Changed a local appointment.
Set up 2 other service calls for stuff at my house.
Ordered a new CPAP mask (local place).
Cancelled digital newspaper subscription.
Found a live person to talk to about a delivery and installation of an appliance I ordered.
All that took about 15 minutes or less. I still have one call to make to an attorney about some legal stuff (which will end up in me doing some extra work so that's why I'm putting it off).
But the piece de résistance was the call to cancel a satellite service. It's for our lake cabin and we don't use it much plus since we got internet there, we stream pretty much everything. You can do everything online except cancel (same with the newspaper sub above, but that was fast). So I call up and after I can say what I want to do, a robot tells me there's a wait of about 37 minutes. No option for them to call me back (I think Verizon has done that for me). So...GAME ON! I'll definitely hold as long as it takes. And it takes more thatn 45 minutes of hold time before a human finds me. Of course the song and dance about We can add more goodies! We can lower your bill! Nope I don't want your service. Why? I don't need to tell you, I just want to cancel. She puts me on hold. But it's quick and eventually she confirms that it's cancelled. Unlike Spectrum and DirecTV I can't just take the receiver to the UPS. I have to wait for their box to be shipped to me so I can ship it back (and pay shipping). This part takes a while to figure out because the CSR has such a thick accent I can barely understand her. I don't hear that well anyway, which is why I like to do everything I can through online chat or DMs (plus I have a written record of what was said).
I had my phone on speaker and plugged in, so I just made memes and posted them on fb as I waited. Kinda entertaining (for me, at least).
A cable company just put fiber optic in our 'hood, so next week when they set that up, I'll get to do this again when I cancel my Xfinity internet. *sigh*
At least all that other stuff I've been putting off is done now.
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Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 6:41 pm
by bill_g
Erlang's were invented by the phone company to determine how many phone lines a business needed. It has since been used to figure out how many trucks you need in your delivery fleet, how many buses and trains you need for your mass transit system, how many doctors and nurses you need in the emergency room, etc. It quantifies how many tasks can be accomplished in an hour. It is especially useful for repetitive work like in a factory. You can calculate the number of people you need on the line for how many days so you can (A) set a schedule, and (B) factor the labor cost into your unit sale price.
In your case I thought you meant 15 minutes per call (4 calls per hr). 10 calls would take 2.5hrs. Mathmatically that is two and half Erlangs. But Erlangs are always a whole number. You can eat half a pizza, but you can't drive half a car, you can't use half a doctor, and you can't get half a phone line from the phone company. So, you round up to three.
Two and half hours sitting in a chair making calls is a long time. You'll want a break in there somewhere. And, as demonstrated by the sat TV hold time, some calls take much longer than 15 minutes. That unused half hour at 2.5 Erlangs gave us some breathing room, but it may not be enough. So, we round up again to four knowing that it is still just an estimate. It might be too conservative, or it might be right on target. Either way, you can be confident it is in the neighborhood, and a number you can defend (if necessary).
You, my very efficient budd, got six calls done in 15 minutes, and got the sat call accomplished in the remainder of that first hour, plus a bit. You definitely used one Erlang, and might be able to finish the remaining calls in a second hour cutting my initial estimate in half to 2 hours. That's a fifty percent reduction in labor costs. You are destined for management greatness.
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Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 8:03 pm
by bill_g
Posted elsewhere, but too good not to xpost - All the volcanos in the US PNW.
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Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 10:40 pm
by Rolodex
bill_g wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 6:41 pm
Erlang's were invented by the phone company to determine how many phone lines a business needed. It has since been used to figure out how many trucks you need in your delivery fleet, how many buses and trains you need for your mass transit system, how many doctors and nurses you need in the emergency room, etc. It quantifies how many tasks can be accomplished in an hour. It is especially useful for repetitive work like in a factory. You can calculate the number of people you need on the line for how many days so you can (A) set a schedule, and (B) factor the labor cost into your unit sale price.
In your case I thought you meant 15 minutes per call (4 calls per hr). 10 calls would take 2.5hrs. Mathmatically that is two and half Erlangs. But Erlangs are always a whole number. You can eat half a pizza, but you can't drive half a car, you can't use half a doctor, and you can't get half a phone line from the phone company. So, you round up to three.
Two and half hours sitting in a chair making calls is a long time. You'll want a break in there somewhere. And, as demonstrated by the sat TV hold time, some calls take much longer than 15 minutes. That unused half hour at 2.5 Erlangs gave us some breathing room, but it may not be enough. So, we round up again to four knowing that it is still just an estimate. It might be too conservative, or it might be right on target. Either way, you can be confident it is in the neighborhood, and a number you can defend (if necessary).
