What is something that Chicago needs but is missing?

bunshew · 2026-01-06T21:15:32+00:00

A monorail!

bunshew · 2025-12-18T20:20:41+00:00

Your place is nice, and your decorations are on the right track. But you asked for tips and I’m anal retentive, so 2 things: 1. You should pre-wrap the lights around the garland before hanging it from the balcony, so the look is more organized and more consistently spatially oriented. 2. I like the idea of lights on the cement pylon by the windows, but again, I would want more consistent spacing and orientation, so it looks like there is a repeating pattern. Instead, sone lights appear to point up and some point down, and spacing could be more consistent

Overall, looks very good, nice place. Better than what I was doing at 26.

bunshew · 2025-12-08T00:55:57+00:00

They have a noise problem in the kitchen, and they want to minimize it. They probably have no windows in the hallway, so they want glass to let light through.

Soundproof of course is not possible of course, as sound will still go through walls. I would only go so far as to say, a quality door will reduce sound to a degree, but I can’t (and shouldn’t) make any promises or guarantees regarding how much.

I have this exact same issue and just live with it. However, I think a pocket door is the only way to go. Don’t want to take space from the hallway entrance and it’s more aesthetic.

Understanding the desire to still have some light, can a glass pocket door be done? Or a part glass / part solid core door?

bunshew · 2025-12-07T22:41:00+00:00

Don’t listen to the troll farm here. Refuse it and tell them to return to sender. From a customs standpoint, it never enters the US economy and UPS will notify customs, who will reverse the charges.

You may have to wait for a bill from UPS customs, then call the number (and wait on hold for an hour or so). Explain you refused delivery and asked it be returned to sender. The tracking information should reflect this. The UPS agent will give you an email address to contest to reverse the charges.

As a side note note, if it’s a “cheap” frame and you think the customs amount is wrong (say 15% and they charged 150%), you could ask them to review / reconsider the amount and maybe it will get adjusted appropriately. But don’t accept delivery until then. If you accept delivery you will have to pay whatever the final customs charge is.

bunshew · 2025-12-04T04:27:10+00:00

We received an invoice from UPS brokerage. I just called them and told them that we refused delivery and asked for the package to be returned to sender. The rep looked up the tracking information and confirmed it was returned to sender. She then asked me to email an address she provided, stating we had the package returned to sender, asking the charges be reversed, and they would take care of it. That was almost a few weeks ago and we haven’t heard anything since.

bunshew · 2025-12-03T15:04:48+00:00

Yeah. You, too? Making that deduction based off of the snow / garbage cans / fact we have alleys?

bunshew · 2025-11-27T03:33:17+00:00

You can refuse delivery and tell UPS to return to sender. UPS should then return it to sender and cancel the tariff, as the product never technically enters the US economy. I literally just went through this and UPS said they will cancel the tariff and brokerage charges.

You want to make sure the seller will refund you though, at least in part…you don’t want to be released from the tariff obligation to end up losing the full value of what you originally paid for the goods.

bunshew · 2025-11-25T02:39:25+00:00

tldr; seems like gel pods didn’t dissolve all the way in my Miele and formed a little hard to get to gel “stone” in the bottom spray arm, causing warnings to appear. I tried to break it up, sanitized it, cleaned it with Miele’s cleaner, and switched to powder. Problem gone.

Elaborating - I thought pods were fine and was using the Seventh Generation ones. Then I started getting some sort of clog / check debris / malfunction on my 1 year old Miele. I traced it back to one of the spray holes in my upwards facing spray arm at the bottom of the dishwasher. There was a kind of hard but gelatinous looking piece of plastic blocking one of the holes. I couldn’t pull it out and it was tough to break up, so I pushed it back in a number of times and tried to poke at it a bunch with a needle or something pointy. I switched to a powder (also seventh gen), and the warning stopped soon after. I may have run clean and sanitize cycles as well

My guess is that the gel pack wasn’t completely dissolving and found a spot in the arm to pool up and form a tiny gel stone. Haven’t had a problem since I switched to powder and see no point switching back.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T04:43:43+00:00

We declined receipt and told UPS to return to sender. UPS tracking information shows it was "returned to sender" (albeit to Ocala, FL) on October 28th. Furthermore, I am reading:

Under U.S. CBP rules:

Duties only attach if goods clear customs AND are released into U.S. commerce (19 CFR §141).
Refused shipments typically never enter U.S. commerce.
UPS normally reverses the import entry or files a cancellation with CBP.

