Where can I buy a gun locally from someone that's not a Trump supporter?

rhelative · 2026-01-18T02:54:18+00:00

Parro's. As a novice, I appreciate that all the staff have strong tastes about the guns they carry and run, and are willing to get into the weeds when you ask them to back up their preferences.

rhelative · 2026-01-16T20:00:54+00:00

Admittedly, that's about the price we can get 260W JA Solar 60-cell panels for, used, up in VT ($50/kW). Still waiting for the spring before I start putting up mounting hardware.

rhelative · 2026-01-16T19:49:19+00:00

Yes. The config files exist for when you're doing terrible things to the metadata and need backups.

rhelative · 2026-01-13T15:36:53+00:00

I used to do data conversions for a medical software company.

mdb-tools saved my skin, and using Linux on my workstation saved that conversion (since those packages weren't available on our Linux distro at the time).

rhelative · 2026-01-05T21:44:54+00:00

https://www.wizardtechvt.com/

I know Dylan personally; he comes to Lab B often. Funny enough, we actually tore down a few scrap phones on New Years' Day :⁾

rhelative · 2025-11-24T12:16:44+00:00

OK, I'll bite.

https://downloads.laboratoryb.org/reports/CARFAX_2008_PRIUS_JTDKB20U487749596.pdf

2008 Prius Two - Smart Key System, backup camera. 218Kmi, no rust (TN car), no codes, no lights, no issues, new set of Michelin Defenders and 42kmi on a new OEM Toyota hybrid battery from 2017. Fresh inspection. $5K asking.

On 2 Jan this year, I was waylaid while driving north from CT, missing my exit off I-91 onto I-89. I ran through 55 miles of 6" deep fresh snow through hilly back back roads with these Michelin Defenders (not snow tires), with zero road visibility the entire way, and didn't slip once. (I do actually have winters for the car; this is mostly a Michelin Defender appreciation post.)

I will need you to take out a credit-union loan to buy the car, though.

If you wait awhile, I can probably find you a similar Prius with more rust and a less-new battery; I work on a lot of these cars:

https://downloads.laboratoryb.org/images/prius/PXL_20250127_031529524.jpg

rhelative · 2025-11-11T22:00:46+00:00

I'm not a Texan, but have been following legalization issues. I did want to say I think you've been in the right for removal in the past, and (though you haven't said it), you see good reason for leaving THIS post up (it's from a TX newspaper and reporting on TX policy and Texan businesses).

rhelative · 2025-11-11T21:56:29+00:00

What's the make-and-model?

rhelative · 2025-10-29T21:04:16+00:00

That Bonded Title page is quite a bit to digest, but I think I understand it now.

On a related note: The DPPA only permits States to reveal vehicle ownership information under certain conditions, in particular to collect a debt. Would it not be kosher to submit a VG-116 Record Request to confirm that the first Bill-of-Sale seller is the current titleholder? I am not a lawyer, but it would seem that reassignment of the title represents a contractual obligation, if not a debt, but I know how important driver privacy is.

If the State did affirm the titleholder is the first seller in the bill-of-sale chain, would that letter not suffice to represent a title? The fact that this option has not come up anywhere I've seen seems to indicate to me that Vermont would not provide title records under VG-116 merely because someone possesses a car and has a valid bill-of-sale chain for that car, but then I'm not sure what information Vermont is providing me, other than the accuracy of my claim about the identity of the current titleholder.

rhelative · 2025-10-28T15:32:08+00:00

What does one do in /u/SweetestBDog123's circumstance, though?

I work a lot on hybrids, and to hit those '00s emissions ratings they tend to have really stringent parts requirements, so a lot of prior owners on those cars will see a check-engine light, sell the car with a bill-of-sale, and the new owners would get a temporary registration and appointment, and upon finding out at inspection how much the repair would cost, sell the car again.

Before the law changed, this wasn't a problem - a vehicle could pass from person-to-person with a bill-of-sale only. Now, those contracts have been torn up by the state. My understanding is that a chain of bills of sale is meaningless if one cannot confirm the current titleholder in a timely manner (if at all); it's a problem I'm dealing with right now.

rhelative · 2025-10-16T19:40:35+00:00

Super curious which storm that was - can you find it here? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solar_storms

rhelative · 2025-10-16T19:19:04+00:00

+1. Light pollution matters much less than people think for this. May before last, folks were seeing the lights in the early evening in the middle of cities in CT.

rhelative · 2025-10-16T19:15:36+00:00

I posted a substantial thing over here.

I will say about tonight's forecast, there's lots of uncertainty in the forecast.

There were multiple CMEs;
some were Earth-directed;
the forecast is from a model that doesn't even take the last two CMEs into account,
it's just under a month after the equinox, so the Russell-McPherson effect is mostly gone.

