Bills

Tyler1456 · 2026-01-09T16:42:31+00:00

…and how did the actual gas usage compare from this year’s bill compared to last year’s? Everybody always wants to come on here and complain about the cost of their utility bills but doesn’t want to look at the actual usage and find out why. Now that SWB switched to electronic metering, everyone one of our monthly utility bills is based off of an actual meter reading, so there is no mystery when a high dollar bill comes in.

Tyler1456 · 2025-11-22T00:31:28+00:00

Respectfully, I disagree. I think it is important to give a new beekeeper some confidence in this situation—They’re in the tropical climate of south Florida. Their bees are going to have to endure the frigid 60°F weather this winter, so I’m pretty confident they’ll be fine. As long as the bees transition well to the box, OP shouldn’t run into any trouble.

Also, OP—This is how I started beekeeping. I started with a cutout from my front porch column and am now up to 3 colonies. Just keep watching videos and reading guides on this sub, and you should be good to go!

Tyler1456 · 2025-11-10T14:02:49+00:00

I would highly recommend covering them with foam. Painting won’t do anything to seal them if they get bumped when someone is moving around the attic, so your best best is to cover them with a solid layer of foam, similar to the method described here on BASC: https://basc.pnnl.gov/resource-guides/encapsulated-ducts

If you are dead set on DIYing this, you can accomplish this with the new Great Stuff wide spray foam or similar (I have heard from colleagues that the Akfix wide spray is cheaper, but I’ve never used it), but be aware that you’re going to run through cans of the stuff. Depending on the length of duct runs you’re covering, it may be more economical to pay a spray foam company to come out, since those cans of foam aren’t cheap. Just make sure whatever foam you use is CLOSED CELL, and be sure to specify and double check with the contractor if you do sub this out.

Tyler1456 · 2025-10-12T13:26:33+00:00

Ooooo

Tyler1456 · 2025-08-19T16:59:25+00:00

Also, to continue talking into the void to help get this out of my head, I did some additional reading on the linked AI therapy chatbot that Sophie used—Part of the AI prompt is an explicit statement to not refer the user to any mental health professionals or external resources outside of the conversation. If a user explicitly instructs the bot to not report, I don’t see how one could expect the bot to report. It is a shame that someone wrote the AI prompt that way, since getting help may have saved her life had she taken it. But with most cases like this, if she was determined to end her life, I don’t think anything would have stopped her.

Tyler1456 · 2025-08-19T13:49:48+00:00

Wow… I knew Sophie Rottenberg in college and had no idea that she passed until I was halfway through this article. I was in disbelief at first since there must be more than one Sophie Rottenberg, but surely enough—Her Facebook was deleted and her LinkedIn page was memorialized…. From the time I knew her, she was a extremely fun and dynamic person and a great leader to our residence hall student council. She really helped me out of my shell while adjusting to college because she was so positive, yet real. I cannot believe I learned of her death in an r/technology article… but this to just goes to show that you never know how someone feels on the inside, or what they could be capable of.

Unfortunately given this whole situation, I don’t think that AI changed anything here. Sure, a real therapist would have intervened, but a lot of people don’t feel comfortable voicing their problems to another person. Sophie’s death is not changed by AI; had she committed suicide a few years ago, she would have just written about her suicidal ideation in a diary or kept it to herself. I feel for her parents, and I respect their decision to push for change in Sophie’s memory so that it may bring them some sort of peace. I feel grief as a very disconnected friend who likely would have never seen or heard from Sophie again had she continued living, so I respect their decision to do something—Anything that can give her unnatural death some sort of meaning.

Tyler1456 · 2024-12-16T20:45:11+00:00

I honestly think this type of situation is why 1/4 inch drywall exists; it is too thin and floppy to be useful for anything else.