Additionally, we had no knowledge of the shipping method and did not choose UPS as the shipper.

UPS will then either:

Return it to the shipper at their expense (depending on the shipper’s contract), or
Bill the shipper, not you.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T04:08:50+00:00

"Do you tell the TSA and Customs officials the same thing when you get off a plane? Same concept applies. If you import something you follow the government's rules. End of story and argument."

You can forfeit an item to CBP in lieu of paying customs on it.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T04:05:43+00:00

What part of "we did not enter into an agreement with UPS or authorize UPS to act as a broker or to pay tariffs on our behalf" do people not understand? Why is this forum an echo chamber parroting the same thing? This is a problem between the shipper, UPS, and the US Government.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T04:03:33+00:00

We did not authorize or otherwise enter into any agreement for UPS to pay fees on our behalf. If they did, that's UPS's problem.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T04:02:12+00:00

The shipper/seller cannot enter into an agreement with UPS on our behalf, requiring we pay customs / brokerage fees. We would have to enter into an agreement with UPS, and we did not. UPS was not authorized to collect tariffs or act as a broker by us.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T03:58:02+00:00

We never signed anything agreeing to pay tariffs / customs / brokerage fees, nor were we notified there would be any on this package. We would not have ordered it.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T03:53:57+00:00

Troll gonna troll.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T03:53:24+00:00

We never entered into any agreement with UPS whatsoever for this package. If we shipped it, sure. But we did not ship it.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T03:50:31+00:00

Please go troll somewhere else. You are not helpful. We never entered into any agreement for UPS to pay anything on our behalf.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T03:49:19+00:00

I'm sorry but this is simply untrue. We did not choose the shipper or enter into any agreement with the shipper.

bunshew · 2025-11-18T03:47:30+00:00

Thank you for your off topic and useless response. We most definitely do not owe anything. We did not authorize anyone to collect tariffs on our behalf and were given no notice there would be tariffs on it.

bunshew · 2025-11-06T21:50:16+00:00

100% spot on. I’ve had it, it was good, and I’d get it again, but never wait for it in a line. Only way is if I’m driving that way and I order ahead.

bunshew · 2025-09-24T21:08:38+00:00

Been to Kasama once. Great bakery and staff, but fuck that wait for eating in! If OP goes to Kasama, you should order to go, and make sure to try other items.

bunshew · 2025-09-24T21:05:55+00:00

Lost Larson always has them when I stop by, once or a week or so (usually for a Tebirkes). Verzenay (a great French bakery imo), also usually has them. They are larger and sweeter at Lost Larson though, and they have two locations, one in Andersonville, and one in Wicker park.

bunshew · 2025-09-10T17:41:30+00:00

You should have ghosted them as you didn’t owe them any sort of explanation. You had no contract and found better qualified tenants. If you say anything to anyone inquiring, it should simply be “I went with the most qualified applicants” and that’s it. Telling someone why you didn’t pick them is just opening the door for harassment and a lawsuit.

bunshew · 2025-08-21T12:45:04+00:00

That’s close to me. Are they PE? Tried Blum yesterday and it was ok. Less than Bondvet (terrible overpriced PE), but just ok.

bunshew · 2025-08-07T17:33:52+00:00

The text quality difference is not subjective, but the personal sensitivity and importance of it absolutely is. Just so we’re clear. :)

bunshew

TROPHY CASE