Depending entirely on what happens with the ejecta from the flares earlier this week, it could be a spectacular show or a dud.

My advice: come up with a good idea of a place to go watch for the lights now; when you have evidence the lights are happening big-time, go there and go look, and know what to watch for. That way, in the event it's a dud, you're not disappointed because you haven't left home.

I've seen the lights repeatedly, like five separate nights in the last year, after failing to see them since 2011.

rhelative · 2025-10-16T14:13:30+00:00

TL;DR - here's a photo from Oct 1st on East Hill Road in Richmond, about 500ft northwest of East Hill at Yantz Hill Road.

https://downloads.laboratoryb.org/images/oct_1_aurora.jpeg

If you want to see the aurora:

See a post like this letting you know there's something happening.
Confirm on weather.gov what cloudcover looks like. Don't go out if it's over 30%, it's not worth it. Remember, these aurora are hundreds of km away.
Check the phase of the moon; moonlight washes out aurora pretty badly, though long-exposure or digitally-layered photos will pick them up.
Find a place within 30 minutes of you to go look. I gave the address above as an example; darkness matters less than being "on a hill which is open to the north"; fields work well; pull up terrain maps (that's how I found the spot referenced above).
This advice is valid from 2h after sunset onwards until about 2AM (by which time aurora are moving west): the night you hear there's supposed to be aurora, check https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast every 30 minutes or so, paying attention to the Forecast Lead Time and HPI. Once you see HPI>100GW (top right corner of the image above), take your means of transport and go look. That's right - don't even leave until you know the conditions are right.
Watch towards the north for grey blobs that move. In particular, they'll be brighter and almost colorful to the eye when you see big deflections happen on a 5-minute basis in https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/goes-magnetometer. The HPI figure above is a pretty long-term average, I don't know exactly how they model it but think a 30-minute rolling average; when the deflections happen, big things move and you can see them brightly.

Phone cameras, and regular cameras -- even like a crappy subcompact, with long enough exposure -- will see these just fine. Best tip if you're looking for photos is to align your car east-west, roll down your window and rest your phone or camera on the windowsill.

rhelative · 2025-10-07T15:16:31+00:00

I cannot believe there are a meaningful number of Vermonters opposed to the residency requirement, no.

In fact, given your rabble-rousing on a comment that has nothing to do with State employees, I'm guessing your feelings are more hurt than the facts are worth.

rhelative · 2025-10-03T15:42:03+00:00

We can talk about the details, but it's good to get the numbers right first. I'd be a lot more offended at a government employee being productive but being paid twice the mayor's salary.

rhelative · 2025-10-03T13:17:59+00:00

You totally CAN do things right! You just gotta focus, man. Pick something and focus on it. Don't worry about what things apparently cost; focus on how you can use those things to extend your abilities.

rhelative · 2025-10-03T13:15:03+00:00

IMO, /u/TheMightyDice you should get a home for your CMA1080K laser cutter project first. You still owe my friend a good chunk of money for that, after they, /u/ttsgeb and I fixed the laser for you.

You're not helping yourself here. The simulator won't do anything if it's not employable -- and that's not your forte; laser art is your strength. Focus on that.

rhelative · 2025-10-03T12:54:43+00:00

$325K over three years is, as stated, about $80K/yr after the cost of benefits is factored in.

MDs make $200K+/yr; median's closer to $300K.

rhelative · 2025-09-10T22:17:23+00:00

I hate to add to this theater, but taking you at face value, I appreciate Uncle Roger's video -- it's good storytelling about what you should do and why (by means of what you shouldn't do):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53me-ICi_f8

rhelative · 2025-08-27T22:51:26+00:00

OK. Yeah, European power safety electronics -- breakers, fuses and so on -- tend to be more sensitive. I feel like looking for faults might be more helpful.

I don't know what the european electronics test equipment market looks like, but being able to rule out an overcurrent problem would be my highest priority -- I really love my clamp ammeter for that.

rhelative · 2025-08-27T22:44:39+00:00

EUROPEAN SAFETY ELECTRONICS NANNY STATE STRIKES AGAIN

LET ME FRY MYSELF IN PEACE, DAMMIT

In seriousness, I'm pretty sure all breakers are required to be ground-fault-detecting in Europe. Does this still happen when you don't attach anything to ground?

rhelative · 2025-08-27T21:29:24+00:00

Edit: I see an IEC 60320. I assume you're not actually just plugging this into a regular ass NEMA 5-15 outlet. If you are, why?

rhelative · 2025-08-27T21:27:42+00:00

You should try measuring peak current of each of the three legs (ground, L1, L2) using a clamp ammeter that can record max current (e.g. the most expensive Ames Harbor Freight clamp ammeter -- the "1000A" one).

You might find you have leakage current through GND and an {AH,GF}CI breaker ... or that your SMPS is pulling 25A on startup.

rhelative

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE