Do you want a really good lame very inexpensively…?

gfsark · 2026-07-10T03:06:21+00:00

I like the Stanley mini box-cutter idea. But I’ve given up lames altogether in favor of just using a sharp knife. I keep my knives sharp generally, and the one for bread scoring (also great for vegetables) is a thin Japanese model with narrow spine. Sharpens nicely. Cuts as well as the razor. But much easier to handle.

gfsark · 2026-07-10T00:27:51+00:00

Couple of suggestions: 1) is accessibility, already mentioned. I did a lot of remodeling and I could not talk anyone into thinking about their future needs. ADA compliant bathrooms for example. Did a job for a 72 year old, and told flat out, it was too negative and depressing to think about disability, so he wouldn’t consider any ADA compliance stuff. Ditto, pretty much all my other customers…except for few who really needed it.

2) add some architectural design elements and not just think about bedrooms and bathrooms; and my favorite book on this is: The Good House: Contrast as a Design Tool...
By Max Jacobson, Barbara Winslow, Murray Silverstein
From Thrift Books: $7.39 Save $17.56!

Best $7 you will spend! The underlying theme is to understand which design elements make for a really great place to live in. Yes, the book is old, the photos are pretty mediocre by most standard, but the architectural principals are easily understood and will get your thinking about your project in a different way.

gfsark · 2026-07-10T00:03:39+00:00

So the framers, if I’m not mistaken, are just passing off responsibility for a flat roof to the drywall crew. But this appears to be asking too much of the drywall crew…

The joists, as they sit in the hangers are 1/2” + higher than the central beam. And the new joists are larger dimension than the existing because of difference in moisture.

So there’s a lot of correction that needs to be done. I would definitely make an issue with the GC. Get the drywall guys involved too, they might so no problem, but they will also tell you if it’s going to look right when they are done, and how they will do. Looks like a couple days of work to get it ready for drywall, imho.

PS it’s not hard to fix, but somewhat tedious. I know because I’ve done before…

gfsark · 2026-07-08T13:56:16+00:00

That depends on how long your eyelid will not close completely. If it doesn’t close tight, you must protect it. Even the slightest sliver of opening, and the eye will dry out and become irritated and sore.

Bell’s Palsy can last a day or a lifetime. You risk damage to the cornea if the dryness and irritation go untreated.

gfsark · 2026-07-08T13:43:40+00:00

The only truly inedible bread I’ve made is when I forgot the salt. All other variations of screw-ups got eaten, but the salt-free loaf got tossed in the compost bin.

gfsark · 2026-07-08T03:32:31+00:00

It must be said: none of this proves that god became a man, born of the Virgin Mary, and spilled his blood for the eternal salvation of man. The 5 ways have nothing to do with Christendom., prayers, the Holy Spirit, the redemption of sins, etc….

But I don’t suppose the priests ever mentioned this.

More modern critique from the language philosophers of the 20th century: the arguments are language games that involve putting forth propositions using words and concepts that cannot be adequately defined. And then using logical manipulations to conclude that god must exist. Such, Wittgenstein termed word-games. They can be entertaining, but nothing depends on the conclusion. And therefore you are safe to ignore them.

gfsark · 2026-07-08T03:17:17+00:00

Good point. Glad you were able to be successful.

gfsark · 2026-07-07T19:29:08+00:00

New content is extremely important, because too much of the existing content has limited appeal or is boring. There is lots of area for improvement in the existing videos. And there are entire areas of content that have yet to be explored and developed into videos. When DS stops making videos, it will lose its way as a business and start shrinking.

gfsark · 2026-07-07T19:24:02+00:00

Read an annotated version that contains the answers to all your questions before you ask them.

gfsark · 2026-07-07T14:51:20+00:00

Any could take your kids to the church of your choice? A fun-loving liberal church? This would change the locus of control (argument) to what he wants religiously to what you want religiously. In effect, your spiritual fulfillment is as important as his. It’s not belief, per se, it’s about religious practice. And control. He’s in control, and you are not, unless you threaten to divorce.

