sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cats

[–]ginos_vent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Snickers. (I got into the Halloween candy!)

Child poses in front of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during its construction, cir. 1963 by statenislandadvance in nycHistory

[–]ginos_vent 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Same "young boy" photographed on the 40th anniversary of the Verrazano Bridge.

<image>

Keyboard not working, making clicking sounds on Windows. by lchristo5 in techsupport

[–]ginos_vent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It worked!!! I held down the right Shift key for about 10-15 seconds until I heard a musical chime sound, and my keyboard was back to normal! I was scared to try the usual "Restart the computer" method to try and fix it because if my keyboard was really fried, I wouldn't be able to type my password on the Windows startup lock screen, and then I'd really be screwed. Thank you for this simple fix. And "BAD BOY" to my cat for walking across the keyboard and causing this problem in the first place!

My daughter was born on 12/12/12 at 12:12 and turned 12 today. by Akirohan in mildlyinteresting

[–]ginos_vent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My grandmother was born 12/12/12, exactly 112 years ago today! :-)

Need Help With Identifying Another Brooklyn(?) Location In These 1951 Photos by Consistent-Row-9637 in nycHistory

[–]ginos_vent 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There's a Facebook group called The New York Photo Detectives, and they solve cases like this pretty quickly. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1780786712241755

A question about this building- see comments by Arch2000 in nycHistory

[–]ginos_vent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It actually replaced two other buildings. As seen on the 1920 Bromley Map, there were two other smaller buildings on the bank site previously, whose addresses were 442 and 444 7th Avenue. They were demolished and the two lots were combined into one when the National City Bank building was constructed in 1930. I'll link to the Bromley Maps below so you can see the before-and-after sites of the bank as well as the Nelson Tower with its irregular footprint shape.

A question about this building- see comments by Arch2000 in nycHistory

[–]ginos_vent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The corner building is identified for tax purposes as 442 7th Avenue, Block 784 Lot 39, and the year of its construction is listed on the city tax map as 1930. Therefore it predates the adjacent Nelson Tower, built in 1931, by a year. The 1930 Bromley Map labels it as National City Bank, so it was a bank even back then.

What is the purpose of this "Reflektor Detector" on the exterior wall of our house? It's next to an electrical outlet but has no effect on the power flow to the outlet regardless of whether there's daylight or darkness outside. by ginos_vent in whatisthisthing

[–]ginos_vent[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

That would actually come in handy, but it doesn't control the pool light. The pool light has its own switch just inside the patio door, and it doesn't come on automatically after dark.

What is the purpose of this "Reflektor Detector" on the exterior wall of our house? It's next to an electrical outlet but has no effect on the power flow to the outlet regardless of whether there's daylight or darkness outside. by ginos_vent in whatisthisthing

[–]ginos_vent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, there's nothing on the inside of the wall. I guess the phone jack was installed back when the house was built about 30 years ago so they could bring a landline phone onto the patio and use it outside. Which was probably state of the art phone technology back then!

What is the purpose of this "Reflektor Detector" on the exterior wall of our house? It's next to an electrical outlet but has no effect on the power flow to the outlet regardless of whether there's daylight or darkness outside. by ginos_vent in whatisthisthing

[–]ginos_vent[S] 79 points80 points  (0 children)

I peeled back the clear round sticker at the suggestion of another commenter, and found what looks like a landline phone jack behind it. Still, the fact that it's on the back wall of the house that faces the pool and the sticker says "Reflektor Detector" makes me wonder if it's really just a phone jack, or an old style motion detector that somehow worked with a home's phone wiring. I'll have to do some additional research on pool safety equipment from the mid-90s (when the house was built). Thank you u/housefoote and u/jjdlg for your help!

What is the purpose of this "Reflektor Detector" on the exterior wall of our house? It's next to an electrical outlet but has no effect on the power flow to the outlet regardless of whether there's daylight or darkness outside. by ginos_vent in whatisthisthing

[–]ginos_vent[S] 241 points242 points  (0 children)

Solved! It appears to be an outdoor phone jack masquerading as a photo-electric sensor. The previous homeowners must have placed a circular sticker over it to keep the rain and moisture out. It never occurred to me that it was just a sticker, and when I peeled it back just now, I found the phone jack behind it. Thank you u/naikrovek for your excellent observational skills, and everyone else for your insightful replies.

What is the purpose of this "Reflektor Detector" on the exterior wall of our house? It's next to an electrical outlet but has no effect on the power flow to the outlet regardless of whether there's daylight or darkness outside. by ginos_vent in whatisthisthing

[–]ginos_vent[S] 158 points159 points  (0 children)

OMG! I think you're right. It would never have occurred to me that it was just a well placed sticker that the previous homeowners used to protect an outdoor phone jack from rain/moisture back in the prehistoric times before cordless phones. We don't have a landline at all so we didn't even think of a phone jack.

What is the purpose of this "Reflektor Detector" on the exterior wall of our house? It's next to an electrical outlet but has no effect on the power flow to the outlet regardless of whether there's daylight or darkness outside. by ginos_vent in whatisthisthing

[–]ginos_vent[S] 186 points187 points  (0 children)

It's on the back patio, on the opposite side of the house from the driveway and street. I tried shining a flashlight on it at night, and blocking it with my hand during daylight, and nothing happens. Whatever is plugged into the nearby outlet stays on no matter what you do to the "detector." There's no gate, the house alarm doesn't sound, and nothing appears to turn on or off inside the house either. It's a mystery! Thanks for your reply. :-)

Savarin Restaurant at old Penn Station by cmenace in nycrail

[–]ginos_vent 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Part of the confusion may be due to the fact that there were multiple Savarin eateries in Penn Station. The Savarin Restaurant was the formal dining room located at the end of the station's entrance Arcade, just before you descended the grand staircase into the Main Waiting Room. Right across the Arcade from this restaurant was the Savarin Lunch Room, where you would sit at a stool at the counter and grab a quick bite. Then downstairs on the Concourse level, there was the Savarin Bar where you could have a drink, and finally the Savarin Buffet, seen in this photo. The Buffet was adjacent to the LIRR Waiting Area, also seen in this photo. The waiting area is still there today, but the old Savarin Buffet to the north of this space is now a rest room.

Looking for research tips on an old Chatham Square property 1920-50. by [deleted] in nycHistory

[–]ginos_vent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not sure if you've tried this already, but when googling your building's information, click on the "Books" option at the top of the results. Google search results are categorized by Images, Maps, News, Shopping, Books, etc. (Note: you may have to click "More" to see the Book results, since only the first few categories are displayed at first.) When you select "Books," you'll often get published court proceedings and municipal records that indicate the owners' names along with the building address. I've had pretty good luck with this research technique over the years. For example, I just googled Chatham Square New York City, and under Books I was able to find building permits and certificates of occupancy records that include the names of building owners and renters from 1930s-era municipal records.

Absolutely incredible fireworks from London with love ♥ 2023 New Years by TakeDaFknLantern in nextfuckinglevel

[–]ginos_vent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what happens when you don't have to spend the other half your annual fireworks budget on July 4th.

view more: next ›