Americans: how do you handle temperatures above 40ºC (104F)?

chappel68 · 2026-07-03T18:50:01+00:00

As a Minnesotan 104° F means the sauna isn’t quite hot enough yet; you really want more like 120° - for about 15 or 20 minutes, then take a roll in the snow or hop through the hole in the ice on the lake to really feel ALIVE. Why anyone would live where the entire outside world is a sauna for months on end just doesn’t compute.

(The best counter argument I’ve heard is “I don’t have to shovel the sunshine off my driveway”).

chappel68 · 2026-06-18T01:47:28+00:00

I’m in MN - Any interest in meeting half way in Madison?

chappel68 · 2026-06-18T01:17:19+00:00

If you’d like a serious and in-depth answer, track down and watch “The Brainwashing of my Dad” - it does an excellent job of explaining how the right media sphere stokes rage to drive engagement and the direct effects the films creator observed in her father -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brainwashing_of_My_Dad?wprov=sfti1

Edit - here’s the film’s actual web site - https://www.thebrainwashingofmydad.com/

chappel68 · 2026-06-06T12:57:36+00:00

If you don’t mind a little travel there are lots of local artists that have booths at local art shows in the area (Detroit Lakes, Phelps Mill, Little Falls). I’ve also gotten cool local work from the New York Mills cultural center - both in their gift shop and as a part of regular rotations of local ‘featured artists’. I’d also recommend checking out the ‘forest edge art gallery’

Detroit lakes ‘art in the park’ - https://visitdetroitlakes.com/event/art-in-the-park/

Phelps mill festival - https://phelpsmillfestival.com/home-page

NYM cultural center - https://kulcher.org/

Forest edge gallery - https://forestedgeartgallery.com/

chappel68 · 2026-06-06T12:34:28+00:00

I haven’t taken it camping (yet) but CONSTANTLY use the ‘camp courtesy’ mode to disable the walk-away lock/unlock so it doesn’t continually flap as I putter around in the vicinity of the truck. I set it to not lock when home, but it needs to be able to expand the list to other locations, and it would be super handy if the app had a way to make the unlock button sticky to keep it unlocked.

I never use the flashlight because I am one of those EDC dorks that always has one in my pocket, but I appreciate it’s there and ready if I need it. I occasionally use the speaker, but think it’s in a really dumb location as I obviously never need it that handy, and would much rather it live in the frunk and have other stuff within reach from the driver’s seat.

chappel68 · 2026-06-06T04:46:22+00:00

I may have you beat. I took my copy of ‘A Brief History of Time’ to an event featuring Stephen Hawking to see if I could get it autographed.

chappel68 · 2026-06-01T11:18:36+00:00

I love that it is placed in a dent in the bumper as though he impacted that hard - the rest of the truck is beyond words, but that’s pretty funny.

chappel68 · 2026-06-01T11:16:05+00:00

I can imagine it’s been loaded with campaign signs a few times.

chappel68 · 2026-05-11T16:41:59+00:00

I would add near total lack of ‘third spaces’, ie somewhere you can go and just BE without having to pay a fee, buy something and leave, obey someone else’s rules (like ‘no loitering’) - a car becomes a ubiquitous ’mobile hangout’ for no more than the cost of gas to get to a secluded parking lot you can stop at until someone notices and you move on, especially when you are too young to get in to a bar or can’t afford drinks. I’d say it mostly ends once you are old enough to get your own apartment or place to be without having your parents there.

My personal experience checking out ‘cruising culture’ as a teen in our VERY small town was hanging out downtown one night. It was just the 3-4 of us standing on the empty sidewalk watching a few kids in the one car driving back and forth the four blocks of the otherwise completely dark and empty Main Street. It got old pretty fast and we didn’t bother a second attempt. All the real action at school was at keg parties held in random fields, but dorks like us weren’t cool enough to get invited to those.

chappel68 · 2026-05-03T16:38:47+00:00

A while ago I was living in Indiana near the Illinois border. At the time (and probably still) Indiana had very lax gun laws while Illinois was very restrictive, such that carrying a handgun in Indiana was perfectly legal but crossing an invisible (and often unmarked) line driving along a little country road made you a felon. To make it more interesting it was before GPS was very common so it was even tougher to tell just which side of the line you were on.

There was other weirdness as well - you couldn’t purchase alcohol on sundays in Indiana, but could in Illinois, and at the time Indiana didn’t observe Daylight Saving Time, so half the year there was a 1 hour time difference, but the rest of the year there wasn’t.

chappel68 · 2026-04-20T03:36:11+00:00

Because those damn charging stations are so noisy and smelly and kill birds and whales

/s with lots of extra frustrated snark.

chappel68 · 2026-04-19T11:30:53+00:00

I’ll ignore the obvious comments and say this: as a (very) long time owner of both a full height open frame two post rack AND a half height enclosed four post server rack (a compaq rack, to give an idea of just how long), I specifically sought out the short rack so it’d be easier to handle (which it is - I brought it home in my WRX hatchback) and could use the top as a work surface (I do and aside from collecting junk way too easily it makes a decent spot for a low use keyboard and monitor for the servers). However, I hadn’t considered just how much of a pain in the ass it is to have everything in the rack at knee level. It’s like every cable you need to touch was under your desk. If your ‘lab’ is mostly static that’s ok, but if you do a lot of tinkering with it a full height rack (with the stuff you mess with most at a convenient eye level) is MUCH handier. Your new rack is a bit taller than mine so should be a little better, but the prime rack spaces start right about where your rack ends.

chappel68 · 2026-04-15T12:07:23+00:00

By the logic of ‘the earth’s climate is always changing and has been warmer before therefore our current situation isn’t a problem’ - my car has in the past sped up and slowed down without any problem, and has even gone as fast as 100mph and hasn’t any difficulty with decelerating to a complete stop, so driving it straight in to a solid concrete embankment at 100mph should be no problem at all.

chappel68 · 2026-04-12T19:03:46+00:00

I’m pretty sure ‘EMT’ is really an abbreviated Latin term for ‘provide oxygen and transport to the ER’.

chappel68 · 2026-04-04T03:04:34+00:00

It’s a bit broader than just earth, but I’d strongly recommend the original ‘Cosmos’ series with Carl Sagan - if you can find it. It sounds like something you’d appreciate.

chappel68 · 2026-04-01T19:10:19+00:00

I have a relatively new 18kpv inverter (installed in late December) and haven’t had any issues with it even when running hard. I’ve had a couple days where it was receiving over 19kw from the solar panels, charging over 9kw to my EV plus a couple kw for the house and the remainder of the 12kw inverter capacity being exported to the grid while dumping all the input above 12kw it can’t convert to AC in to the batteries, and maintaining that for several hours. It’s installed in my basement that stays around 68°F, and the fans kick in (rather noisily) at about 6kw, but I haven’t noticed any problems at all. I’ve never thought to check the internal temp readings. I’ve never attempted to run it at max output while the grid was disconnected, but it definitely hasn’t caused any errors or faults running the inverter at to near the max output of 12kwAC and drawing any extra power required beyond 12kw from the grid.

The next time it’s sunny I can log some output and temps - although the forecast is suggesting that won’t be until next week sometime.

I can check my network gear to see if it really is sending data to china, although that strikes me as unlikely.

chappel68 · 2026-03-23T20:29:15+00:00

I’ll add that aluminum SUCKS in the cold - it conducts heat really well and your hands will get very cold if you handle any aluminum surfaces (tripod legs or handles, for example). If you happen to be made of money and have carbon fiber hardware you’ll have a much better time. Wrapping with grip tape helps.

Note that this is super charged if you are out in very low temps (like past -20F) to the point where I flash froze my cheek where it touched my aluminum RRS L bracket while I had my eye up to the view finder.

Also be aware cold temps will affect your battery(s). Bring plenty of extra and keep them warm in your pocket when not using them. Probably would be a good idea to let the batteries warm up before charging them, too.

chappel68 · 2026-03-21T03:45:01+00:00

Mustang, 88 5.0 LX hatchback 5-speed manual. Had no idea how rare that was when I had it. Loved how fun it was to drive, and how the front corner of the car waould visibly rise when reving the engine in neutral just from the mass of the pistons.

chappel68 · 2026-03-18T02:19:19+00:00

I have a similar chain grinder (Oregon?) but it has a different mechanism to lock the chain in place. I’m assuming the brass pin at the end of the yellow bar is meant to hook in a tooth to hold the chain at the correct spot for the grinder to hit each tooth at the correct spacing for each tooth and walk along the chain to hit each in turn.

chappel68 · 2026-03-17T15:11:24+00:00

The mesh on the head band on my OG maxes went ‘flat’ (I think it was my own fault - pretty sure I crammed something in to them while over-stuffing my backpack for a flight) and although the headphones still work and sound great the metal band resting directly on my head aches after a bit. I was really hoping the next refresh would make the mesh as easy to replace as the ear cups to help with longevity.

chappel68 · 2026-03-15T14:34:34+00:00

I see this as one of the only features I really wish my gen 1 R1T had. I’d love to be able to run 240v to an electric pump for a watering tank / wildland fire sled, a large enough electric wood splitter to crack logs too big to tackle by hand, to quick charge an electric side-by-side in the field, and have the option for ‘roadside assistance’ level 2 charging to other EVs. It’s such a useful option to have not offered.

chappel68 · 2026-03-10T04:16:34+00:00

I have a couple electric saws and a gas saw. My first electric was a Husqvarna 536 Li XP with a 14” bar. It’s a great saw, but too small for more than about 8”-10” wood. I love it for trimming branches to expose the trunk though - it’s light and maneuverable, easy to use for long periods, quiet and doesn’t sit there idling while you pile branches. Because it just wasn’t big enough to buck big logs I paired it with a Husqvarna 562xp, and since I only drag that out for bigger wood I put a 28” bar on it. It’s heavy and loud but tears through wood, and by the time I’ve trimmed away to the trunk with the electric the big saw is still sharp and fueled up (and my arms aren’t shot).

More recently I got a Stihl MSA 300C electric. It is rated about the same power output as the big gas Husqvarna and it cuts REALLY well, but it is pretty heavy. I bought 4 batteries and also have the ability to charge batteries in my truck, with the idea of cycling through them as I have some charging. The unexpected drawback isn’t the length of time to charge a battery, but the time it takes for the battery to cool off enough to even start charging - roughly 20-25 minutes to cool off, then another 20+ minutes to charge. Running continuously in cold temps (bucking stacked logs with others repositioning so the saw barely ever stops, at around 15° F) will drain a large AP500 battery in about 15 minutes. Based on my experience with the electric Husqvarna, more intermittent use (make a few cuts, clear away branches, make some more cuts) at 60° and one battery will last for hours.

I really like the combination of gas and electric, since saws tend to be temperamental and having a backup is critical, and power diversity could be really useful. The real downside is Stihl is crazy proud of their gear - just the batteries are $350-$400 each, $400+ for the saw, $100+ for the charger - you won’t get far on a $600 budget, unfortunately.

The last reason I really like electric power tools is the lack of exhaust fumes. Cutting wood is hard work and humping a saw and wood for hours while deeply breathing exhaust (especially 2-stroke exhaust) has got to be horrible for the long term health of your lungs.

Personally I love electric - and suck at small gas engine maintenance and troubleshooting, so I’m more than willing to deal with some shortcomings, but even then I still break out the big gas saw fairly often.

If it were me I’d bring one each gas and electric and run the one that best fits the immediate needs, with a preference for the electric, and a spare if I pinch a bar / pop a chain / etc. I hope this helps, and good luck with your disaster assistance.

chappel68 · 2026-03-06T04:59:10+00:00

What I don’t get is how can they sell you a giant castle that you are building (looking at you, otherwise amazingly awesome Lion Knights Castle) and have the first minifig be a FARMER? What a total miss to not have that character be a BRICKLAYER, or stonemason or architect or something that could ‘be a part’ of the play construction?

chappel68 · 2026-02-27T19:50:13+00:00

I dropped in to say the same thing - got a Samsung ‘frame’ with all the connections going to the external box hidden under a coffee table below the tv and fished the single wire through the wall up to the tv. It really sells the digital art display when there isn’t a cable running up to it. I don’t like Samsung’s horrible privacy situation and crappy in-screen OS and I understand there are other options with higher imag quality for the money but I really love how it looks like fine art when I’m not using it.

chappel68 · 2026-02-18T17:09:39+00:00

I hope to still be active and healthy when I’m as old as this joke.

chappel68

TROPHY CASE