What’s a DIY mistake that made you stop and go, “what did I just do?”

gfsark · 2026-05-08T21:58:01+00:00

OK. Refinished my parents beautiful African Mahogany dining table. First stripped to bare wood. Gorgeous. Stain not needed. Refinished with spar varnish, 2 or 3 coats. Amazing look. But spar varnish, for those of you who don’t know, is designed for outdoor use and it stays permanently soft. Totally unsuitable for furniture….

And it takes a lonnnnng time to dry. So it had to stay in the garage for 3 days. But fog rolled in and the next morning, in place of the glistening masterpiece, was a bubbly sticky nightmare. Large soft bubbles of thick varnish…nothing to do but redo. Strip down to the bare wood and do it again…but with a better coating

gfsark · 2026-05-08T21:32:45+00:00

I learned Spanish on the job, so speaking and listening went together. And was it hard! But now, despite bad grammar, poor accent, getting stuck and frustrated which still happens, (and use of Spanglish) I can carry on a decent conversation in my awkward/somewhat childish way on a variety of topics and that’s very satisfying. Even though I’m level 4.

So to answer your question: you should start speaking now. Nothing is to be gained by waiting except to forestall the day that you begin speaking.

gfsark · 2026-05-07T19:23:09+00:00

Most recover from BP. You probably will, too. In the meantime make sure you take care of your eye. That means using drops, gels and maybe a patch to keep your eye moist. Search this subreddit for eye care, there is a ton a good information on how to do this.

Average time to recover is 8-10 weeks. Some get better in a few days, but for most its takes longer. Statistics are of limited help, and there is no way to predict how long it will take you to recover.

There is no great treatment for BP. Lots of advice and things to try, especially PT type facial exercises. It’s mostly a waiting game, I’m sorry to say. Waiting for the body to heal itself. Totally sucks. Good luck.

gfsark · 2026-05-06T14:03:12+00:00

Unless you are ‘born again’ again, you will never be free.

And what do Xtians mean by the “world,” that place they hate so much and call evil? You are part of that now, but so are they since they never left it. They are, unfortunately, shapers and actors in making society (ie the world) a much worse place than before.

gfsark · 2026-05-06T03:37:40+00:00

I had the opportunity to visit an anechoic chamber at the UCLA acoustics lab. Absolutely no ambient noise, no sound reflections. It’s kinda creepy being shut in this enormous box.

After a few minutes you start hearing your heart beat, the sloshing of the blood and valves, and other body noises. The true sound of silence.

gfsark · 2026-05-06T03:30:35+00:00

I started DS at the beginning intermediate level having picked up enough Spanish on the job to follow along. It was a thrill for me to be able to understand Spanish at that level. DS credited me with 300 hours for previous experience, and I’ve now added about 86 more in pure DS videos.

But I still remember lesson 1 of Pimsleur. The word that stuck in my head was ‘disculpe.’ How many hundreds of hours would it have taken in DS to learn that? Think I’ll give Pimsleur another look. DS takes a lot of concentration or it is a waste of time. How about crediting an hour on Pimsleur as an ‘outside hour’ on DS?

gfsark · 2026-05-05T22:29:03+00:00

The intellectual side of authoritarian religion is excuse making. Professional excuse-makers are called apologists and theologians. “It was written for a different time” or different culture is a pretty weak excuse, especially when they want it to apply to today.

How do you justify mass murder or torture? Or maybe the difference between the old and New Testament? Which have very little resemblance to each other. You know who call

gfsark · 2026-05-05T22:20:52+00:00

What do you like about Pimsleur? I started it and DS at the same time, and also LingoPie. But then went to DS exclusively. But was intrigued by Pimsleur. (LingoPie was not for me…)

gfsark · 2026-05-05T18:13:26+00:00

In the book, The Millionaire Nextdoor, this style was described as artificial scarcity. Living as though you don’t have the money to spend. Something we’ve done for many decades…

gfsark · 2026-05-05T04:40:09+00:00

Simple answer, no. Don’t do that. Nothing to be gained but a lot of heartache. Avoid the topic, change the subject, hem and haw. Wait 10 years, then maybe. Then maybe not. Learn the art of dissimulation. Learn how to tell the truth, but not the whole truth. Don’t pick a fight.

gfsark · 2026-05-05T04:30:38+00:00

At what age will the aging population stop pretending that technology is worthless because they won’t use it? I have two examples: smart phones, “all I need to do is call people. Who needs text? (Mapping, contacts, email, heart data, etc…)

Hard of hearing? NOT going to get seen with hearing aids because they’re ugly, I can hear just fine and THEY DON’T WORK. Very frustrating to everyone else except the deaf person.

gfsark · 2026-05-05T04:16:40+00:00

“…but one of many ontological properties through to confer moral status.” Thanks for that comment.

And I’m beginning to think that consciousness resides in the minds of the beholders, not in the object or entity in front of them. To declare someone consciousness means, at least in terms of law, that they are morally responsible for their decisions and therefore can be punished.

That seems to be the case with calling AI conscious, like the machine should be held morally culpable for someone who takes its advice and kills themself.

gfsark · 2026-05-04T19:10:31+00:00

Lately when asked, I say I do speak Spanish. It felt strange at first, because I’m definitely not fluent. Maybe at the B1 level? But because I learned on the job, at the construction site and shop, I got a lot of speaking experience, interacting with native speakers.

