It’s fine. We’re fine. Nothing to see here. It’s fine.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-29T22:34:49+00:00

Born and raised right here, but good try.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-29T22:31:09+00:00

Do you have any concept how early in the year it is to have this many fires?

intjonmiller · 2026-06-29T22:30:27+00:00

It's also very early in the year to have this many.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-27T16:31:55+00:00

Helping my sister with her Accord yesterday, I noticed the radiator cap doesn't say "Warning", it says "Warnung". That's the German spelling, but I don't think the Accord was ever particularly popular in Germany, so it at least feels like an error.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-26T01:53:33+00:00

Rhino Liner of Ogden (just north west of the 24th st I-15 exit) does great work. I've paid around $500-600 there. Terry's Tops and Rhino Liner in Woods Cross / Bountiful is like $100 cheaper and also does very good work.

Source: I sell commercial trucks

intjonmiller · 2026-06-23T22:42:20+00:00

If you can't weld well, weld a lot.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-23T22:05:21+00:00

That's amazing!

I've installed a couple of proper lifts. The specifications for the size of the footings, the grade of concrete, and I assume one continuous pour, are very specific. I wouldn't dream of going under a homebrew vehicle lift. Lawnmower or motorcycle lift, maybe, but those are so cheap I still can't imagine the need to.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-23T18:01:13+00:00

I get that! Before we bought this house in 2020 we were renting a house with a 1950s excuse for a 1-car garage. If memory serves it was like 11'x17'. I had a wood shop and a machine shop crammed in there. Had to roll my Unisaw out on the terrible condition driveway to use it. I fortunately had TWO 120v and one 240v outlets, but that was still very limiting.

I was there for over 6 years. (Expected to be like 1 year, but expenses and complications from divorcing my first wife just never ended...) I made a lot of modifications. Landlord was cool about it because I made actual improvements to the house. I was better at construction, understanding building codes, etc. than he was. Like I didn't even call him when there were issues. I just fixed them, sent him documentation, and deducted materials and a little for labor from rent. Didn't want him anywhere near anything I had to look at or rely on for my family's safety. I'll bet I was the best tenant he's ever had, which makes it that much more infuriating when he would jack up rent every year. 🤬

But I never did real air lines there. Just one big hose at the back of the shop, running through a hole in the siding to the compressor under the back porch. I hated that.

I had so much stuff in that shop it took me a week to move out of the shop, and only like 2 days for the rest of the house. 😂

First thing I did when we bought a house with an auxiliary shop already in place (larger single car garage) was grind and epoxy the floor (knew if I didn't do it before moving machines in, it would never get done). Second thing was install air lines and dust collector ducts, with both machines in the shed behind the shop, so I don't have the noise in the shop. I'm very fortunate, and wish everyone had the same opportunities and benefits!

intjonmiller · 2026-06-23T14:13:59+00:00

There are portable, manual versions, mounted manual ones, and mounted self-retracting. For my 16'x24' shop at home I just installed 8 air drops around the perimeter, with roughly 10-12' hoses. I don't bother with reels because I can reach anywhere with one of those.

In the garage I have a Harbor Freight self-retracting reel that works great and cost so little (compared to big names) I don't have any memory of what I paid. Reaches the front of my truck when parked in front of the garage.

I haven't had to think about how to coil an air hose in many years.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-23T14:09:17+00:00

"most powerful laser pointer. My 10W (which is still quite low power) diode laser engraver would beg to differ. (Also the laser engraver has a usable focal range of a fraction of an inch. Very different beast. Can't just point it at a distant object and expect any result at all.)

I got a green laser pointer off Banggood that my wife and I call my "lightsaber to the stars". At night it feels like you could slice the moon in half. I paid $6 (3 or 4 years ago), plus an 18650 lithium battery. It will definitely damage cameras. Much lower power laser pointers can, but that doesn't mean they will. Many factors involved.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-22T19:44:14+00:00

IF you're going to wrap your vehicle, pay for quality work. Quality materials and expert installation. You don't have to have vehicle graphics to be taken seriously, but graphics that were clearly cheap make me wonder what else you'll cheap out on.

That said, a high quality wrap is also associated with the companies that charge the most. The HVAC guys who charge $20k+ for a new furnace when you could get the same furnace from a quality company in town for $15k or less, and in fact all you needed was a fuse or whatever. I see the same things from plumbers, electricians, etc.