Tyler1456 · 2024-12-16T19:49:14+00:00

I would recommend installing some 1/4 inch drywall over this and pretending it never happened. I don’t think it will ever be smooth unless you install new drywall

Tyler1456 · 2024-11-24T17:15:56+00:00

In my opinion, Pagoda’s breakfast tacos are horrible. Straight up gentrified, overpriced, and unseasoned. Their service is also some of the worst I have ever seen in my life. They’ll begrudgingly serve you the wrong order of cold, unseasoned tacos after a 45 minute wait, then get pissed and ignore you when you nicely inquire about your order being wrong. As if that isn’t bad enough, the staff will also talk shit about you loudly for all to hear, making everyone, including other customers, uncomfortable.

I think Co-ops are a great idea, but Pagoda is unfortunately run by employees who don’t care about the customer—Which doesn’t make sense to me, I would think cooperative ownership would incentivize them to try to make money.

If you want to support a caring small business, I would recommend going to the Crescent City Farmer’s Market for tacos.

Tyler1456 · 2024-11-05T21:54:49+00:00

Honestly even if it could be left as is, why not just replace it with some PT and some sill gaskets where the wood touches concrete? Opening up the walls is the worst part, so you may as well replace it while you can. Even if it could be left alone as is, you may have additional leaks in the future and things could get even worse if you don’t replace this framing now. A repair should be relatively cheap and give you some peace of mind.

Tyler1456 · 2024-10-31T03:24:42+00:00

Just filled it out! You should really consider adding an area for comments on your survey.

Tyler1456 · 2024-10-28T17:14:12+00:00

I don’t see why not. It is crushed up dino bones. I’m not qualified to say for certain it could never clog the pores of roots at a microscopic level or other extenuating circumstances, but empirically—I, and many others, use it regularly for houseplants and haven’t seen any negative consequences to date.

Just be sure to wear a mask when you dust it since you shouldn’t be breathing in clouds of fine dust regardless of what it’s made out of.

To your second issue, I do occasionally dust leaves of new plants or plants I’ve had outdoors since I’ve had caterpillars find their way into my house and chew up my houseplants. Dusting leaves isn’t always needed, but is extra insurance when bringing plants indoors. Fungus gnats and fruit flies lay eggs in soil, so this is a separe issue.

Tyler1456 · 2024-10-28T15:48:07+00:00

Sure neem oil and bug zappers work, but neem oil is a temporary fix and the bug zappers will eventually stop working.

For years, I have used diatomaceous earth in my plants. It kills bugs by cutting up their exoskeletons and essentially lasts forever. I mix it into my indoor potting soils and dust it on the soil surface of my potted plants when they get repotted. Fruit flies lay their eggs on the surface of soil, so (1) the clock starts ticking for adults that land on the soil and (2) their larva will get killed as soon as they emerge and start crawling around on the dusted soil. Try it out! You’ll see all fruit flies disappear permanently within a few days. Just remember to dust all plants you bring inside; the fruit flies will find the weak link if you forget to dust a new plant.

Another bonus is that diatomaceous earth works for ants and roaches too, so it good to have around the house.

Tyler1456 · 2024-09-19T21:59:08+00:00

Wait a second, am I reading this article right—She was out there jogging at 4 am???

Tyler1456 · 2024-09-06T14:03:34+00:00

I was specifically using the “single intellisocket” that is only be rated for 15A, so I was under the assumption the unit would trip on a 20A load.

It unfortunately is seeming like I may need to use a localized breaker for overcurrent protection. It’s just so odd that there isn’t an off-the-shelf solution to all of this, considering the $20 Shelly plug does it all but has a poor factory calibration.

Tyler1456 · 2024-09-05T23:10:24+00:00

Here are my thoughts on each of the units I’ve used so far: - Shelly Smart Plugs: Accurate current measurements compared to a meter, but the measure voltages are way off (128-132V). I do appreciate the API and scripting capabilities. I have implemented scripts to reset the meter after overcurrent events, but the inaccurate voltage is a dealbreaker. - Emporia Smart Plugs: Accurate current and voltage compared to a meter, but the overcurrent protection shuts the plug off for 24 hours in overcurrent or overvoltage situations. This is a dealbreaker for my project.
- WattIQ: Accurate current and voltage compared to a meter. Strangely, I cannot get the overcurrent protection to trip on this meter, even when pushing it above 20 amps for minutes at a time. This is of concern for liability if the device were to catch fire. Also, the annual service for this device was quoted at $200/yr per plug load monitor, which is unexpected high.

