Hijack This Thread

[Maybenaut]

the friendly service guy wrote soemthing about a fix to a glitch in his service report, so I did not get charged for this "user error"

Awesome of him not to charge you!

[raison de arizona]

Well, these are the most amazing headphones I've ever owned. When I'm wearing them, I can't hear anything outside and are so soft and comfy. The bass is deep and the dynamic range is awesome. $60.
Coupled with a Windows app (Boom 3D), they are perfect for my music!

As an aside to those being critical of me spending that much on headphones. I have hearing loss -- since 5 years old -- which disqualified me from all branches of the military. Don't be too quick to judge.

I too have long term hearing loss, and oodles of speech therapy as a child to go along with it. For more than 60$ but less than the cost of hearing aids ($$$$$$$$$$), I've found that Apple's Airpod Pros (~200$) can be used as poor man's hearing aids. Which I do use them as, from time to time. I bought them for use on my endless work Zoom meetings, but discovered this fact as a happy side effect. There are web pages detailing the procedure to use them like this, but basically it runs you through a hearing test where you click if you hear things or not, then it recommends some settings. On my augmentation or magnification or whatever you want to call it, I get a little background hiss, but I also GET TO HEAR THE BIRDS! Who knew there were so many around, definitely not me. Thumbs up.

[zekeb]

If your hearing is down pretty much across the frequency spectrum, those might work. Old geezers like me are losing our high end hearing and the hearing aid has to be tuned to match the hearing curve.

[raison de arizona]

If your hearing is down pretty much across the frequency spectrum, those might work. Old geezers like me are losing our high end hearing and the hearing aid has to be tuned to match the hearing curve.

They can actually tune to match the frequency, it's just... Crappy compared to real hearing aids.

[Maybenaut]

I can’t hear notes in the lower range, even ones I’m singing (which tend to run flat). I’ve been working with my voice teacher, and she’s been helping me discover how the note is supposed to feel in my chest. It’s been extraordinarily helpful.

[raison de arizona]

I can’t hear notes in the lower range, even ones I’m singing (which tend to run flat). I’ve been working with my voice teacher, and she’s been helping me discover how the note is supposed to feel in my chest. It’s been extraordinarily helpful.

That's fascinating. I have trouble in higher ranges (hearing at all), and in the mid-range I can hear things, they just tend to be garbled and difficult for me to decipher. I'm actually good on low ranges.

We could put our hearing together and make one set of fully functional ears, lol!

[Volkonski]

[raison de arizona]

I'm amazed they got Rand and some of those other knuckleheads on board, good for them!

[Maybenaut]

I hope it sails through the House so President Biden can sign it into law in June 19th.

[Lani]

That makes me so happy! (Can you tell?)

Last June, the Mayor's office asked me if there should be proclamation about Pride Month. I said usually, but our island group (and I think most mainland organizations) joined BLM in June instead of the Pride Parade. I recommended a proclamation about Juneteeth and noting BLM and other organizations that support it. The answer I received was that Juneteeth wasn't a holiday. Maybe later since we are losing the Election Day holiday (we switched to mail-in voting). So I explained that I wasn't recommending a new holiday, I was recommending a proclamation supporting BLM & Juneteeth. We need it because we - here and around the world - are grieving. No response....

I'm feeling a bit smug about the new holiday....

[Foggy]

Great news about Juneteenth.

I'll be AFK all day, for a meeting. Have a good one.

[bill_g]

Karma being what it is heaped it on yesterday after my snark about not getting a real vacation. I got a free all expenses paid round trip to Green Mtn to check out a battery over temp alarm followed by a luxury tour of the Washington Co 911 center for a display error. Thank God I was on vacation, or I wouldn't have been available to take care of these.

Moving at the lightning speed of government, eight days after I reported the original issue, today I will be escorting several maintenance managers and contract specialists to the site so they can view the charger and battery pile in question for themselves.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to supply a buffet lunch or not. I've been too busy to find a caterer. Maybe some 7-Up, Cheetos, and teriyaki sticks will be okay.

[bill_g]

Some fun Sunday work while on vacation depth, and why I have a posse today.

► Show Spoiler

In the vein of what not to do (no pictures, sorry) - don't split 110VAC outlets to get 208VAC for your 48VDC charger.

So, you need 208/220VAC for your charger at a remote site, but there are no convenient outlets available, and for some reason you can't get an electrician there to plumb it in. What do you do? You go to Home Depot, buy two high quality standard 110 extension cords, cut off the ends, wire them into the charger, and then plug them into standard outlets that are on different legs of the service. Brilliant. You have 208VAC across the charger. Works great. Lasts a long time ... until someone decides they need one of the outlets, sees that the other half of the duplex for your first cord is open, and moves you over.

This is where you find out high quality those extension cords are, how big the breakers are, whether the smoke detectors work, and why fire suppression systems are advised.

There was no video in the shelter. I am sure hilarity ensued. But, the damage was enough to make me cut off my vacation last week to play janitor. Good times.

No, I was not involved with the original splitting the power across two outlets. That was done by the professionals at a large site construction group out of Florida that came highly recommended by MOT many, many years ago, and has gone unchanged despite my annual reports stating it needs to be corrected since 2014.

Neither was it I that moved the cord. That would be the ODOT tech installing a new rack of equipment that would depend upon the microwave backhaul powered by said charger (among other things). Not entirely his fault, but he was uninjured. And he kept his wits. He had to drop the mains to the panel to stop process because the plugs had welded to the outlet. And then manually open the contactor in the transfer switch. No discussion of brown transfer in his laundry.

[raison de arizona]

Some fun Sunday work while on vacation depth, and why I have a posse today.

► Show Spoiler

In the vein of what not to do (no pictures, sorry) - don't split 110VAC outlets to get 208VAC for your 48VDC charger.

So, you need 208/220VAC for your charger at a remote site, but there are no convenient outlets available, and for some reason you can't get an electrician there to plumb it in. What do you do? You go to Home Depot, buy two high quality standard 110 extension cords, cut off the ends, wire them into the charger, and then plug them into standard outlets that are on different legs of the service. Brilliant. You have 208VAC across the charger. Works great. Lasts a long time ... until someone decides they need one of the outlets, sees that the other half of the duplex for your first cord is open, and moves you over.

This is where you find out high quality those extension cords are, how big the breakers are, whether the smoke detectors work, and why fire suppression systems are advised.

There was no video in the shelter. I am sure hilarity ensued. But, the damage was enough to make me cut off my vacation last week to play janitor. Good times.

No, I was not involved with the original splitting the power across two outlets. That was done by the professionals at a large site construction group out of Florida that came highly recommended by MOT many, many years ago, and has gone unchanged despite my annual reports stating it needs to be corrected since 2014.

Neither was it I that moved the cord. That would be the ODOT tech installing a new rack of equipment that would depend upon the microwave backhaul powered by said charger (among other things). Not entirely his fault, but he was uninjured. And he kept his wits. He had to drop the mains to the panel to stop process because the plugs had welded to the outlet. And then manually open the contactor in the transfer switch. No discussion of brown transfer in his laundry.

As my child would say (unfortunately), Jesus Frick! Sounds like they got off easy compared to what could have happened there, both to life and property.

[noblepa]

Great news about Juneteenth.

I'll be AFK all day, for a meeting. Have a good one.

I work for Cuyahoga County, Ohio (Cleveland). Our County Council just voted about three weeks ago to give us Juneteenth off as a holiday.

I figured that the short notice would mean that it wouldn't be effective until next year, but about a week ago, they announced that we will have this Friday off. I am retiring at the end of June, so I didn't think I would get the day off. Surprise!

Will it be like MLK day, where some states, notably Arizona, don't recognize it (or did they finally get onboard)? I can imagine that a lot of blue states will balk at the idea of celebrating the end of slavery.

[raison de arizona]

Will it be like MLK day, where some states, notably Arizona, don't recognize it (or did they finally get onboard)? I can imagine that a lot of blue states will balk at the idea of celebrating the end of slavery.

In '92 voters took it into their own hands and passed it. Last state in the nation.

[Uninformed]

“Peruvians reweave Incan 'living bridge' over river”:

[bill_g]

As my child would say (unfortunately), Jesus Frick! Sounds like they got off easy compared to what could have happened there, both to life and property.

