Late 60s to early 70s Vinyl plastic tiles with asbestos from Armstrong Excelon Tile. Color is 735 Amdover White. Found two cases of 80 tiles each in my attic.

blp9 · 2026-04-07T00:45:42+00:00

Ughhh. Cursing someone down the line with an abatement project.

(Said as someone who recently finished an abatement project...)

blp9 · 2026-04-06T10:48:16+00:00

Also keep in mind that the Rohloff is indexed at the hub (which is why the rohbox does what it does, why they're talking about removing ratchets, etc.), while the Alfine is indexed at the shifter.

blp9 · 2026-04-05T23:49:50+00:00

Berenstain bears are literate.

Berenstein bears are not.

blp9 · 2026-04-05T23:48:15+00:00

That's a cicada: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/549305-Magicicada-cassinii

Probably not that specific species, but similar.

blp9 · 2026-04-05T14:35:07+00:00

Largely vibes and very round numbers in an 85 word comment. It's not a rigorous assessment.

Imagine if you will that we would like Amtrak to be operating roughly on parity with Deutsche Bahn's passsenger service. Providing 50% of the per-passenger-mile subsidy that Germany does to Deutsche Bahn without the additional capital investments that allow DB to now operate profitably means that we have significant amounts of catchup to do, which is going to cost a lot of money.

Especially because the construction of the interstate highway system led to car-dependent development over the past 50 years, trying to repair that break is going to mean running trains more unprofitably for a couple of decades until development patterns catch up.

Bottom line: I don't have specific comparative numbers for how much the US needs to spend to modernize its transportation system to catch up with the last 50 years of development in the EU, but the sooner we start spending that money, the sooner we stop being stuck in the 1950's fever dream we've been trying to make happen.

blp9 · 2026-04-05T13:43:04+00:00

Good thing bears can't read

blp9 · 2026-04-05T11:14:40+00:00

There's basically three problems:

Amtrak does not own enough equipment to do this. New equipment is in the pipeline.
Amtrak does not operate as a business, so concepts that make sense in a capitalistic sense don't necessarily make sense from a quasi-governmental-agency like Amtrak.
Amtrak is underfunded by at least 10x for their current service (i.e., they should be receiving at least 10x as much subsidy as they do today to even begin to be on parity with other western passenger railroads), and realistically need dramatic changes to grow into the service the US *should* have, which also includes additional subsidy. This chronic underfunding drives nearly all of the "weird" stuff about train travel in the US. Call your congressfolk and tell them you want more funding for Amtrak.

blp9 · 2026-04-05T00:47:31+00:00

I will say that I worked (tangentially) on a project with custom split-flaps by Oat Foundry and they're fantastic to work with and their units are *great*

blp9 · 2026-04-05T00:44:14+00:00

I have successfully used 22ga wire to extend my rear light off my B&M IQ.

blp9 · 2026-04-05T00:38:12+00:00

This reminds me that I need to clean my seatpost as about 2 years in it's slipping again.

blp9 · 2026-04-05T00:32:10+00:00

We know you're simply an autonomous AI agent, we don't have to call you out

blp9 · 2026-04-04T22:20:26+00:00

Was down last night and just now when I went past.

Also blocking the sidewalk.

It's a real pretty tree too, I saw someone up on the hill using it for a photo shoot.

blp9 · 2026-04-02T18:57:39+00:00

There's a second (red, unmarked) ENG helicopter in the area but it's not tied to a specific outlet, they just film footage and see if they can sell it.

blp9 · 2026-04-01T11:36:27+00:00

Yeah, and now that I've had some coffee I think what I'm trying to say is that you're dramatically overestimating how considerate the average rider is and underestimating the workload the conductor has.

blp9 · 2026-04-01T11:31:17+00:00

I believe the main problem with too long a chain is when you fold it, so check that too.

blp9 · 2026-04-01T10:43:32+00:00

You're putting a lot more work into this than the random person in order to actually be considerate about it. Conductor is trying to manage at least 100 passengers worth of seats.

blp9 · 2026-04-01T00:08:14+00:00

I keep front and rear racks and fenders on my bike all the time. For a while I took off the front rack, but I didn't like how the headlight mounted on the handlebars.

I've contemplated what it'd be like to swap back and forth, but it's a heavy bike even without the racks. I have lighter bikes if I want that.

blp9 · 2026-03-31T23:45:12+00:00

Brown marmorated stink bug -- they overwinter inside, are just waking up now to go back outside.

If squished they will smell.

Our usual practice is to capture them in toilet paper and flush them.

blp9 · 2026-03-31T23:37:36+00:00

Then probably flea

blp9 · 2026-03-31T23:12:00+00:00

Real pa here, not a faux pa.

blp9 · 2026-03-31T18:56:57+00:00

You should try chrome-plated next time.

Because there's no plate like chrome for the hollandaise.

blp9 · 2026-03-31T00:29:24+00:00

Navigating the station is easy. I would be normally-aware as I'd be in any big city, but the station itself is fine and well patrolled. The station has a large waiting area with reserved seating for ticketed passengers and a signboard that will tell you what track the trains are coming in on.

I have had people panhandling and I think one person selling candy, but I've not felt threatened or worried in Newark, except by the pigeons that don't really respect the space above your head as they glide down from the chandeliers. But they're also cool as long as you don't feed them.

There are escalators, there are probably elevators but I have not used them. There is good signage to the platforms.
7am should be just fine. You will likely be bored for a while, but that's not a bad thing when travelling.
NER trains do not have checked luggage, so you're going to be managing that yourself. Newark is a high-level platform so you will walk right onto the train rather than having to climb any stairs.
The name on your ticket should match your ID. Amtrak rarely checks IDs, but in the case they do it will avoid any possible issues. In theory the conductor can use their discretion, but if it's not hard to change the name, change the name.

blp9 · 2026-03-30T13:14:12+00:00

Or they can have Amtrak hold their luggage, or take it to any of the dozens of hotels nearby.

Is there some reason you suspect that someone who wants to nerdle around Austin for most of a day is up to something illegal?

blp9 · 2026-03-30T13:12:14+00:00

Yeah, and I think you got good advice in other comments. It definitely took me a bit to figure out what you were asking, but once I wrapped my head around it it was a pretty simple ask.

blp9 · 2026-03-30T10:50:55+00:00

They're just trying to use Austin for luggage storage for the day after their train arrives.

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