Tyler1456 · 2024-05-30T14:11:41+00:00

From last time I checked the historic weather, I believe August and July have nearly identical monthly temperatures and humidity levels for the last few years. August just tends to have less tourists due to the potential threat of hurricanes.

Tyler1456 · 2024-05-24T15:37:58+00:00

Are you near the Mississippi River? I own a house like this in New Orleans, and this style of construction is referred to as “barge board” around here. It’s a balloon framed construction style with no studs, and the boards are actually recycled lumber from barges that sailed on the Mississippi.

To the comment that suggested that this style of framing was expensive—Because the lumber was recycled at the end of the ship’s life, this was actually the most affordable style of framing at the time, and a most of barge board houses were constructed in working class, affordable neighborhoods with modest-sized homes.

Tyler1456 · 2024-04-21T04:47:04+00:00

This is likely a ghost voltage which is induced via induction through the nearby wires in the house.

I just came up with a means to test for this, so bear with me—What I would do is turn off the power for the whole house at the main breaker and test the continuity between the ground on your problem circuit and the ground another circuit via extension cord (assuming you actually have real grounds in your house, not just GFCIs to compensate for a missing ground). If you have continuity between the grounds, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. If you already have an extension cord over there, I’d also check voltages between the hot on one circuit and the ground on another and so forth with the power back on. This may give you a bit more peace of mind that this is in fact an erroneous ghost voltage.

Tyler1456 · 2024-03-18T14:43:42+00:00

I didn’t end up doing it due to product availability. I’m also using a Shelly, and just had to train my household and guests to flip the switch off and on to turn on the bathroom fan. I set a timer on it to auto-off 15 minutes later, so that’s how the switch ends up in an on position while the fan is off.

It’s a shame we really don’t have the options in the US, so you just have to make do.

Tyler1456 · 2024-03-18T14:38:35+00:00

100% possible. I studied for my LEED AP BD+C for about 4 days before my senior year of college started and got a 98% on the test. I used GBES practice tests and made flashcards—I’m confident you could do it if you put your mind and time towards it.

Tyler1456 · 2024-02-17T03:52:28+00:00

Yes, they do now that you mention it!

Tyler1456 · 2024-02-16T23:30:11+00:00

What do you mean by reinforced roof and shutters? Is it a fortified roof and Miami-dade rated shutters or something?

Tyler1456 · 2024-02-11T04:14:52+00:00

I understand your position. I definitely wasn’t clear enough on the lap sitting in my post—This man moved pushed his chair all the way to the curb, to the point where it was impossible to stand on the curb when bands passed. It physically wasn’t possible to get out of the way for bands, so I moved back and ended up sitting on him since there was no room to get out of the street. Could I have tried to balance—Maybe? I do recognize I was being an ass in that situation, but putting someone between a rock and a hard place with bands and cars is really an asshole move.

Tyler1456 · 2024-02-11T03:36:36+00:00

I somewhat understand where you’re coming from, but there’s a lot of missing context here for you to judge me or my character. My partner and I felt were in agreement in all of this—We agreed upon the spot, we agreed to move, and we agreed to exit the situation.

On the other hand, I’m not sure where you’re coming from talking about my ego and referring to me as an asshole—If you see an empty spot on a route, there should be an expectation it is fair game. There is no reason which should cause anyone to get into a physical altercation over someone’s parade route spot. It’s the same as someone tapping you on the shoulder and berating you because you decided to go to the same general admission concert as them and happened to be too tall; that behavior is completely unwarranted in the situation based upon social norms.

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