You, my very efficient budd, got six calls done in 15 minutes, and got the sat call accomplished in the remainder of that first hour, plus a bit. You definitely used one Erlang, and might be able to finish the remaining calls in a second hour cutting my initial estimate in half to 2 hours. That's a fifty percent reduction in labor costs. You are destined for management greatness.
Super interesting!
I was pretty efficient if I say so myself. But I did a lot of organizing of all the info I needed for all those calls before I made them. That helped with the speed of some of the calls. But there was also a compounding factor of not having overlapping appointments and some that needed to be done in a certain order and when I'm in town.
Long ago, in a former life, back in the 80s, I did some skip tracing work. This is before the internet, cell phones, etc. It was all through phone calls. I learned to keep detailed records about all those calls and even though now I hate making/receiving phone calls (please text first!) I'm very organized about them and keep good records.
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 1:35 am
by MN-Skeptic
So we had some thunderstorms move through. Not outrageous amount of thunder or lightning, but a downpour of about .6”. Then it’s moving away.
And the power goes off.
Dang.
So here’s it’s 12:30am, four hours later, and still no power.
The rain is gone, it’s cooling off, and I open windows.
And what do I hear?
The whine of a chainsaw.
It sure sounds like someone’s tree came down on a power line.
Oh fun. No wonder it’s taking so long.
Edited to add… 2am and the power just came on. Of course I had a light on in the bedroom. So now all the lights are off and I’m headed back to sleep. Good night.
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 6:37 am
by RTH10260
bill_g wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 8:03 pm
Posted elsewhere, but too good not to xpost - All the volcanos in the US PNW.
now show me the picture where all those volcanoes spout lave at the same time
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 8:29 am
by Tiredretiredlawyer
For MN -
Chainsaws in the mornin’
Chainsaws in the evenin’
Chainsaws at suppertime
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 8:44 am
by bill_g
RTH10260 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 6:37 am now show me the picture where all those volcanoes spout lave at the same time
I suspect if that were occurring there would be no aircraft flying near it, or much to see besides lots and lots of clouds.
Here's a question for the group - How many nations are visible in that photo?
RTH10260 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 6:37 am now show me the picture where all those volcanoes spout lave at the same time
I suspect if that were occurring there would be no aircraft flying near it, or much to see besides lots and lots of clouds.
Here's a question for the group - How many nations are visible in that photo?
Shoshone, Paiute, Chinook, Wihot, Hupa,…
Yeah. There's a lot. In particular is the sovereign nation The Confederated Tribes of the Yakima Nation centered east of Mt Adams (top right in photo).
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 10:27 am
by MsDaisy 2
The stove people are finally here! We have a very complicated stove. It’s a duel fuel down draft drop in with a gas cook top and electric oven. The cook top works fine but the oven crapped out a while ago and it’s been a real pain in the ass with no oven. I just hope we don’t have to get a new stove!
ETA and the bottom line is time to get a new stove...
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 1:49 pm
by RTH10260
Couple discovers creepy, 100-year-old room under jacuzzi — and its shocking secret use
Alex Mitchell
Tue, June 4, 2024 at 5:27 PM GMT+2·2 min read
A couple was shocked to find a prohibition era tunnel leading to a major smugglers waterway beneath their home.
They let the mystery sink in.
A Michigan couple doing home renovations discovered a Prohibition-era, 20-foot-deep bootleggers’ tunnel beneath their home that was likely used for smuggling alcohol into the US.
Hayley Gilmartin and her husband, Trevor, who live on Lake Huron — a body of water separating the US from Canada — uncovered the eerie, water-filled room when removing an old, broken jacuzzi in the middle of their house.
The room is connected to the body of water by a six-foot pipe, Hayley recently told Newsweek.
Despite the “creepy” reveal, the two homeowners put on brave faces for what came next.
“We scuba-dived in the river and found the other end of it, which is a huge tunnel,” Gilmartin, 30, told Jam Press, noting that it is “impossible” to pump the water out because the room “is still getting water from Lake Huron and the rivers that it is connected to.”
The dark, concrete space is nearly empty, except for a support pole and wood-paneled wall that they believe connects to the tunnel system.
The couple, who bought the property in 2020, later learned several neighbors also have similar tunnels beneath their homes.