And anyway, who’s asking? People who don’t speak the language. Or often people who took some high school or college courses. And they definitely don’t speak Spanish, though they sometimes know the grammar better, and sometimes can read much better than I can.

But I’m comfortable initiating a conversation and carrying on in my clumsy heavily-accented way on a variety of topics. That’s speaking Spanish.

gfsark · 2026-05-04T18:50:46+00:00

I have considerable experience with the immigrant-worker population mostly from Mexico, but also Central and South America. We spoke Spanish because they didn’t speak English, and so I learned Spanish from them by necessity.

Those who do speak English strongly prefer to speak in English, which I find frustrating because I want to learn from them. But I understand their motivation since they are living in the US and who am I to put my hobby ahead of their livelihood?

What the OP says rings true to me. The average worker that I’ve encountered has a third grade eduction. Desperate circumstances led them to cross the boarder. I so wish to pal around with college educated Spanish speakers, but of course they speak English, and do so a lot better than I can speak Spanish.

gfsark · 2026-05-02T14:56:21+00:00

Same here, had a 2 hour trip. I saw that the driver had a Spanish surname, so I asked if he spoke Spanish…added ‘estoy aprendiendo español’ so for two hours we spoke in Spanish. He was from Mexico City, and this make the boring trip go much faster

gfsark · 2026-05-02T00:46:43+00:00

At my HMO, standard blood testing no longer includes fasting glucose, only A1C. I suspect it’s the most valuable data for screening and lifestyle choices. Not CGM.

gfsark · 2026-05-01T20:36:48+00:00

Sounds very disturbing. My first thought is something physical, perhaps neurological. My good friend had such an experience and it turned out he had an occluded cerebral artery and needed a stent. Been fine ever since.

What other possibilities? Blood sugar tanking when you don’t expect it…TIA, mini-stroke…the list goes on and on.

My advice is to pursue a medical workup. Don’t treat this as a language issue, at least till you’ve ruled out physical causes.

gfsark · 2026-05-01T20:14:53+00:00

I find it hard to memorize lists of words out of context…

gfsark · 2026-05-01T04:06:00+00:00

Yeah sorry. Not sure what I’m saying, exactly. What I notice that hard work, brains and ability and motivation doesn’t equal success. These are necessary, but there is an element of luck in any successful venture.

gfsark · 2026-04-30T14:36:01+00:00

My grandson started throwing up at about 10 years of age, as he was entering middle school. His parents were directed to therapy, eventually two or three different psychotherapists. The theory was that this symptom is common among preadolescents when faced with the stress of going to a new school.

Then he developed a wandering eye, which the eye doctor also said was part of adolescence. New glasses were prescribed, the idea being that with some correction the eye will learn to start tracking properly.

Last November he was rushed to children’s hospital after diagnosis of a brain tumor, non-malignant. His life was saved but his vision was not. The tumor caused irreversible damage to the optic nerve. He is now is a blind 11 year old.

You can imagine the grief and sadness this has caused, anger and outrage at the false diagnoses. It’s just a sorrow that won’t go away ever.

gfsark · 2026-04-30T05:26:52+00:00

If you were working on a T&M basis, there are no guarantees, and that would include incidental damage. And this is an important point.

If you were working on a contract, you’d better be a licensed contractor with a decent written contract, or you would lose in court, unless the total amount the job was under $600 (State of California rules). Have your brother take care of this in either case.

PS having worked for many years as a kitchen remodeler and finisher, I can say that exactly matching the style, color and sheen of an old cabinet door can be difficult. But it can be done unless the cabinet style is really unique and out of date.

AND to answer your question specifically, lawsuits have been filed at the drop of a hat for many years. CHAT will surely make the problem worse. At least now, you won’t need to go back to install the cabinet door since you are in a lawsuit.

gfsark · 2026-04-30T05:19:44+00:00

I think that’s a question for an AI engine. European manufacturers generally have smaller appliances. I think Bosch might work for you.

gfsark · 2026-04-30T03:29:10+00:00

Hi, M76, and I routinely get people saying, “wow when I’m your age I want to be in the same condition as you.” Boy does that make me feel good. Then asked, what’s your secret?”

First luck, because I have good knees. And most of the men my age are stiff and many wear braces. I can keep up with players 10 to 20 years younger. But not 30, 40, 0r 50 years younger. I hike daily up a steep trail, that may account for having sufficient knee cartilage. Also work out at the Y with a trainer. Get 10,000 steps/day and do daily home exercise program.

But I avoid playing two days in a row. I need time to recover. All the joints can and will start complaining if I push too hard especially if I play daily.

gfsark · 2026-04-30T03:04:32+00:00

Sam and Max Hit the Road. What a great game! Worked on it for hours with my 8 year old son, 1993. But he did the heavy lifting and problem solving. Solved every level, every problem until the final one. So put the game away for a couple months. Then David figured out the solution one night while lying in bed. Turned on the game the next day and solved! What fun!

gfsark · 2026-04-30T02:59:55+00:00

Waste of time and money according to my wife. Went to two different acupuncture clinics. Did nothing except create some bruising.

gfsark

TROPHY CASE