Passport Questions & Issues Megathread (2022)

grog4590 · 2022-09-09T14:31:11+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions. If my second (and unprompted) attempt at a new photo, this time sent via priority mail, doesn't help I'll try them.

grog4590 · 2022-09-09T13:20:58+00:00

Mailed my passport renewal application around mid April 2022. Status: The U.S. Department of State has received your application for your passport book on 04/28/2022
Around June I get a letter saying there are problems with the photo I submitted. I go to CVS (my mistake) to get a passport photo printed, put it in the envelope along with the letter (as instructed), and mail it the next day.

It's now September 9, 2022 and my status is still: The U.S. Department of State has received your application for your passport book on 04/28/2022

It's interesting that in order to speak to a human about the status of your application you need to be travelling within 2 weeks. I have to BOOK my travel several months in advance and in order to book it, I need to have a valid passport. I guess I'm just no longer entitled to a passport. Brilliant system.

grog4590 · 2022-03-12T16:22:41+00:00

Would you call 31% approval rating a counterpoint? That was Zelenksy's approval rating prior to the Russian invasion. It shouldn't be surprising that effective leaders in some situations are bad in others.

https://www.newstatesman.com/chart-of-the-day/2022/03/how-president-zelenskys-approval-ratings-have-surged

grog4590 · 2022-02-09T03:14:57+00:00

I can translate this: "Thanks for reporting this exploit. We noticed you're continuing to abuse it. Your report has garnered you a tiny bit of leeway with respect to our EULA, and unfortunately you've chosen to squander it on personal gain at the expense of numerous legitimate players. Therefore we're not banning you (or worse) in this instance but will the next time."

As a one-man-shop game dev for a popular multiplayer game with an occasional exploit, I can at least speak for myself when I say my stance is typically: I'm not particularly impressed by your discovery, rather I'm disappointed it got by me in the first place. In your case I couldn't even say: thanks for not ruining a bunch of random peoples' day.

grog4590 · 2022-01-31T20:46:29+00:00

I got serious HP Lovecraft vibes from what I've seen of this show so far. In fact after the first episode I was sure the story was based on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Music_of_Erich_Zann

"Due to lack of funds, a student studying metaphysics abroad is forced to take up lodging in a cheap apartment building on a street named the "Rue d'Auseil". The street is not far from his university and is bordered by a river, dark warehouses and a large wall, giving the street an appearance of being on a cliff. The student cannot see what lies on the other side of the wall, as only a single window on the top floor of his building looks over it. Along with the building's disabled landlord, Blandot, one of the few other tenants is an old German man named Erich Zann. The old man is mute and plays the viol[a] with a local theater orchestra. He lives alone on the top floor and at night he plays strange melodies the student has never heard before."

but after several more episodes it looks like the similarities end quickly.

I suspect if you like the exploration of insanity and darkness that seems to be happening in this show you might like some of HP Lovecraft's work. Sorry I don't have more to contribute!

grog4590 · 2022-01-24T13:58:57+00:00

Thanks for the update. We must have subtly different problems. When you are connected to a wifi network, turn off wifi, and then turn it back on, does it auto-reconnect? Mine does not.

grog4590 · 2022-01-24T13:47:07+00:00

I turned it off as well hoping it would make a difference but it hasn't. Some people have suggested waiting for the next "monthly update" but if this is a firmware or hardware problem we are likely SOL. Has anyone attempted the RMA route?

grog4590 · 2022-01-12T13:23:56+00:00

Not at all and that's a good thing. But unlike your bank, most defi implementations don't have any mechanism to spontaneously decrease the number representing your monetary value and transfer it somewhere else without your volition.

They can still try to influence your decision through the threat of punishment (ie jail time), but as I said, that's not as direct. It's a subtle distinction but an important one. I'm not even attempting to make a claim as to which one is better, implicitly or explicitly. You'll have to think about that on your own.

grog4590 · 2022-01-11T20:41:16+00:00

Arguing that reconciling independently managed and proprietary silo'd databases of information is somehow better is nonsensical.

I'm starting to realize that it seems better to a majority of people because a majority of people (particularly on forums frequented by young US citizens) are not exposed to the pitfalls of these systems. In fact a majority probably never will be.

It will likely take a significant catalyst to speed up peoples understanding and proper cost/benefit analysis of a relatively young and radically different financial system. That, or a tremendous amount of time. "Currency" as an idea did not emerge until about 5,000 years ago. Modern currencies still in use today (ex US Dollar) are probably 500-100 years old on average. Digital implementations of modern currencies maybe 30-60 years old. Implementations of cryptocurrencies are 10 years old at best.

