Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Fri Nov 25, 2022 2:05 am**

Yikes! Glad everyone's OK.

Posted: **Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:01 pm**

So far, happy with the Avalon I bought this week. It's a hybrid (so makes Zax a little happy I hope). It' s rated for 40 MPG. First day driving Uber, I reset the counter and finished the day at 47.4 mpg. Yesterday, I did better, finishing at 48.4 mpg. Today, even better...51.2 mpg! It's like a game now, and I'm winning.

Posted: **Sun Nov 27, 2022 9:34 am**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:01 pm So far, happy with the Avalon I bought this week. It's a hybrid (so makes Zax a little happy I hope). It' s rated for 40 MPG. First day driving Uber, I reset the counter and finished the day at 47.4 mpg. Yesterday, I did better, finishing at 48.4 mpg. Today, even better...51.2 mpg! It's like a game now, and I'm winning.

I hope you don't think those numbers are actually accurate.

Posted: **Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:48 am**

pr0ner wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 9:34 am I hope you don't think those numbers are actually accurate.

They are commensurate with the gas/miles I log daily.

Posted: **Sun Nov 27, 2022 12:25 pm**

Spent ~$8k to redo the bath/shower in our main bathroom. A bit of a hassle since the house is only 1.5 baths and it was a 3 day job (well two days of work and then 24 hours to cure) - we rented a room at the hotel a few minutes away so we could all shower. The guy at the front desk was very confused when we returned the keycards about an hour after checking in.

New shower is a huge improvement over the custom enclosure first wife had installed by some local handyman. We gave up on our house hunt (the market is broken and interest rates have doubled since we started looking) so this should see us through for the next 5 years or so. Once the kid is out of college we'll resume the house hunt.

Speaking of major purchases - the kid goes off to college next fall and doesn't have a vehicle. We may wind up buying her something new since we have lots of time to wait for new car delivery. I've been watching prices of suitable cars (something in the Civic range) and used cars with ~20k-50k miles are still going for more than new.

The other option is to put my name in for the Mustang EV and hand down my Honda Clarity but I love my car and I don't know that there would be any place for her to plug it in. It still functions as a hybrid if you don't charge it but it seems like such a waste and it has a pretty small tank since it's expected to get 30-50 miles of EV range.

Posted: **Sun Nov 27, 2022 3:37 pm**

Exodor wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 12:25 pm Spent ~$8k to redo the bath/shower in our main bathroom. A bit of a hassle since the house is only 1.5 baths and it was a 3 day job (well two days of work and then 24 hours to cure) - we rented a room at the hotel a few minutes away so we could all shower. The guy at the front desk was very confused when we returned the keycards about an hour after checking in.

New shower is a huge improvement over the custom enclosure first wife had installed by some local handyman. We gave up on our house hunt (the market is broken and interest rates have doubled since we started looking) so this should see us through for the next 5 years or so. Once the kid is out of college we'll resume the house hunt.

Speaking of major purchases - the kid goes off to college next fall and doesn't have a vehicle. We may wind up buying her something new since we have lots of time to wait for new car delivery. I've been watching prices of suitable cars (something in the Civic range) and used cars with ~20k-50k miles are still going for more than new.

The other option is to put my name in for the Mustang EV and hand down my Honda Clarity but I love my car and I don't know that there would be any place for her to plug it in. It still functions as a hybrid if you don't charge it but it seems like such a waste and it has a pretty small tank since it's expected you to get 30-50 miles of EV range.

Got any pics of the new shower? I am really close to getting this done in our master. We have what I would consider a relatively nice house, but according to my architect/builder buddy, they cheaped out on the shower because it's just one of those one-piece "contractor quality" pre-built jobs. Would like something a little nicer like tile.

Posted: **Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:09 pm**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:48 am
pr0ner wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 9:34 am I hope you don't think those numbers are actually accurate.
They are commensurate with the gas/miles I log daily.

Yeah, I still don't believe that.

Posted: **Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:29 pm**

pr0ner wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:09 pm
Jeff V wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:48 am
pr0ner wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 9:34 am I hope you don't think those numbers are actually accurate.
They are commensurate with the gas/miles I log daily.
Yeah, I still don't believe that.

