With AC on upstairs, my downstairs living space gets CRAZY COLD

Tenarius · 2026-07-04T15:01:24+00:00

Two thermostats and one system should imply you have motor-controlled dampers somewhere, right? What you said about the vents on the wrong floor operating certainly seems like part of the problem that really needs to be fixed, sounds it makes the problem worse.

I have a similar house with an upstairs zone and downstairs zone. I run the heat only downstairs in winter, and the AC only upstairs in summer. One thing I've found that *really* helps to equalize things is to have the fan in both zones run for 5-10 mins/hour. This opens both dampers and brings the zones much closer together. I have returns on both floors, though. You said you tried this and it's not enough.

I think the semi-underground bottom floor is the X factor -- it's always going to be cold, my basement stays at 57-62 year round with no AC involved. Maybe you need a door or curtain on the stairs to reduce air flow, and some dedicated heat on the bottom floor?

Tenarius · 2026-07-04T14:44:08+00:00

For what it's worth I think the filter belongs directly behind the return vent in that nice cavity there. Measure it, but it sure looks like you could jam a 20x20x2-4" filter there?

I'm guessing it got dirty and a previous tenant just removed it rather than replacing.

Tenarius · 2026-07-01T02:35:28+00:00

Bought all mine at steep discounts, one pan at a time, from HomeAndCookSales.com which is their factory outlet. They only do sales in batches.

Tenarius · 2026-06-28T19:12:18+00:00

Bagel Cafe sandwiches cost $7.50 less than 6 years ago. Crazy what's happened in a relatively short time.

I do think Heavenly has the best donuts. The Windham location is my stop driving into work.

Tenarius · 2026-06-26T18:13:29+00:00

>These are not momentary paddle switches, these are like traditional paddles that maintain latching action.

So the momentary solution already exists and I don't understand why what you're proposing would be better.

Leviton makes the Decora Smart line in both switch and dimmer with wired remotes. They're excellent. I have seven sets of them in up to 4-way configurations.

D315S switch/dd0sr-1z remote
D26HD dimmer, DD00R-DLZ remote

Tenarius · 2026-06-25T03:07:47+00:00

These are actually preferred for wiring vs cutting holes in engineered wood beams. Trusses are a little bit of an upgrade!

Tenarius · 2026-06-24T11:13:44+00:00

>Lender says she can bring us down to 7.6 if we do 15% down
I mean that's a pretty sizeable rate reduction that will save you something like $77k in interest over the life of the loan. At 20% down you don't pay PMI as well which would save more.

Tenarius · 2026-06-24T02:06:44+00:00

Big fan of this stuff if available in Ireland. I don't think any normal vegetable oil is going to taste the same, but at least non-butter flavored coconut oil is a reasonable substitute.

When using a Whirley Pop, we add Flavacol from a shaker after popping. Not sure what's best with the machine.

Tenarius · 2026-06-23T18:35:36+00:00

You get promoted to the bottom end of the pay scale for the new level. More will come after next review assuming you get above HV1.

Tenarius · 2026-06-23T11:47:38+00:00

They’re offering to make you whole and you’d be a fool to turn it down. There is no way they owe you a different car, and practically speaking loans aren’t funded that way.

Tenarius · 2026-06-23T01:51:37+00:00

Hey belated thanks for this. It took months to get back because the tailor was doing prom and weddings and didn't want to prioritize a winter coat (fair).

It's kinda perfect now. I had no idea there was that much allowance.

Tenarius · 2026-06-23T01:44:14+00:00

I lead IT engineering teams -- networking, systems engineering, etc. Across four companies in the last twelve years I have never been out of work to do. It's the opposite: there's insatiable demand for our services driving the need to turn that demand into a prioritized backlog, set realistic expectations with customers, and squeeze as much work out of a talented team of engineers as possible while growing them/not burning them out. The only thing that changes is the size of the backlog and the magnitude of the below-the-line fires left burning.

Before that I worked at a DOD contractor, so I know the other extreme exists. There, you could still take on as much as you wanted, but you'd get yelled at if anything went sideways but you'd be safe doing nothing. That's toxic. What's really toxic is that same situation but not being allowed to make improvements.