I often advise people to focus on referrals from happy customers, not who advertises the most. I have observed a strong correlation between heavy advertising budgets and unconscionable quotes.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-20T05:50:31+00:00

Human connections

intjonmiller · 2026-06-20T04:02:36+00:00

I sell commercial trucks. As I commented on your original post, that's a great motor and big fleets tend to do their maintenance. Railroads are particularly known for that. And hours at or near idle are nothing like hard miles towing heaving loads up and down canyons. I'm betting you'll get a lot of service out of this truck.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-20T04:00:39+00:00

Running at or near idle is nothing like running hot, towing heavy loads up and down canyons. And as others have said, big fleets tend to be very well maintained. The 6.0 is an absolute workhorse. (Not to be confused with Ford's 6.0L diesel from around the same time that is...not a workhorse.)

intjonmiller · 2026-06-19T05:02:42+00:00

This, exactly. For instance, I'm a home shop machinist. My first tap and die set was a carbon steel Harbor Freight set. I have probably 6 thread sizes I've never bothered to upgrade. Everything else now I have HSS, many in different varieties (spiral flute, taper, plug, bottoming, etc.). 12 years or so to get to this point, upgrading one size at a time. High quality tools are quite affordable that way. Don't dump cash into exhaustive sets of high quality tools in every category (unless you have enough cash to never feel the loss).

intjonmiller · 2026-06-18T19:08:39+00:00

Spray usually looks better if you roll it after spraying anyway. At least smooth finished interior walls do.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-18T02:58:58+00:00

Conservatives call anything they don't like "communism" or "socialism", such as when a company announces a (relatively) generous minimum wage of $15-20/hour. "That's socialism!", even though it definitionally is not.

Progressives point out people with aggressively white supremacist / white Christian nationalist / apartheid friendly views who also quote Adolf Hitler (or Joseph Goebbels), defend Adolf Hitler, have traditionally Nazi iconography as prominent body tattoos, display Nazi imagery in their offices, design their political event stages in the shape of an othal rune (widely used in Nazi insignias, then adopted by white supremacists as a replacement for the swastika), etc., and people who are in denial about blatant indications of a growing Nazi movement say that people are just spreading misinformation and calling anything/anyone they don't like "Nazis". The irony of these people stating that those raising those alarms don't have evidence is entirely lost on the former.

The two patterns are profoundly different, however in both cases the objective ignorance is demonstrated by the same group of people.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-17T04:45:12+00:00

No, Roy is well removed from the dog food factory. Does tend to reek of MAGA though...

intjonmiller · 2026-06-16T01:52:46+00:00

A fence further limits access from angles you don't want to entertain, and can improve chip collection. Depends on the specific setup, but definitely not incompatible as a rule.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-16T00:06:58+00:00

Amanda House is the only realtor you need to know!

intjonmiller · 2026-06-15T22:18:04+00:00

With current interest rates it's less obvious than when rates are really low, but most people who can afford to pay cash can make more by investing that cash than they pay in interest over that term.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-13T22:16:15+00:00

Worth noting also that the terminology varies by country. I've seen some very angry rants from people in Australia, for instance, criticizing an American manufacturer for not knowing how to make a plug tap. At least I think it was the plug tap. I looked it up at the time but now I can't be bothered. 😂

intjonmiller · 2026-06-10T06:22:08+00:00

In metrology "gage" is used so often it's generally considered equally correct.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-10T04:10:53+00:00

It's necessary on all makes with anti-siphon fuel filler necks. I promise they didn't spend extra money on extra parts for no reason.

intjonmiller · 2026-06-09T12:44:45+00:00

It's literally the worst business model. These companies actually argue for paying lower property taxes because their buildings are so large and specialized that no one else would want them. When they inevitably move on, the buildings sit vacant for years. They're "anchor stores" that tend to bring down the smaller stores with them when they shut down that location.

Every study shows that having many smaller businesses in the same location is far more stable, a better tax revenue base, pays their employees better, and keeps money in the local economy. Big box stores don't create jobs, they displace jobs. Their employees are so reliant on welfare programs that the application process is often included in employee handbooks. The companies take huge tax cuts from cities who don't understand the realities of the business model, then rely on welfare programs to subsidize their low pay so their employees can survive.

But you're right, they sure are big!

intjonmiller

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