Unfortunately I get to see it a lot at these remote sites. It is hard to get a licensed electrician to go four wheeling. Likewise, it's hard to pull a permit because agency jurisdiction is ephemeral. Usually it falls to the local city or county if we're on private land. If it's on state or federal property, the process becomes convoluted. And electricians don't want to spend time figuring it out. So, they decline the opportunity, and we end up with some hokey-doke work by a contractor who may or may not be licensed, but he knows what he's doing. (cough) No permits and no inspections. You just hope it works when he's done. In this case it lasted since Jan 2011. We know this because he wrote the date in the panel.

A maint mgr brought along his favorite electrician, I brought supplies, and between us, we got it done. The other four guys got some lovely tourist time with a view of the Columbia River, Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens, and Mt Adams. I had to warn them away from the hogweed growing nearby. They had no idea. Nobody brought a lunch or extra water except me. Glad I had a case with me. We were done by 10:30 and I was back by noon.

[Lani]

For some reason, I googled coffee and health. And later I realized that more than 2 hours had passed. But anyway....

Why do doctors tell patients that coffee is unhealthy?

508,747 men & women, aged 20-79, participated in Norwegian cardiovascular surveys and were followed for an average of 20 years.

Abstract
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the coffee brewing method is associated with any death and cardiovascular mortality, beyond the contribution from major cardiovascular risk factors.

Conclusion: Unfiltered brew was associated with higher mortality than filtered brew, and filtered brew was associated with lower mortality than no coffee consumption.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32320635/

Studies also report that coffee decreases the risk of some cancers including endometrial cancer and malignant melanoma.

Drink up!

[RTH10260]

Biden signs law making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joined by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, participated in a bill enrollment ceremony for the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act at the Capitol on Thursday.

By Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater
June 17, 2021, 11:10 a.m. ET

President Biden on Thursday signed legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, the day after the House voted overwhelmingly to enshrine June 19 as the national day to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.

The Senate rushed the measure through with no debate earlier this week after clearing away a longstanding Republican objection, and the House approved it on Wednesday by a vote of 415 to 14, with 14 Republicans opposed. Mr. Biden said he counted signing the legislation into law as one of the greatest honors he will have as president. Ms. Harris also signed the legislation in her capacity as President of the Senate, an administration official said.

“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names, and today, a national holiday,” Ms. Harris said at a White House ceremonial bill signing. National holidays, Ms. Harris said, “are days when we as a nation have decided to stop and take stock, and often to acknowledge our history.”

Mr. Biden called it “a day of, in my view, profound weight and profound power,” noting it was the first new national holiday established since Martin Luther King Day in 1983. By making it a federal holiday, Mr. Biden said, “all Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history, and celebrate progress and grapple with the distance we’ve come but the distance we have to travel.”


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/us/p ... liday.html

[Frater I*I]

Studies also report that coffee decreases the risk of some cancers including endometrial cancer and malignant melanoma.

Drink up!

I'll take less years over drinking that swill....

[keith]

Biden signs law making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joined by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, participated in a bill enrollment ceremony for the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act at the Capitol on Thursday.



https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/us/p ... liday.html

Love the concept, don't love the name.

[raison de arizona]

Why does it have to be Independence Day? Not to be all rwnj about it. And right before Independence Day. Wouldn’t something like Juneteenth National Freedom Day make more sense? Or whatever. Lame name though, otherwise love love love.

Also, what a difference a year makes Charlie!

► Show Spoiler

[RTH10260]

After serving 68 years in Pennsylvania prison, Joe Ligon returns to modern world he barely knows

CBS This Morning
Published on 16 Mar 2021

Pennsylvania has put more juveniles behind bars for life than anywhere else in the country. And, of those people, Joe Ligon has the tragic distinction of being the oldest and longest–serving juvenile lifer in the country. He was recently released from a Pennsylvania prison after 68 years. "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-host Michelle Miller spoke with Ligon in his first U.S. television interview since his release.

[Lani]

Biden signs law making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joined by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, participated in a bill enrollment ceremony for the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act at the Capitol on Thursday.



https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/us/p ... liday.html

Love the concept, don't love the name.

It's been called that since 1866.

Celebrations date to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. It spread across the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival. Participants in the Great Migration out of the South carried their celebrations to other parts of the country. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the struggle for postwar civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African-American freedom and African-American arts. As of 2021, South Dakota is the only state that does not recognize Juneteenth, according to the Congressional Research Service[6]; North Dakota approved recognition of Juneteenth on April 13, 2021[15], with Hawaii becoming the 49th state to recognize the holiday on June 16, 2021[16].

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth