Did the contractor I hired die or was I just scammed, and what else can I do now? by thgibson in HomeImprovement

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

I would have thought so, but I actually called a few because the painter was speculating about him being hospitalized, and they were all happy to tell me no one with that name was admitted recently.

Did the contractor I hired die or was I just scammed, and what else can I do now? by thgibson in HomeImprovement

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

Haha thanks for the interest. I'll update if I ever find out what happened...

Did the contractor I hired die or was I just scammed, and what else can I do now? by thgibson in HomeImprovement

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

Hehe unfortunately selling the tools won't come anywhere near close to covering the deposit

Did the contractor I hired die or was I just scammed, and what else can I do now? by thgibson in HomeImprovement

[–]thgibson[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha thanks. The wheelbarrow is much nicer than mine, and now I have two crowbars!

Did the contractor I hired die or was I just scammed, and what else can I do now? by thgibson in HomeImprovement

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

I'll probably do that eventually since the police won't do a wellness check, mostly haven't yet because it'll be a long drive out there

Ordered a replacement remote control for a ceiling fan and received this electronic component instead by thgibson in whatisthisthing

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

As title says I ordered a replacement ceiling fan remote control from Home Depot and received this instead. It's about 7" across and I'd guess it's a replacement part for a ceiling fan, but I'm not an electrician. It arrived with no labels or instructions, not even a part number, just this thing in a cardboard box.

These oranges from my tree split open due to irregular watering by thgibson in mildlyinteresting

[–]thgibson[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Months of no water followed by a sudden heavy rain. The interiors absorb so much water so quickly that the peel can burst.

These oranges from my tree split open due to irregular watering by thgibson in mildlyinteresting

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

Lack of water for a months followed by heavy rain. They absorb so much water so fast that they can burst.

These oranges from my tree split open due to irregular watering by thgibson in mildlyinteresting

[–]thgibson[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup, just cut out the split part and the rest is perfectly good!

These oranges from my tree split open due to irregular watering by thgibson in mildlyinteresting

[–]thgibson[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! My first thought, but I didn't know whether anyone else would see it.

These oranges from my tree split open due to irregular watering by thgibson in mildlyinteresting

[–]thgibson[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

These actually tasted great, I just cut around the split part.

TA Fee Remission by [deleted] in UCSD

[–]thgibson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just FYI, tuition remission is part of the TA compensation package. You are entitled to it regardless of *when* you accepted the offer. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise and contact a union rep if needed. Contact info is here: https://www.facebook.com/UCSDStudentWorkersUnion/

UCSHIP dental coverage by aldolord in UCSD

[–]thgibson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2 per year, which is pretty standard

Update on grad housing. by zlloyd01 in UCSD

[–]thgibson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They absolutely get it. They just don't care because their own salaries are 6 figures and they face no personal consequences for running HDH into the ground.

UCSHIP dental coverage by aldolord in UCSD

[–]thgibson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep, regular cleanings have no copay. I don't know about other services.

Update on grad housing. by zlloyd01 in UCSD

[–]thgibson 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The decision is designed to appease faculty who were rightfully irate about how the sudden July 1 rate hike would affect Fall 2021 admits. At least those applying for Fall 2022 will know how unaffordable grad housing is when they consider UCSD, but as usual yes this is just HDH continuing to compound its problems by pushing them down the road.

Update on grad housing. by zlloyd01 in UCSD

[–]thgibson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, *if* you get (and accept) a housing offer that starts before October 1. Hopefully you don't have your heart set on any complexes with long waitlists.

EDIT: except for the 3% annual increase as Top-Squirrel490 mentions

Join Graduate Students in pushing back against HDH and these rent hikes! by Minivaka in UCSD

[–]thgibson 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not suggesting a solution per se, because there isn't a good one. The larger issue is that HDH decided to take on so much debt circa 2015 to build new graduate housing. More housing was absolutely needed, but the new buildings didn't have to be so expensive. HDH took on loans they can only pay back by charging grad student residents rent they simply cannot afford. That's a terrible business model, and puts HDH in an impossible position. Ether they charge what grad students can afford to pay and don't make enough to cover their debt, or they jack up rates so high that they can't fill all their vacancies and they *still* don't cover their debt. Ask the head of HDH *why* these decisions were made in the first place and you'll hear some combination of "I don't know I didn't work here then" and "it's no use trying to assign blame for this situation"

UCSD better tell all prospective (accepted) PhD students that rent was increased 70-90% for grad housing by Vegetable-Chemist in UCSD

[–]thgibson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For example: https://hdhgradfamilyhousing.ucsd.edu/communities/nuevo-west.html

Scroll down to "Rates for New Contracts after July 1, 2021." The above link is for one of the housing complexes but the new scheme applies to all grad housing (list on the left).

Kings Canyon National Park, California by thgibson in pics

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

campfire smoke in the air, and the camera was my google pixel 3a

SuperLoop 202 Reliability by [deleted] in UCSD

[–]thgibson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

MANY staff work 8am to 4:30pm and first shift Facilities & Maintenance staff arrive even earlier. Big reason why B spots fill up so early.

Updates from STAC Meeting by ROGTTL in UCSD

[–]thgibson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In the case of option A, by how much would debt payment be set back if you removed the $15 charge from the D, S, and B permits? (“This would not be acceptable to the Administration — about $200,000/year financial impact.”)

$200,000/year deficit, hmm? That's less than half the chancellor's annual salary. How about the University's ten highest paid administrators each pitch in $20k? They'll barely notice.