I bet you believe in a lot of happy horse shit that I don't. So I'll call it even, but still enjoy the terrific mileage I'm getting.

Posted: **Sun Nov 27, 2022 10:49 pm**

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 3:37 pm Got any pics of the new shower? I am really close to getting this done in our master.

We used Bathfitters so I don't know if it's especially high quality but I'm satisfied with the process and the final product.

We went with the shower door because we had problems with water leaking out and pooling on the floor with the previous shower setup.

Next project is to finally repaint the awful lime-green walls my first wife picked.

Posted: **Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:02 pm**

bah thats like retro 70s. It'll be back in style in no time. When I first moved here the in laws had me paint their bathroom from white to pink. Needless to say I didn't go for it. When they passed the first things my wife did was repaint rooms. Its now a yellow.

Posted: **Mon Nov 28, 2022 1:15 am**

When I was little we had a yellow kitchen because my mom said it was sunny and cheerful. She was right, and I've wanted a yellow kitchen ever since. Lime green is radioactive and cheerful and would be acceptable.

Posted: **Mon Nov 28, 2022 12:08 pm**

We recently redid our main floor bathroom. It was a bigger overall job because we were also making it roll-in accessible for my son's bath chair, so we removed the existing tub and replaced it with a shower-only unit. We had quotes from a company that could do the single piece shower installation and another that would do the whole thing with old-school tile. The latter was more expensive, but we thought they had a better plan for keeping the water in the shower area and they were tiling the whole floor and painting too, so we went with them. The quality of the one-piece looked nice, but I would have paid extra to have the fake tile etching done on the walls as the smooth finish looked too institutional to me. We went with 12x24" tiles on the walls and smaller hexagonal tiles on the floor.

Posted: **Mon Nov 28, 2022 12:21 pm**

When my dad built his house around 1979 he used tile for the shower. I always liked it. Looking back having the bathrooms carpeted is a strange design decision. Thought nothing of it as a kid and it was comfy and never cold. But it must have been tough to keep it in good shape. My step mom also used those furry toilet seat covers. They also were warm and comfy and never cold to use but damn those lids could look to be up good when ya start to pee then suddenly fall on your wiener or stream.

Posted: **Mon Nov 28, 2022 1:30 pm**

I was woken up last night by an electronic woosh like a power outtage, but could see nothing wrong, so I went back to sleep.. This morning I found one of my dual monitors had blown out. I have a spare, but it's an LG and has a wonky DC power cord which is nowhere in sight. It was easier to order a new one (cord) from Amazon for $15 than to go rummaging through the garage with no guarantee of success. Hopefully that will save me from a major purchase.

My real major purchase was a PS5 from Walmart with Ragnarok bundle for $600+. Amazing to luck out this close to Christmas.

Posted: **Mon Nov 28, 2022 7:43 pm**

Three thousand dollar plumbing bill, how about that? That said, just ordered myself a new iPad and Apple Watch as Xmas gifts to myself to make me feel better

Posted: **Mon Dec 26, 2022 10:38 pm**

Finally got around to buying a hot water heater and installing it on Christmas eve. Finally have hot water, I must feel a little like Daehawk.

Word of warning, if you buy an AOSmith water heater from Lowe's don't be fooled by measurements shown on the box. The box made it look like it was 32 inches to the top of the relief valve. Nope, it was 32 inches to the top of the water heater with the relief valve and inlet/outlet pipes sticking up and additional two inches. My piping job is not pretty, but it's working and there are no leaks. Ended up having to hit a truck stop a couple hours before midnight to buy a butane torch.

Posted: **Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:36 am**

My water heater is all pvc. No torch needed.

Posted: **Tue Dec 27, 2022 5:23 am**

Next big purchase (I hope) is a new house in March-ish. New job means we have to move out of the mountains, and down to the capital.....really not looking forward to moving after being in the same house for 20+ years.

Posted: **Tue Dec 27, 2022 8:25 am**

Grifman wrote: ↑Mon Nov 28, 2022 7:43 pm Three thousand dollar plumbing bill, how about that? That said, just ordered myself a new iPad and Apple Watch as Xmas gifts to myself to make me feel better

Hey!

. We got one of those too! (3k plumbing bill, not the fun stuff)

Posted: **Thu Dec 29, 2022 11:37 am**

Next semi major purchases is Kayaks. Just purchased the racks and brackets for my Kona to haul them (~$$450). next is shopping for 2 Kayaks before spring.

Posted: **Sun Jan 01, 2023 5:48 pm**

Going to buy a new wood pellet grill. I bought my Traeger grill in 2017 and after getting the kinks worked out of it is been a faithful servant. But I want something that will sear and one that is better insulated so I can use it in colder temperatures and year round. Not loyal to Traeger so some research ahead into this purchase as there are many more options on the market now.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:16 pm**

mori wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 5:48 pm Going to buy a new wood pellet grill. I bought my Traeger grill in 2017 and after getting the kinks worked out of it is been a faithful servant. But I want something that will sear and one that is better insulated so I can use it in colder temperatures and year round. Not loyal to Traeger so some research ahead into this purchase as there are many more options on the market now.

Before doing that, have you looked at the Masterbuilt Gravity series? It's like a pellet grill in terms of convenience and technology. Instead of pellets, it's charcoal. Charcoal goes into a vertical hopper. You light the charcoal at the bottom of the hopper. There's basically a computer fan that blows air into the hopper. A controller controls how fast the fan spins, which controls the temp. As the the first layer of charcoal burns the charcoal above moves down (GRAVITY!!!!) heat and smoke gets funneled into the cooking chamber.

You end up with some great flavor. You can use wood chunks, wood splits. I often put a split of wood in the hopper with charcoal around it. Or for cooks that are not so long I use wood chunks. I place them below in the ash pan.

The flavor of the meat is night and day better than the traeger I once had. And it's much cheaper than traegers.

This is what I have.

https://www.masterbuilt.com/products/gr ... ill-smoker

They have a 800 series that has a griddle accessory. The 560 is smaller and to be honest I feel like it's cheaply made.

Posted: **Mon Jan 02, 2023 11:50 pm**

naednek wrote: ↑Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:16 pm
mori wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 5:48 pm Going to buy a new wood pellet grill. I bought my Traeger grill in 2017 and after getting the kinks worked out of it is been a faithful servant. But I want something that will sear and one that is better insulated so I can use it in colder temperatures and year round. Not loyal to Traeger so some research ahead into this purchase as there are many more options on the market now.
Before doing that, have you looked at the Masterbuilt Gravity series? It's like a pellet grill in terms of convenience and technology. Instead of pellets, it's charcoal. Charcoal goes into a vertical hopper. You light the charcoal at the bottom of the hopper. There's basically a computer fan that blows air into the hopper. A controller controls how fast the fan spins, which controls the temp. As the the first layer of charcoal burns the charcoal above moves down (GRAVITY!!!!) heat and smoke gets funneled into the cooking chamber.

You end up with some great flavor. You can use wood chunks, wood splits. I often put a split of wood in the hopper with charcoal around it. Or for cooks that are not so long I use wood chunks. I place them below in the ash pan.

The flavor of the meat is night and day better than the traeger I once had. And it's much cheaper than traegers.

This is what I have.

https://www.masterbuilt.com/products/gr ... ill-smoker

They have a 800 series that has a griddle accessory. The 560 is smaller and to be honest I feel like it's cheaply made.

This must really be something because you were the champion of Traegor back in the day. I will take a look.

Posted: **Tue Jan 03, 2023 12:01 am**

mori wrote:
naednek wrote: ↑Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:16 pm
mori wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 5:48 pm Going to buy a new wood pellet grill. I bought my Traeger grill in 2017 and after getting the kinks worked out of it is been a faithful servant. But I want something that will sear and one that is better insulated so I can use it in colder temperatures and year round. Not loyal to Traeger so some research ahead into this purchase as there are many more options on the market now.
Before doing that, have you looked at the Masterbuilt Gravity series? It's like a pellet grill in terms of convenience and technology. Instead of pellets, it's charcoal. Charcoal goes into a vertical hopper. You light the charcoal at the bottom of the hopper. There's basically a computer fan that blows air into the hopper. A controller controls how fast the fan spins, which controls the temp. As the the first layer of charcoal burns the charcoal above moves down (GRAVITY!!!!) heat and smoke gets funneled into the cooking chamber.

