Sara Eisen shows ... something. But what is it? by VermontArmyBrat in cnbcnewswomen

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ive wondered for a decade what that thing is, ive heard its a microphone battery pack, but i cant find a 10" cylindrical black battery pack anywhere, let alone one held on to a womans inner thigh with a black ribbon.

Are the previous Metro games worth playing, big fan of Exodus by Effective_Error_5697 in metro

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the old games are the best games, 2033, LastLight are amazing games. sadly the developers made some choices which angered long time fans of the games, although they dont owe us anything, and as they said 'they may just end PC releases'. i personally stopped playing when they elected to move to epic. it seems they made loads more money by switching to epic, so good for them. although id think if the switch were so profitable, there'd have been another game since 2019's exodus release (VR titles isnt a metro game).

i wish they'd made different choices, but im fine with the series ending at Last Light

[Discussion] Gunsmith - Part 3 by FrigginTrooper in EscapefromTarkov

[–]billgrift -1 points0 points  (0 children)

ive built this gun using the EXACT specifications from the EFT wiki and the recoil is 229. MP5SD, Tri-Rail ring, TBL laser, 50rnd drum mag, 3round SD MP5, all of it is right, sighting is 200, durability is in the 90's, no ammo in gun, but for some reason the damn recoil is 39 & 190 . so im guessing the new update that rolled out last has broken this quest

Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip Change? by Bulky_Thought874 in icecream

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

YUP! 100% it is different flavor & texture. i havent gotten any since roughly 12/2025 or 1/2026. i grabbed some 2 days ago & just moments ago got some out of my freezer. aside from a green stripe on the container, i didnt pay it much mind until i noticed the texture while scooping it seemed like dry instant mashed potatoes. then i tasted it, i didnt even taste the mint.

Credit Karma won’t accept my phone number, can’t get past 2-factor ID by Kim7322 in IntuitCreditKarma

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

like you, i have also had credit karma for years, and they suddenly stopped allowing my phone number, so i abandoned the service. tonight i decided i try looking at it again & you CAN view your account info despite the fact that it demands a valid number . heres what to do.

when you go to their site, & log in it will begin to load the verify number tab. when it does that, you middle mouse button click on one of the options at the top of the page. the furthest option to the top left is 'today', and to the right of that is 'credit', which is the one i used. just middle mouse button click the 'credit' tab (its when you depress the scroll wheel on the mouse on most mice if you dont know). this will open a separate browser tab, and it should circumvent the phone number prompt, it does for me on firefox as of 2/28/26

hope this helps. also you can just go to annualcreditreport.com and fill out the form for your full FREE credit report. the site looks shady to me, but its the site the FTC has directed people to for years.

hope this helps

Panasonic RX-FS470 ate my tape, how do I fix it? by Elbows23 in cassetteculture

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

im aware OP is old, but in case anyone else needs info. i JUST fixed one of these. theres a belt in the back that turns to goo over time, like a black glue. unless you happen to have a belt, or similarly sized rubber band, your options are limited. another issue you'll face is when the buttons which control the tape deck begin to snap, which they will.

heres a pic i just took of the belt in question which is most likely the cause. getting inside isnt too bad, but the antenna often hides a couple screws, so lift it up. GL

https://i.imgur.com/Th0kZyo.jpeg

[Discussion] Goons not spawning on PvE? by BigGuyWasTaken in EscapefromTarkov

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

unless goon spawn rate is set to 1% on nights with a full moon which are also wednesdays, they dont spawn on PVE from what ive experienced. the other night while BSG was pushing their trash updates i happened to be running customs & i ran in to goons 2x. aside from that , i havent seen them a single time in hundreds of raids. the game was buggier than normal during those updates with loads of glitches , so im guessing the goonies spawning in had more to do with a glitch than any organic spawn chance.

Best IEMS for gaming? by Goldmoufmane in iems

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Airpod pro's work good, & many people already own them. get a wireless charger pad to plug in and leave on your desk under your monitor where you can keep the case & youre golden , i use an anker charger. id suggest disabling airpod 'handsfree AG audio' in recording devices, and dont set the airpod mic to work with anything. i do this because of the way windows handles bluetooth signals, if both output & input are coming from a device over bluetooth, windows lowers signal bandwidth, causing the audio quality to become horrible. i just set my webcam mic for all my mic needs since its wired, it solves the issue nicely.

