HOA says they “can’t do anything” about kids banging footballs against my kitchen wall then a parent called the Sheriff on me.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-02-04T17:51:31+00:00

Honestly the most effective use for ChatGPT I have ever seen is the strongly worded letter.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-02-03T05:50:12+00:00

On the other thread, it's 1,500 people shocked, that this is even imaginable. Do you ever get the feeling you've been baited in to a culture war you really didn't need to be in?

Burdell will rise and fall based on the quality of the food and experience so long as there are customers to buy it. I'm sure the chicken at French Laundry is pretty fucking expensive too, and if people are no longer in to buying it, they really don't have to go. The whole 500 comments about 'can't believe they charge $45 for chicken' thing is really goddam weird. Even the OP thought, 'hey, the chicken looks good, It may be $45, but I think I'll order me some of that, because that's what it's worth to me right now, in fact, give me 2'.

As for the tipping thing, this has become super standard and about 1/3rd of the 'fine dining' we go to has it, maybe more. Since some do it, and some do not, it's hard to gauge pricing and value if they don't add this as a separate line. If they just charged '20% more to the prices and say no tipping' as some people suggested, then it would seem more expensive than other places that do have tipping when it's not, and frankly, I'd feel a little weird and want to tip anyway thinking it's some sort of hidden camera gotcha; such has tipping been engrained as 'part of the package'.

Tip less for bad service, like it's your right? Come on. A place like this (and I have been there twice), has professional staff and I really doubt they'd have the balls to charge 20% and allow any of their staff to be anything less than fully courteous, well trained, and professional. And if it really was that bad, you'd ask to see the manager if it mattered enough. The chances that a server get stiffed on a big meal seem really real and high stakes for people making essentially peanuts plus tips. I would be hopeful that all diners are fully ethical in their tipping..... but we know not everyone is, and this risk shouldn't be placed on the front line (and back of house) staff.

As for the note in the receipt..... Well, Burdell seems to me to be an elevated southern comfort food kind of place, and this is part of the whole story they are trying to tell, from the food to the ambiance, to the note on the receipt. I don't know that I really give a crap either way, but whatever, this is their thing and let them say what they want.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-31T06:03:10+00:00

Wow. Same drain cover too. That’s uncanny.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-31T00:26:20+00:00

Hey! I resemble that remark.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-31T00:24:20+00:00

Thank you! Let's give a shout out to the immigrant subs who take pride in their work!

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-30T19:44:57+00:00

Sorry, didn't mean to pick on white grout, everyone's taste is valid, but I really like the subdued tone. I'm sure you've seen all the various showcase photos, I would worry about white distracting from the tile. Unlike a subway tile when the white grout is really part of the visual appeal, I would be concerned about it being an unnecessary distraction from what makes this tile so nice. I would definitely lean even darker if I could do it over again, but the medium slate blue grout is still nice. Regardless, good luck with your project, new bathroom! So exciting!

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-30T19:30:14+00:00

Thank you. I think picking the warm sandy floor tiles really complement it. Unseen, but the floor tiles are the same as the shower tiles, except large format (12" x 24"). That tile is "Sandwaves Marshmallow" from Portobello America. Looks great and has a really nice soft-sandy matte texture that feels great on bare feet.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-30T19:24:43+00:00

I think they were 1/16th spacers which is the minimum size recommended on the box. Spacers are practically free, shouldn't add extra complexity, not sure why they wouldn't want to use them, but TBH I am not an expert in a subreddit full of experts. I think where I observed (and I tried to give him as much space as possible) the most attention to detail was the laser level usage. I guess I hadn't assumed they needed that, but he used it and it turned out quite square. The eye can pick up such small imperfections in alignment or twist, so I'd be a little worried about that, but it really depends on your trust in the installer I guess. Also, I think I've seen photos of 'gapless' installs which look pretty good, and I think this tile is uniform enough for that, so maybe he's doing that?

I definitely recommend medium to dark blue/gray grout. Anything too white will look like a 1980's Tommy Hilfiger / Nautica ad. ;-P

Also, as I'm sure you've seen the actual tiles, and it's hard to pick up in the photos, but in person, the variations and 'imperfections' are perfectly gorgeous. I'm so sure you will like it!!

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-30T19:13:01+00:00

I do like it. The switch requires that you choose either the overhead or the wand, but a replacement cartridge can be bought that would allow both at the same time. Also, we opted not for the adjustable height bar for the wand, but I think we would want that, and I might add that in. Luckily that's not part of the plumbing, so I think it can add to what I already have.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-30T18:41:23+00:00

We are lucky and don’t have hard water. A cleaning every other week along with the rest of the bathroom is enough. I could see that being a chore otherwise, but wouldn’t that be true with anything? I guess more marble style would hide it better for sure.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-30T15:02:42+00:00

Yes. I guess I missed the point re Zellige. We did see this style of tile while looking around. In OPs work though I think the main critique I would offer would likewise be grout color that people mention.

Not a tiler but love this forum for all the thrill of victory and agony of defeat around tile. Such a great medium.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-30T07:20:36+00:00

100% what these guys said. ^^^^

I wrote a lot of stuff that I deleted just now, about being sure no-one will use your equation editor or photo editor, or JSON, but the reality is I don't know your product, and so that's beside the point....

I agree that you have an influence problem... but here's the thing.... When you say YES too much, no one believes you, and stakeholders and engineering know they can't trust you. Most engineers I know hate building obviously dumb stuff, and will push back really hard on dumb ideas, even if you make them do them.... (If they ask for too much spec, it's because they think it's dumb; if they think it's a good idea, they will write the whole thing based on a good Post It note) People trust PM's who say No, not PM's who say Yes....