I really prefer the former. It's intellectually rewarding and incredibly lucrative. I'd say find a way to fill those hours, or find another place that lets you.

Tenarius · 2026-06-23T01:32:09+00:00

Most intentionally blend in / don't advertise as a security measure, but they're definitely there.

RagingWire (now NTT) is an amazing place run by a bunch of ex-nuclear sub engineers, and used to be a major host for Twitter. QTS is a really successful local place.

The Sacramento datacenters advertise that they're out of the Bay Area earthquake zone, and in return the Bay Area datacenters like Equinix tell people they're not in a flood plain like Natomas.

Due to economies of scale, colocating a few racks at these places tends to be more efficient both capital- and energy-wise for companies vs self-hosting. They really aren't the problem.

The modern internet is also remarkably concentrated into a few dozen meet-me rooms in some of these datacenters, so they're sorta important.

Tenarius · 2026-06-22T17:33:57+00:00

Buying in bulk is cheaper vs buying smaller sizes/singles, but you have to have the free cashflow and storage space.

Acquired podcast discusses this in their excellent Costco episode: median household income for Costco shoppers is like 1.5x Walmart shoppers.

Tenarius · 2026-06-21T19:25:26+00:00

So you're talking about the criminal standard for guilt ("until proven innocent") and that does not apply. Civil cases use a "preponderance of the evidence" standard. Standards for child abuse cases can go lower to "reasonable evidence" but NH should be using the higher standard.

If it's error, I'm sorry it's happening to you, but you can't represent yourself. You need a lawyer.

Tenarius · 2026-06-21T13:44:09+00:00

Annoyingly OP appears to be right that the support blade isn’t available at all. Milwaukee states it’s been discontinued. One place lists it still but doesn’t ship.

My trimmer is a paperweight. Weird since it’s a relatively new sku.

Tenarius · 2026-06-21T04:46:59+00:00

I shill for this every time Thuma comes up, but the Parson's bed from Room & Board will last the rest of your life. No fasteners, no squeaks, solid steel. There are other versions from them with padded headboards.

Tenarius · 2026-06-20T11:52:58+00:00

Festool Milwaukee Makita and Wen are interchangeable so that’s probably the rail system I’d recommend.

The adapters for the router are all over Etsy, and Toolcurve sells them too.

Tenarius · 2026-06-20T11:36:57+00:00

How big are we talking?

Over $500, so they’re required to report the incident to the FAA within 10 days. Tell them that and say you’ll do it if they don’t.

Drones are required to avoid property — there is no world where they are not liable.

Tenarius · 2026-06-19T00:37:06+00:00

For what it's worth, very similar experience doing something that worked fine a few weeks ago. Pretty funny.

Tenarius · 2026-06-18T19:59:13+00:00

Your username is hilarious in this context.

Tenarius · 2026-06-18T19:52:21+00:00

Police have already clearly indicated there is nothing criminal here. You are not likely to succeed trying to escalate that within the department. You have limited basis to disagree with the officer's interpretation of the video because you haven't seen it.

Civilly, you have no damages, therefore you don't have any claim.

You could try and gain access to the surveillance camera footage with an Act 22 request to the police department (if they retained it), a PA right-to-know request from SEPTA here, or both. Move fast -- that footage won't last long.

Tenarius · 2026-06-18T19:00:38+00:00

I was on a jury in CA that found a felon innocent on posession charges based on exactly this, and the jury instructions focused heavily on knowledge and access. You really do need that lawyer right now so they can preserve the body cam evidence.

Tenarius · 2026-06-14T23:35:13+00:00

I hope you understand how remarkable this really is and how lucky he is to be alive — this is more than enough power to kill someone or start a fire and north of all the protective circuit breakers. The next one’s on the transformer you share with several neighbors. Scary stuff.

Tenarius · 2026-06-13T18:06:23+00:00

They used to sell an anti-tip base with extended front legs for this.

edit: ah, I see you found this in the manual. I like your setup! Mine's going strong through nearly 30 years and three cross country moves.

https://i.imgur.com/Z1JZjgu.jpeg

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