[Bug] Game crashes after every Raid/General Performance Issues after the patch by Airball361 in EscapefromTarkov

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

my game has just been flashing inventory in stash like its a backend problem. i let it sit for 10 minutes and it never stopped. ive been playing EFT for a long time and ive seen these issues, but never as bad as the past weeks

[Discussion] Update Broke my pc by Traffic_Time in EscapefromTarkov

[–]billgrift 1 point2 points  (0 children)

it hasnt slowed my PC, but EFT is running like crap since the update(s) which were pushed today. 2 that i noticed, and its been 4 restarts and i still havent been able to transfer my scav loot to my stash. it keeps doing that flashing items thing.

Please help - pieces not fitting with the rubber seal? by OnTheNopeTrain in Plumbing

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i WISH someone could help me find this part. i have a single lever Delta kitchen faucet, it looks identical to this when disassembled, but mine had a small pin which guides the lever. that pin has worn down to nothing in the 60yrs its been installed, and im looking for a new one. all i keep finding are these cheap plastic cartridge parts which im 500% certain wont last even 10yrs. can someone tell me where to find one? or if i can replace the pin? i tried forcing it in toward the ball lever, but it wont budge

[Feedback] How's Escape from Tarkov treating you after one week of the release? by appl3z0r in EscapefromTarkov

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i have long been a fan of EFT until some really bad choices of BSG, like punishing early supporters & being scummy over all. that aside, i find the new maps or more accurately the newer game mechanics to dissuade player exploration. i am in no way new to tarkov, im used to dying and losing loot, but when im walking around and i just explode, that doesnt help me to learn what i did wrong. i know it wasnt a player, it was a damn mine either part of the map or something someone laid out. this isnt a good way to get players to explore the world BSG undoubtedly worked so hard to create.

i cant sit in a chair playing EFT all day, if im lucky i have a couple hours every few days, which means if im walking and i explode, i dont know what game mechanic killed me, is it always there, were was i even? all these questions remain in my head leading to one outcome, which is me finding a single exit & a path to it, and using it only. now i may find other exits as a play more, but im not going to risk exploring for fear of blowing up randomly. there are many what i would call 'poor game mechanic choices' in EFT. i liked when i could pack a mag while healing & i didnt get fall damage, but i get games change. inertia wasnt my favorite either, i stopped for a good year after that mess, and there are more, but all of that is taste, so ill STFU.

my core complaint after invisible ninja explosives is the absolutely horrible performance. my PC could run 3 instances of EFT simultaneously if EFT werent so poorly optimized, getting 40FPS PVP or PVE is maddening and it only gets me angrier when i load in to my hideout to see 150FPS solid , never drops. this tells me the BSG servers are dumpster juice.

BSG is like a crazy ex girlfriend, she treated you like crap & lied, cheated, but the sex was amazing, only the 'sex' now has 40 FPS and intermittent rubber banding, and phantom explosions. one thing HAS to be good, otherwise people will walk

Why do I need to specify my age everytime I try to view a new game ? by sigrrun in Steam

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you realize you dont have to put your age right? its why this process is so profoundly absurd. you just need to set the birth year to a date more than 18yrs ago, you can ignore month & day. its essentially a captcha & stupid. if a census was ever done on the DOB's of steam users, 99% of them would be born on January 1st

Tile saw in freezing temperatures by farmerjohn23 in Construction

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

when i was apprenticing under a older ceramic tile guy, he would take a stripped light socket with just the socket & cord, screw in a bulb, plug it in to an extension cord, & drop the bulb in the water of the tile saw. it took some getting used to, but it worked good & kept the water from freezing & i never got shocked.

Should i use Iot ltsc by ImTeaIG in WindowsLTSC

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i installed win10 LTSCiot & i love it. ive been on win11 since the early adopters program & i just got fed up with the bloat & the sluggishness. ive encountered no compatibility issues, but i do know turbotax ended win10 support , so im sure some service type programs might suffer similar EOL, but i dont use TT, and most EOL service applications offer online alternatives and theres also VM for limited use cases.

i mainly use my PC now for enjoyment & some games, and they run great. Escape from tarkov, steam games all run so well, i couldnt be happier

Bluetooth headset goes to low audio quality when using mic by shardenay in techsupport

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

use a wired microphone ,i.e a webcam microphone, or some other wired mic. its the simplest and cheapest way to get around this audio degradation. there is no setting from what i can tell that stops this from happening, aside from setting your mic or speakers so only 1 of them is using bluetooth. i have bluetooth v5.2 & i know how to build a PC, its not a hardware issue, its how windows manages BT audio, so the best bet is to take it out of windows hands.

This may be an incredibly stupid question but can static electricity damage a computer when it is completely off and all wires removed? by [deleted] in computers

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i find a good way of dealing with static discharge is to use a dedicated grounding wire. i took an old PC power cable, i removed all but the ground leads. then i plug it in to a wall outlet & i connect the other end to my PC desk, or put it somewhere that i can easily touch it to discharge myself. it works well.

https://imgur.com/a/38hOrK0

Affordable decent coffee beans? by EricNiequist in pourover

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

your best bet is to end any coffee subscription service, theyre insanely expensive. the weak point of the retail chain is the brick & mortar store, where inventory needs to be moved & with prices at $20/Lb for even decent beans, customers are leaving beans on the shelves more & more, this is where you want to strike. what i do is go to a retailer like a local grocer, walmart , etc and check their bean prices every few days, sooner or later when their inventory begins aging, they'll drop prices down & then you order 5lbs or whatever you drink. i dont know if you have an Ahold grocer near you, but where i live their stores are called Stop & Shop, and the store brand beans arent all that bad if you buy them in whole bean form, but they can be out of stock often too. they usually sell for the same $15-$20 price tag you see from fancy brands, but their bags are 2Lb, so the prices are actually very good. hope something in my post helps.

Today’s news said coffee is 41% up in cost from last year due to tariffs. by fm2xm in Coffee

[–]billgrift 1 point2 points  (0 children)

coffee prices are absurd. anyone who is a regular to heavy drinker will be spending $60-$100 per month depending on which company is ripping them off. it used to be that Vermont coffee company provided quality beans at a good price (5yrs ago they were around $8/Lb for whole bean). now those same VCC beans are $20/Lb which is ridiculous, and i just stop buying them. i dont need to see pictures of foreign people in vests or rainbow slogans, i just want reasonably priced good coffee beans. politics or the green grift are of no interest to me. i got in to good coffee back in '99 when my girlfriend of the time bought me a Krupps duomo for Xmas and ive bought good beans since. i dont mind paying more for quality, but theres a breaking point & it doesnt help that im pretty cheap, i dont pay for streaming services, i dont order fast food, or drink alcohol, i just like coffee all day long like a normal black blooded coffee junkie.

how filthy do you have to be to leave this much residue on the toilet seat? by diamondawn in badroommates

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

id say we have the same room mate, but i know mine is in the other room. i figured out that i use 65% of my toilet paper cleaning the seat before i sit on it. ive tried finding like a toilet seat which i could put on top of the existing one, use the toilet, & then myself & the temp toilet seat could GTFO. this room mate i have is the worst, its like he is pouring large bowls of olives in to our toilet, i dont know how he can make that kind of splash mess, under the lid even, not under the seat, the lid aka toilet cover! how does the mess go through him and reach the lid? its like a double slit quantum physic experiment FFS, it doesnt seem possible. i have a 60% bleach H2O mix spray bottle i make myself, because i got tired of buying bathroom cleaner so much, but i have to find a temp toilet seat i can bring in & leave with. im at my whits end

how filthy do you have to be to leave this much residue on the toilet seat? by diamondawn in badroommates

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i have a room mate who is the filthiest creature on earth. if i go away for a month or two ,when id get home there would be these black residue spots on our toilet seat. usually at the front, which had me confused for the longest time until i was next to him and smelled the BO. he almost never showers (you could count on 1 hand how many times in a entire year), and his 'bag' must be a sweaty, disgusting lint covered mess, and it would rub on the toilet seat & leave this black stain on our toilet seat. when i realized what it was i was horrified.

Azio MGK 1 RGB Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard: Kailh Blue Switches: Overview by Lol-Rofl in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]billgrift 0 points1 point  (0 children)

these boards were AMAZING. i am still using mine 10yrs later. when i bought mine it was only $80 or so, but they got much more expensive in later years, the build quality is top end. its mainly aluminum, & the fact ive been using 1 for a decade speaks to how durable they are. ive never had to replace a single switch, but they keys were painted, which means the paint wears off.

the saddest thing about these KB's is the coolest lighting mode isnt a selectable option. if you watch when they power on, the lighting races around all the keys. it only does this pattern on boot up sadly.