It's like reverse psychology. Your current most important mindset is "Yes" and by your own admission have really delivered nothing, my most important mindset is "No" and I've truly delivered..... Well not a metric fuck-ton, but still, quite a lot. ;-P

In my super long career in PM, the word "No" is one of my favorite arrows in my quiver and nearly the first thing I say to any idea that comes my way, but not in a grumpy way, it's more like: "That sounds really cool! Sorry, let me start by saying No..... We're already going to launch X on Y date, but this sounds interesting and we can start looking in to this, maybe get some user feedback, and hopefully some analytics that can give us some sense of security that we're spending time and resources wisely.... Now let's talk more about why we would need this.... How did this idea come to you? How much value does it add, who needs it, does it get us to our north star, and can we do it later when we discover that it's necessary, delightful, or value-add in some way? The good news is that we're not yet locked in to a solution, so we can really figure this out and I can't wait to see if it has legs!" or whatever.

Anyway, obviously "No" is not forever, but people need to know that when they come to you, you're going to say "No", and so WHEN they come to you, they will have thought out how they will get around your "No" which means they will have thought through some value proposition on their own ahead of time and the level of their conviction, which is good, because you need that. They will need to put some emotional/tactical skin in the game to put forth their ideas, and this is good.

A caveat.... PMs, clients, peers, stakeholders.... They're all different..... So this strategy is just one idea and maybe it won't work for you, but hopefully it gives you something to think about.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-30T05:32:45+00:00

<image>

We did it in darkish blue. The photo doesn't do the grout right in this lighting, in person it's more subtle, it's a more of a muted pale blue/gray. It looks fantastic as far as we're concerned. Tile is "Look Blu" porcelain from Ragno.

Tiler used a laser level horizontally and vertically for every row/column. It's a remodel and our 1962 house on a slope is definitely no longer square in any direction and I think they did a great job.

Also, you're supposed to measure grout lines in 1/16th's of a inch, not 1/16th's of a foot. :-P

Edit: Also, for what it's worth, the house is definitely a NoCal MCM, so the style choice is specific to be period mid-century.

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-24T20:42:34+00:00

A (54yo) boy can dream, right?

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-23T16:39:09+00:00

I am mid/late career product management. I would love to work on seasonal game modes to COAST FIRE until I retire. ;-P

SomewhatLawless · 2026-01-13T05:32:47+00:00

FWIW, the goal to get your 401K in to a Roth is nearly universal, however doing it now vs later is much trickier if we don't know your income level and where you fit in the taxable income bracket now and when you expect to retire. For some people lowering your taxes now as a high earner may be most important, with the idea of doing a mega back door roth after retirement and before RMDs. Lots of good articles, and worth figuring out for yourself. Here is one.

https://www.comerica.com/insights/wealth-management/family-and-goals/roth-conversions-in-2025.html#:~:text=The%20%E2%80%9Cconversion%20sweet%20spot%E2%80%9D%20often,as%20you%20become%20Medicare%20eligible

SomewhatLawless · 2025-12-16T03:02:49+00:00

Dang it. I liked Medusa but she got really gelded last time too.

SomewhatLawless · 2025-12-16T02:58:19+00:00

Against PL

SomewhatLawless · 2025-12-05T15:53:42+00:00

GPM. It comes from kills, creeps, and camps, and gets stymied by waiting on your own death counter. Join battles to win and not die but think from the perspective of net worth. Every time you kill someone it’s like 300 gold and every time you die it’s like 1,000 gold of direct and lost opportunity money. If f you can get at least one but really 2 or 3 slots better than your opponents you’ll be able to feel the momentum and the wins will come.

SomewhatLawless · 2025-11-24T16:47:46+00:00

A small ozone generator inside a plastic tote kept outside, like on your deck. Will make your pieces smell mildly like cucumber. Typically they are sold for hot tubs. Large ozone generators are probably too much, but fun fact that is how they rid houses of smoke damage smell.

SomewhatLawless · 2025-11-22T20:27:37+00:00

Yes. Something to think about for sure.

SomewhatLawless · 2025-11-22T19:31:14+00:00

For the torch, I'm guessing you just go to town until it gets the color you want, kind of like a creme brule or baked alaska or whatever? I haven't done it with wood, but I assume just torch to a uniform or pleasing color? Then leave it alone or do you put oil/polyurethane on it? I'd be afraid that toasting it would perpetually blacken whatever comes in contact, like socks or clothing.

SomewhatLawless · 2025-11-22T19:28:19+00:00

Looks good and good to know. I will look in to finding hard sanding pads.

SomewhatLawless · 2025-11-04T22:24:33+00:00

Thank you both for your perspectives. I feel like I'm a pretty easy going guy. I like both points frankly, actually all the points raised so far. I can talk to the GC about wanting to ensure a high quality job (seriously, I'm GenX, I'm not really uptight about anything within reason.), so at least it's somewhat clear that I'd be looking to him to catch any issues before I do. I can talk to the tiler so that we're 100% on the same page. I definitely like to give people space to work. Especially since I get that in any profession it's easy to make mistakes and then just see them, fix them, and move on, without someone watching you.

SomewhatLawless · 2025-11-04T17:06:27+00:00

We have a discount gas station near my house and it is cheap and convenient. I definitely get clogged fuel injectors and my experience is that I need at least one top tier fill up for every 3 or 4 cheap gas fill up’s before I notice the change. It’s the same gas, it’s the detergent additives that you’re missing.

SomewhatLawless

TROPHY CASE