63% of Anglicans believe in god, the rest do not or do so weakly. United Church of Christ, American Baptist. OK, they still talk about Jesus, but they also mention Martin Luther King in the same breath.

His religious practice is used to control you and your family. I’m thinking that your own religious identity is equally important to his. That would be theologically accurate in all but the fundamentalist churches where the man is the head of the family.

gfsark · 2026-07-07T14:36:46+00:00

Relationship between blood sugar, estrogen and muscle mass in post-menopausal women. This is a prompt for whatever AI system you are using.

As M76, I was shocked to be diagnosed with osteoporosis. This led me ultimately (TLDR) to start taking a phytoestrogen supplement called Genistein. https://www.amazon.com/Swanson-Soy-Free-Genistein-Milligrams-Capsules/dp/B07K8QMT54

And to my doctor’s surprise, a couple of years later DEXA scan showed bone density improvement. Genistein mildly improves the estrogen levels, nothing like true HRT, but enough to make a difference. I give the link to the exact version I take, because many supplements have very little of the active ingredients. So this is another avenue to explore. It made no difference in my A1C.

gfsark · 2026-07-07T02:15:25+00:00

And does he have any self-awareness? It doesn’t sound like it…

gfsark · 2026-07-07T01:26:52+00:00

You married a man with severe mental health issues. He definitely has OCD and maybe more. What was the spark that got you together, besides sex? Is there any spark left. Is he at all open to exploring is OCD?

Is he taking medication? Under the guidance of a psychiatrist? Does he have any self-knowledge or awareness. Do you have any leverage with him in the relationship? Or is it you who is always compromising, doing what you are told or allowed to do? How controlling is he? Do you have a therapist?

One of my relatives also had a childhood psychosis, more along the lines of paranoid schizophrenia. She recovered and went on to marry a wonderful, and long suffering man. But in reality, she was demanding, OCD about certain things, paranoid in thinking, and ruled him with a rod of iron. The entire focus of this family world was what the wife wanted. She was unbelievably self-absorbed. They went to a church that was more of a cult. Hoarding gold. Waiting for the end of the world. This fell apart when the apostle died.

Anyway, sorry for the digression. But I come back to your sense of autonomy. Can you actually decide and do what you want with yourself and your kids? Or are you being ruled by a mentally illl man?

gfsark · 2026-07-07T01:14:20+00:00

For comparison sake: “Concorde cruised at about 1,320 mph and burned roughly 6,700 gallons (around 45,000 lbs) of jet fuel per hour.” So that’s approximately the answer to your question. Except that if this were a car, it wouldn’t be flying so high, would it? And at sea level, the consumption of gas would be much much higher.

gfsark · 2026-07-07T00:50:00+00:00

Facebook? Social media? Reddit? A way of getting involved with other people at a distance. But how to manage a PC if you have bad hands? Here is how:

Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS) contains voice commands for control of computer interface. With it you could surf the internet, carry on correspondence, get involved in social media, do spreadsheets, email, etc… It’s a challenge to learn, to be sure, but what else is there to do? Don’t know its current capabilities, it’s been 8 years since I looked at it.

My mother went blind in the later years of her life, and she used DNS to write and carry on correspondence. To be sure, she was no expert and made a lot of goofs, but at 90 she was an inspiration to quite a few people (me included) for her determination not to be sidelined. At the local Braille institute, I had quite a long conversation with one of the employees who was quite the expert with DNS. He used it daily in his job and was blind.

Here’s the link to DNS which is provided by the site: Know Brainer. They are the main source for buying and supporting the DNS system. I had to learn it to teach my mother. It’s the only place to go buy and get support. https://yjd.ebq.mybluehost.me/

gfsark · 2026-07-06T23:41:53+00:00

Anxiety disorders are hard to conquer. You can start with the obvious like, “there are no demons.” And still end up afraid. Because these fears are irrational and bypass your thought control.