The homeowners probed the hole discovered in their home by scuba diving in the water. Jam Press/@hayleyg099
A near century ago, Lake Huron and the adjoining St. Clair River became critical waterways that boaters and crime syndicates used to bring in bootleg alcohol from north of the border.
The area was responsible for 75% of prohibition activity, according to experts.
So I commented upthread about my power being out for five hours last night. As I drove to my doctor’s appointment I drove by the large tree two blocks from my house which was the culprit.
So now I’m at the clinic to see the doctor… and the power went out! So I’m sitting in the dark.
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 2:45 pm
by Rolodex
MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 2:43 pm
So I commented upthread about my power being out for five hours last night. As I drove to my doctor’s appointment I drove by the large tree two blocks from my house which was the culprit.
So now I’m at the clinic to see the doctor… and the power went out! So I’m sitting in the dark.
It's following you around! Everyone else...run!
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 2:56 pm
by Foggy
'Course, MN-Skeptic lights up the room wherever she goes, but I'm a little unclear whether she has a built-in network too also.
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 3:55 pm
by RTH10260
something fishy
Anglers catching this peculiar fish are urged to ‘kill it on sight’
David Strege
Updated Wed, June 5, 2024 at 2:36 PM GMT+2·2 min read
A fisherman in Missouri caught what he thought was an odd fish that refused to die, even when left on the pavement for several hours.
The angler was fishing below Wappapello Lake Spillway in Wayne County on May 25 when he reeled in what turned out to be a northern snakehead, the fourth ever recorded in the state, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
“The angler recognized they had something different and researched the fish’s characteristics, and realized it was indeed a snakehead,” said MDC Fisheries Biologist Dave Knuth. “The angler left it on the pavement for several hours thinking it would die, and it never did.”
The northern snakehead, not native to the U.S., is a predatory fish with the head resembling a snake, hence the name. It can grow to up to 3-feet long, and has python-like coloration and pattern.
The snakehead was taken to the local U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office. Four hours later, MDC agent Jacob Plunkett recovered the bag with the fish at 11 p.m., the night of the catch.
“When I picked up the fish, it was still very much alive,” Plunkett said.
The Kansas City Star was very succinct in what fishermen should do if they catch a snakehead, stating “this fish is one you’re urged to kill on sight.”
I got exhausted just watching this. Pretty incredible. This woman learned how to do everything well and she did the thing!
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 7:58 pm
by John Thomas8
Maybe too much for here, but this is an interesting discussion (no nudity):
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Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 10:35 pm
by keith
MsDaisy 2 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 10:27 am
The stove people are finally here! We have a very complicated stove. It’s a duel fuel down draft drop in with a gas cook top and electric oven. The cook top works fine but the oven crapped out a while ago and it’s been a real pain in the ass with no oven. I just hope we don’t have to get a new stove!
ETA and the bottom line is time to get a new stove...
We have a benchtop toaster oven that works great. We hardly ever use the big oven.
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 7:45 am
by p0rtia
Air fryers. The single person's home chef.
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 1:24 pm
by bill_g
Rolodex wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 4:39 pm
I got exhausted just watching this. Pretty incredible. This woman learned how to do everything well and she did the thing!
Good video. I was impressed with her work.
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 9:21 pm
by Sam the Centipede
bill_g wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 1:24 pm
Good video. I was impressed with her work.
And a fast worker – she only needed 15 minutes to completely refurbish her house!
Srsly though, there seems to be a niche genre of videos of young slim oriental women singlehandedly tackling building works and another of such women constructing complex objects from bamboo using only a very sharp machete. I hope they make a little cash from those videos.
bill_g wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 1:24 pm
Good video. I was impressed with her work.
And a fast worker – she only needed 15 minutes to completely refurbish her house!
Srsly though, there seems to be a niche genre of videos of young slim oriental women singlehandedly tackling building works and another of such women constructing complex objects from bamboo using only a very sharp machete. I hope they make a little cash from those videos.
I'm tired and wasn't paying much attention and until I got to the "refurbish her house" I thought we were talking about the Sasha Grey video.
bill_g wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 1:24 pm
Good video. I was impressed with her work.
And a fast worker – she only needed 15 minutes to completely refurbish her house!
Srsly though, there seems to be a niche genre of videos of young slim oriental women singlehandedly tackling building works and another of such women constructing complex objects from bamboo using only a very sharp machete. I hope they make a little cash from those videos.
Asian.
And she does much of it with an injured wrist and hand.
now show me the picture where all those volcanoes spout lave at the same time 
Chainsaws in the mornin’
Shoshone, Paiute, Chinook, Wihot, Hupa,… 
