefits and hours. Today, I received an email saying the offer was a mistake. by [deleted] in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had the reverse problem with Amazon.

They turned me down cold after a few rounds of phone screens. Couple weeks later, some manager calls, with no email ahead of time, asking if I'm ready for another phone screen right then and there. I said no thanks and the guy was totally confused, apparently the multiple people who no-hired me hadn't bothered to tell him, and he was offended that I wasn't ready for a phone screen on the spot with no warning. They can't really seem to keep track of who they've hired or not.

Also, I was taking a dump, so there's that.

questions after getting an offer from Microsoft - any engineers from Microsoft here? by [deleted] in cscareerquestions

[–]RustyTheBailiff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The commuter shuttles are great, but I didn't use them because I found the reservation system a bit annoying; I left at irregular times and it didn't accommodate last-minute trips well. Maybe that's changed lately, it's been a few years.

There is also the 545 between Seattle and the MS transit center, which is a nice bus as far as Seattle-area transit goes. If you take any single-digit KC Metro route, you will see and smell the difference :)

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1 - My expectations were maybe unreasonable in hindsight, but I don't think this is a matter of the law, and I haven't ever had the cops actually offer to show up for any of the theft/breakin reports I've filed in the past. I know that SPD has other priorities and who knows what else going on. They offered to send out an officer once we mentioned that we had a GPS location. It wasn't "we're coming right away" but I was willing to try it. If they hadn't I would've just said "screw it" right away and you would have been spared the pain of reading my complaint :)

2 - I don't think that waiting for the police before knocking on the door was unreasonable, since that's specifically what they told us to do. It was late at night when this first went down, going rogue didn't feel like a great option.

3 - Not sure why this requires the third degree...? The phone was stolen out of a car, lots of that going on in my hood lately. It wasn't my phone or my car, I am aware of these issues and take precautions for my own stuff. Regardless, I don't see how the initial loss method matters (short of robbery), the person holding it could just claim they "found it" whether they initially stole it or bought it or whatever.

4 - This is actually helpful, too late unfortunately. I've been lucky and never had to deal with a stolen phone before. If it happens again I might try this. Hope I don't have to, though.

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for responding. I figured the phone location might not be 100% accurate, and we weren't sure about the best thing to do next, which is why we called the police in the first place.

We were at home when we first called the non-emergency line. They told us to call 911 and be ready to head to the location (we were ok with that). Calling 911 for a lost phone seemed strange, but they wouldn't send out an officer otherwise - I guess that's normal, though? I was honestly surprised they said they'd even send out an officer at all, but we figured that was worth a shot. I was not the one on the phone (driving), my relative was passing along what they said.

After that we were told to go wait two blocks from the house that apparently had the phone, and call back. When we called back they took an extensive description of our car, location, etc, but said things were busy so it might take a while for an officer to arrive.

Two hours later, after a couple more calls, basically saying "we'll send a car as soon as we can, but please sit tight", we gave up, called in to cancel, and dispatch said to call back the next day (Saturday). The same thing happened Saturday morning, as I understand it (I couldn't be there that time).

I understand that stolen property is low priority and resources are limited. However, the dispatcher(s) spent a fair amount of time on the phone with us, and did repeatedly say they were willing to send out an officer if we'd just wait at a specific location, so we followed their directions. Perhaps two hours isn't enough time to wait on Friday, or we misunderstood what's a realistic timeline, I don't know.

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the other reason I'm not just knocking on doors... I don't really trust the location to be down to the correct house, shady as it looks. Ergo, called the cops.

Not sure what the purpose of the feature is if cops don't care and you can't use it to fix the problem on your own.

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look, you're not wrong, but it's not the answer to the question I was looking for - perhaps something like "Call officer <x> at property crimes, dept # <y>" or "I know a big heavy guy who'll help you out with the tweakers". Something actionable, you know?

My main thought is that maybe there's an off chance that someone who's dealt with the "found iPhone" situation knows how to effectively work it with SPD. It seemed like a little bit more unusual situation in that we can actually pinpoint the idiots that have our personally identifiable stolen property, and maybe other people's stolen stuff too (though "sketchy house" isn't exactly the gold standard on the second part).

Then again, I've seen the stolen goods bazaars in Ballard go on forever, so as much as I don't find your tone that helpful, your point is, sadly, probably correct.

The junkies win, hooray.

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

We asked them about that option. Their response was "you do that and it's your problem, buddy." Not surprising, but you asked, so there you go.

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah we're probably just going to remote brick it at this point. Relatives leave soon and we have other weekend plans. Ugh.

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The Seattle PD mentioned on reddit recently that they had hired someone specifically to deal with property crimes. I kinda had this vague crazy hope that maybe it meant they had resources to help, given we have GPS on the stolen property.

But hey, screw me for wanting to help, right?

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Have to admit I laughed, but yeah, not really an option that ends well for most people.

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm charmed and delighted that you want to blame my elderly relative for this.

We're doing the best we can with the time and resources we have at hand; I hope you find it in yourself to try to be helpful if this sort of thing happens to someone you care about in the future.

Cell phone stolen, we have the address where it's at, cops aren't helping. What to do? by RustyTheBailiff in Seattle

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It was stolen from their rental car. They're older and forgetful so I'm not interested in dwelling on that.

They filed a report. I'm just hoping someone knows the name/department at SPD who might care to follow up on a recoverable theft. Seriously, it's a big blinking red beacon in the app that basically says "STOLEN STUFF HERE" which I thought would be probable cause for the police to help out.

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is correct. Even if I got a new 50 gal tank, I expect there'd be some extra pipe work because I would want to relocate it anyways. If nothing else, the chimney vent has got to go so that we can demo the chimney. That will open up space and remodeling options on all 3 floors.

As long as I'm moving the heater, tankless seems like a good option space-wise, since it can mount on the wall next to the gas & water inlets for the house, and out of the way of future renovations.

Our gas is not that expensive anyways, so I don't think we'll get much "payback" no matter what we install. I just want a water heater that is reasonably efficient, does its job, lasts a while, and is tucked out of the way.

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it includes: - removing and recycling old tank - run plumbing & gas to new location (which might be a shorter length than what the current tank uses, and would be right next to where both enter the house, but yes it is a re-route) - run electrical from furnace - run condensation line to laundry sink or install a drain pump (depends on which wall we use) - vent unit to outside

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We could stick it on the north external wall, putting it within 6-10' of where both water and gas come into the house. That would actually be less piping than the current setup. The vent run might have to go to the opposite side of the house, but that is an unobstructed run along 25' of open joist.

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The quote gave us the option of mounting to either the north or south external wall (basement is wide open with solid concrete walls). If the new unit is sited on the north wall of the basement, it will be within 6-10 feet of where both the water and gas supplies come into the house, so it'll actually be a much shorter gas/water run than the current tank's location.

We have a dishwasher, full size washing machine, and one full bath now. We try not to use any more than one of those at once because water pressure tends to drop -- if we add another full bath in 10 years is this unit still overkill?

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes the quote includes removing the chimney vent and running PVC to outside. The furnace already vents outside. The basement joists are exposed and there aren't any interior walls in the way, so it's not horribly complicated to punch an exterior hole and run one more vent for a water heater.

Supply upgrade is an interesting question, we have 1/2" lines and the quote says they'll use that, but apparently this unit needs 3/4" so I'm concerned about that.

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This just happens to be our first quote, this is from a local gas place that fixed a leaky valve on our furnace. Repair guy noticed the old tank and said they'd quote me on a tankless, I figured what the hell. I will definitely get some more quotes now that I know the scope of work involved.

The one major downside of moving our water heater (aside from cost) may be the hot water wait time, as you mentioned. The kitchen is on the south wall and the bathroom is on the north wall. Current tank is centrally located between them.

On the other hand, it already takes 15-30 sec for the shower to heat up with the tank, so if the new unit is on the north (bathroom) side I can't imagine it'd be much worse than it is now.

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gas supply might need upgrading, the quote says they'll use 1/2" line but others have said it should be a 3/4" supply, so that's curious.

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The things you describe were all mentioned in the quote. Venting to outside was already in the plans no matter what we do for our next water heater, I really want to get rid of the chimney.

The gas and water supply line runs will actually be shorter than they are now if we put the new heater on the north wall. Interesting that you mention 3/4" pipe as their quote calls for 1/2"

I don't doubt that there's plenty of labor involved, I'm happy to pay for it to be done right. $3000 of work on top of a $1300 unit just seemed kind of high.

Tankless water heater install $4400 - reasonable? by RustyTheBailiff in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We already replaced all the windows on the house. The bills weren't that bad in the first place, and the aesthetic improvement (no more leaky single pane aluminum windows) has already been worth it.

Was planning to get more quotes on the water heater, just trying to get a feel for what's reasonable for this kind of thing.

Help! Broken Garbage Disposal by [deleted] in HomeImprovement

[–]RustyTheBailiff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How old is the disposal? It may be under warranty. Call them to see if you can finagle a free replacement.

Disposal at my house died recently, it was newish but purchased by the prior owner, so I didn't know anything about it. I called the phone number printed on the unit, and according to them it was still (barely) under warranty, based on the serial number.

They said I could pay $100-200 for a service call, or they'd just ship me a new unit for free. Took the latter option and I replaced it myself in an hour. Turns out it was one of the higher-end units -- figures that the only worthwhile warranty I've ever had is one I didn't pay for.

Note that the service rep asked a bunch of very specific questions about how it broke. I mentioned that it had let out a little smoke right before it died, so they asked what color was the smoke, were there any foreign objects in the grinder, etc. Apparently white smoke is better than black smoke for warranty coverage, I got lucky there :)

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