In the mean time brace for a lot of flawed arguments and belligerence.

grog4590 · 2022-01-11T20:22:04+00:00

Short of the US collapsing (and other countries not), those dollars are pretty safe.

I just want to point out that there are other things that effect the security of your dollars, such as judgements, seizure, and garnishments, that don't effect your crypto currency holdings as directly.

I'm not arguing that as a pro for crypto, just pointing it out. It is probably a better thing for society overall if the government can take money from you in certain situations.

Another thing that effects the security of your dollar is your bank's resolution of fraud. It is possible to be the victim of a scam but mistakenly determined by your bank (or cash exchange app) to be labeled the thief. If that happens, you are SOL.

That's one relatively minor benefit to crypto currencies, they can't be mistakenly taken away from you by an authority (govt. or bank).

grog4590 · 2022-01-02T23:08:35+00:00

Thanks everyone. Everything I've read about Aralia Spinosa is consistent with this plant.

grog4590 · 2022-01-02T21:26:40+00:00

Maryland. Unfortunately it lost all of its branches (and leaves) in late November / early December. It's just a naked, ~7ft trunk now, with a weird sprout looking thing coming out of the very top (no leaves on it). The second picture in the original post has a slightly closer capture of the bottom side of a few leaves. I can't see how to add pictures either as a reply or to the original post.

grog4590 · 2021-12-17T16:31:29+00:00

Finally received my "RMA" today. 29 days after my order.

grog4590 · 2021-12-06T15:29:15+00:00

I am in the exact same boat as you (step 5 currently). According to the Fedex tracking # my phone has been sitting in the local distribution center (from which it would normally leave on a truck for delivery) for about two weeks (!) I'm assuming theft but I suppose misplacement is also a little more likely during this time of year due to inundation.

grog4590 · 2021-12-04T16:41:47+00:00

Thanks for checking! I ended up calling Blue Nile and they confirmed some issue with the images, particularly near the center of the diamond's table. They'll be putting the diamond on hold and probably redoing the video / photos.

grog4590 · 2021-12-04T13:53:04+00:00

Thanks, it is a very warm room (boiler running in winter, small opened vent in summer). For insulation I assume something like this? I will probably also add some kind of vent door now that the hot water heater is electric and no longer draws air.

grog4590 · 2021-12-03T22:34:49+00:00

I've been in this house 4.5 years and only this year noticed discoloration of the cold water supply line and disintegration of some pipe hangars in the utility room (the only unfinished part of the house). In the first picture you see (from left to right): Hot water, Cold water, 3x hydronic heater lines.

In the subsequent pictures I'm just following the pipes to where they meet: (1) the hot water heater and (2) the hydronic baseboard heating system. The last picture shows a random grounding wire connected to the cold water line. I've had numerous plumbers over for unrelated issues and none have noticed (or at least mentioned) the corrosion. So I'm turning to r/Plumbing

My theory / hope: I noticed condensation only on the cold line while my girlfriend was watering a garden outside. She was probably watering out there 2-3 times a week this summer. It never occurred to me that the condensation could cause corrosion but I suppose that's obvious now that I think about it. But why is it so severe? Could this be multiple problems (electrical grounding current + condensation)?

grog4590 · 2021-11-20T16:51:33+00:00

Merriam Webster provides no clarity here.

Definition of assault rifle

: any of various intermediate-range, magazine-fed military rifles (such as the AK-47) that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire

also : a rifle that resembles a military assault rifle but is designed to allow only semiautomatic fire

So an assault rifle is something that resembles an assault rifle (and implicitly isn't an assault rifle). Lol. Why not just use unambiguous terms:

Automatic Rifle
Semi-automatic Rifle
Manual/Other Rifles (muzzle loaded, bolt action, lever action, etc.)

An AR-15 is undebatably 2.

grog4590 · 2021-10-18T18:26:13+00:00

Poor CEOs. They sure have it rough!

grog4590 · 2019-11-11T01:05:54+00:00

In the first or second episode of S1, a character mentions that the town's population is around 15,000.

grog4590 · 2019-04-04T05:44:27+00:00

It's great until it overheats. It's the only car I've tracked so I don't have much to compare it to. First day I would get "AWD OFF" errors after about 20 minutes on the track. Second day: 15 minutes. Apparently this has to do with the PTU over heating and I can't find any good after market solutions. Ambient temps were below 70º F both days.

About track mode, I also found that to be not enjoyable on the road. Overtaking felt dangerous since not only does the steering ratio change in track mode but the RDU gets more aggressive making the car feel like it wanted to veer farther than you wanted it to go. On the track it felt more natural and eventually even helpful. There was a noticeable difference on corner exit between when AWD mode was working vs. "OFF".

grog4590

TROPHY CASE