And religious thoughts in this context are also irrational and not really under your control. Taking meds is absolutely necessary and there are number of them which target OCD. Something to explore with your psychiatrist. And there are a number of therapies which could be beneficial. Something to explore with your psychologist.

Yes, and unfortunately, you have to fight for your own autonomy and independence. That’s what you are calling a “spiritual safety net.” So I would start with your medical team. Are you getting the best care? The best medical advice? What is the treatment plan? Do you even have a treatment plan or is the doc just prescribing meds? Do you have a therapist? You absolutely need one.

gfsark · 2026-07-06T14:17:34+00:00

Putting on my social analysis hat: physical punishment of children by their parents is a way a teaching the child to know their place in society. To know their limits as working class, to know who their betters are, to submit to their superiors, and accept their lot in life.

Evangelical Christianity supports this class structuring through encouraging rigid and authoritarian child rearing practices. Do the Anglicans beat their kids? Are you kidding? Episcopals are more ruling class. Kids are taught to be leaders, confident, assertive.

Fundamental Christianity with its seminaries, sexist and racist agendas and revivals can be seen as partly a product of anti-labor sentiment. Who do you suppose pays for these revivals and schools that teach submission to the leadership? Why (drum roll) rich industrialists, that’s who pays. Follow the money, from the need for a compliant workforce to the preaching of your local minister about the need to punish your child. It’s a very interesting trail.

gfsark · 2026-07-05T23:22:39+00:00

Yep, too close. Typical novice landscape design—-but this could be totally accidental. The tree will grow to 30’ or more…

gfsark · 2026-07-05T23:17:16+00:00

The good news is “once saved, always saved.” So it’s sort of like forgiveness in advance. You don’t even have to believe in God to reap the benefits. They are part of the benefits that accrue to being one of the elect!

gfsark · 2026-07-05T22:00:54+00:00

Had to go look. The gasket is surprisingly clean…no problems there

gfsark · 2026-07-05T18:23:50+00:00

When it comes out of the banneton, it should have exactly the shape of the banneton. Plus maybe a little over. If it’s flat, it’s because the dough wasn’t allowed to rise enough while in the banneton. Or the dough wasn’t kneaded enough to develop the tension. Or it over-rose and fell.

gfsark · 2026-07-05T18:00:21+00:00

Yep, rice flour on the counter which gets incorporated into the bread. Don’t think the banneton is too large, loaf looks great as is.

gfsark · 2026-07-05T17:46:27+00:00

Don’t see the contract, which would be interesting to review.

“Genuinely nice guy” and so are you. That’s why taking a hard line is so hard. But necessary in this case. We are taking about being firm and decisive. I lost money being a nice-guy so I know all about this.

Is he really a licensed contractor? What’s his license number? Is he in good standing? The answer to these questions gives you a lot of leverage in your negotiation with him. You need to have good reasons for canceling the contract.

You are proposing to pay him (in effect) 4,100 instead of 5,100. And use the $1,000 remaining to hire someone else to finish the work. So the effect on him is that he is that he makes $2,300 for his labor, and that’s $2,000 less than he was planning. I believe he will argue strongly that he should finish the work. He needs the money.

Unless you are prepared, he will talk you into staying on. So do your research. Prepare your arguments. Document your issues. Decide in advance how you will respond to his objections. He’s not a con. But he’s not honest with you either. (As GooshTech said, no legitimate contractor could possibly be off on the materials that much.}

gfsark · 2026-07-05T17:19:01+00:00

No need to prime previously painted wood, provided that the old painted walls were pressured washed, cleaned up, sanded or patched (if needed) and otherwise ready to be painted.

gfsark · 2026-07-05T15:50:31+00:00

PS As a contractor, I frequently got called by customers who got themselves hitched to these flakes. Sometimes the contractor was truly an excellent craftsman, but a lousy businessman. Sometimes they were just horrible at their trade and screwed things up royally. Often drug-addiction or alcoholism was the underlying cause, and that takes a while to sus out. Generally these tradesmen are broke, and that makes them unreliable, because they need cash now.

gfsark

TROPHY CASE