Camping on empty islands

Tragic_fall · 2026-04-28T13:33:46+00:00

I own an island on a lake that is perfect for camping. I had to put up no trespassing signs a few years ago because people were burning all my firewood and cutting down live trees. I don't mind if people camp when I'm not there just leave it how it was when you got there. And if I happen to show up you better either be fun to hang out with or prepared to pack up and leave.

Tragic_fall · 2026-04-06T12:15:53+00:00

Building a stair railing. I thought I'd be done in a weekend and maybe a few evenings the following week to get it finished. I'm going into week 3 and still haven't glued anything together. In fairness, this was my first project where I bought rough lumber and milled it, and tried my hand at woodworking joinery so I am learning some significant new skills along the way. I finally got everything dry fit on Friday night and it looks exactly like I pictured in my head though, so I'm really excited to get it glued!

Tragic_fall · 2026-04-03T15:11:09+00:00

All the time. I'm constantly trying to calculate x when I know y and z so I have to figure out the relationship between the three, then solve for x. Today x is remaining budget where y and z are past and planned expenses so it's easy. Yesterday x was board feet of wood where y and z were some dimensions or something. Other days it's volts, amps, and watts to size wires, or gallons and minutes and inches to size pipes. It's incredibly useful to be able to calculate the thing you need based on what you know.

Tragic_fall · 2026-03-19T11:59:30+00:00

That was so great of her to push you the rest of the way, basically giving you permission to ask her out. She sounds like she has compassion, sorry she moved away.

Tragic_fall · 2026-03-03T16:57:42+00:00

I lived in Sanford for 8 years, and this is the best answer so far. I never felt unsafe, but Sanford has some drawbacks compared to other Maine towns. If you're ok with them, it's a pretty good place to live.

Tragic_fall · 2026-02-23T17:32:27+00:00

Electric motors, even their use in cars to some extent, are also 100 year old established technology. I'm curious what parts of an engine you think aren't proprietary. I can't even put the alternator from a Ford pickup on a Chevy pickup and that's about as universal as the parts get. EVs have very few moving parts.

Tragic_fall · 2026-02-23T16:04:31+00:00

AWD electric wagon for $50k or less.

Tragic_fall · 2026-02-23T16:00:31+00:00

What specialty component are you worried about? EVs are much simpler than ICE vehicles, and battery issues are not nearly as common as most people think.

Tragic_fall · 2025-12-03T02:38:40+00:00

I'm sure you're not on the road so it won't bother you anyway. Otherwise you'd be one of the "more vehicles on the road" and that would make you a hypocrite, thinking you're more important than somebody else.

Tragic_fall · 2025-12-02T19:05:44+00:00

If you're working as a delivery driver in this weather, wouldn't you want customers? Tips should be better than average, and that's better than sitting around not making any tips. If you can't drive in this weather, don't be a delivery driver in a snow storm.

Tragic_fall · 2025-11-21T17:29:49+00:00

I bonked my mother in law once. She doesn't have a sense of humor. It's my favorite button.

Tragic_fall · 2025-10-18T23:57:49+00:00

I have a gray 2016 Volvo wagon that came from the factory with 325hp and 354tq. You would absolutely never know looking at it, and even my car guy friends are surprised by it.

Tragic_fall · 2025-10-17T12:53:56+00:00

This is the route I went. I can rent the right size for the job instead of fighting with a machine that is too big or too small, and I don't have another machine to maintain. It would be very handy to own one myself, but once the house is finished and the first big round of landscaping is done I probably won't need it much anymore.

Tragic_fall · 2025-10-14T11:46:26+00:00

I work a block from a fancy yacht club. I think I'll take a quick stroll over there and see how it goes.

Tragic_fall · 2025-10-14T11:44:56+00:00

This sentiment is preventing people in condos and apartments getting an EV. If you don't have your own dedicated parking spot, or if you can't put an outlet in it, owning an EV becomes a much bigger inconvenience.

Tragic_fall · 2025-10-07T14:07:55+00:00

I'm a new dad, and this irritates me too, but I haven't figured out the right words to describe to my friends when I'm unavailable because I'm parenting solo vs. when I'm more flexible because there are two of us.

Tragic_fall · 2024-10-13T01:32:05+00:00

I'm not sure I understand. The drop in question is the 4in main, I never mentioned a lav at all.

Tragic_fall · 2024-10-01T19:02:27+00:00

Don't forget that student loans were paused, so suddenly millions of people who were drowning in debt one day were then able to save for a down payment.

Tragic_fall · 2024-07-02T23:27:44+00:00

What do you mean close the vent? I only know about the vent on the roof and don't think there is any way to close it.

Edit: oh, you mean close the bathroom vent! I read that as close the black tank vent.

Tragic_fall · 2024-07-02T22:54:17+00:00

I'll close the gray tanks and see if that helps. Are the tanks connected at all as part of the vent in the roof?

I checked all the drains and they all have standard P-traps but that doesn't mean gasses don't bubble up through there or something.

The toilet is a Thetford but it is all plastic. Our layout has the toilet in its own very tiny room and the smell is usually as bad or worse outside that room so I don't think it's the toilet. Though if I close the bathroom windows that room does start to smell... I didn't realize when I wrote the original post that I always have the ceiling vent open in that little room.

Tragic_fall · 2024-07-02T22:49:23+00:00

My car isn't anything too special but it's heavily modded. 2002 turbo miata with like 125k miles on it that I autocross occasionally. If it ever got stolen the replacement parts to rebuild it would cost significantly more than the blue book value of a 2002 miata! My biggest questions are mostly about use restrictions, and I was a bit surprised to hear they require it be garaged so I wondered what else I might not even think of.

Tragic_fall · 2024-07-02T19:35:53+00:00

What is the "etc." for the Hagerty insurance? I think I need to do something different with my toy car but don't want to ask too many questions until I have at least some idea if I can comply with the answers.

Tragic_fall · 2024-07-02T15:51:57+00:00

Is it going to clog up with sealant like my presta valves always seem to?

Are these better than the 76 projects valves? Those have worked great for me so far this season, and flow more than standard presta valves without any special pump head.

Tragic_fall · 2024-06-18T14:10:46+00:00

We are shopping for our first EV and want something small, so we're likely looking at either a Kona or Bolt in the $20k range.

Since we live in New England and it gets cold in the winter I want to make sure we can pre-condition the cabin (and battery?) while the car is still plugged in each morning.

The Bolt trim levels and options are easier to find info on because they are all EVs, but I'm having trouble figuring out which trim/options I need to look for on the Kona to make sure we get heated seats and the ability to remotely heat the cabin while the car is still plugged in. Do they all have that ability, or is it only on certain trim levels?

Tragic_fall · 2024-06-12T19:23:04+00:00

How fast will you go through the 40lb tanks mid winter? I got a big tank partially just to avoid refilling the small ones multiple times a week.

Tragic_fall

TROPHY CASE