You end up with some great flavor. You can use wood chunks, wood splits. I often put a split of wood in the hopper with charcoal around it. Or for cooks that are not so long I use wood chunks. I place them below in the ash pan.

The flavor of the meat is night and day better than the traeger I once had. And it's much cheaper than traegers.

This is what I have.

https://www.masterbuilt.com/products/gr ... ill-smoker

They have a 800 series that has a griddle accessory. The 560 is smaller and to be honest I feel like it's cheaply made.
This must really be something because you were the champion of Traegor back in the day. I will take a look.

I liked the Traeger a lot but I felt it was missing a good smoke profile. Like when you walk into a bbq joint you get that aroma and when you take that first bite you get that bbq taste.

It's night and day different

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

Posted: **Tue Jan 03, 2023 12:52 am**

I think new electricity will be our next big expense. We were already planning to replace the fuse box with a breaker panel. A recent MassSave inspection found some knob & tube wiring that's probably still hot, so that needs replacing too. A couple of switches and outlets that I replaced in my DIY days need fixing. I got a $2,500 quote on the fuse box before the pandemic; with the larger scope and several years of inflation, I'm sure it will be double or triple that.

The same inspection found that our oven is producing carbon monoxide like crazy while it warms up, so that's going to need repair or replacement. It's not dangerous if I run the exhaust fan, and it behaves itself when it gets up to temperature, but it's obviously suboptimal. When I replaced the range a few years ago I think I spent $600. There aren't many models available in the small size that fits our kitchen.

Posted: **Thu Jan 05, 2023 2:55 pm**

Just avoided a huge plumbing bill. 5 hours of work for two people and now I need to clean up, and I'm too exhausted. My laundry in the basement looks like an Overlord sprayed ink all over it. That I now have shower drain with a screw hole with no threads.

Also this $600 a month for health care premiums is just painful.

Finally, sometimes my grocery bill is beginning for feel like a major purchase. It seems like just a year ago I could still get a full basket of groceries for $50. That's right. It was a year ago.

Posted: **Thu Jan 05, 2023 4:16 pm**

Paid the annual home insurance today, it went up $150. It's only a two bedroom one bath so...

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 12:46 am**

It's only borderline "major" but we suddenly need a new microwave. The popcorn I made tonight came with some acrid smoke, sparking, and a bit of flame as the oven cooked its carousel's plastic drive shaft. The mikey was at least 10 years old and the carousel stopped rotating a year ago, so it won't be missed.

We still plan to move house this year so I don't want to spend much on the new mikey. Odds are the new house will have one built in, as is the fashion these days.

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 2:07 am**

I can heartedly recommend the Panasonic 1250w. Had this one for about 12 - 15 years and is still great thank goodness. And with its more power it is faster too. Walmart still sells the same one now. I was curious on how much one costs these days as everthing seems to break around hear lately and they were still well priced too though Im not sure what we originally paid.

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 2:56 am**

The only two microwaves we've owned in 30+ years were both Kenmores. I know the ghost of Sears still walks -- the last Sears in MA is a mile and a half from me and it is a sad and empty place -- but I'll betcha the Kenmore and Craftsman names don't mean what they used to.

My 30-year-old Craftsman lawn mower still starts on the first pull every time, even after sitting all winter with stale gas. Back in my day we bought our small appliances at Sears and we liked them.

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 9:52 am**

Sears stuff really was great in the day. Have a Craftsman weedeater thats from the mid 90s and would still work if I replaced the primer bulb.

Today most name brands are made buy just a few companies.....The internet tells me Kenmore stuff is made by either Whirlpool or Samsung.

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 12:30 pm**

Putting on a new roof, then have to choose between my solar panel final proposals, then add a couple of 240 lines, then a heat pump water heater, as I noticed the water heater is looking kinda ragged.
40 grand+

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 2:18 pm**

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 07, 2023 9:52 am Today most name brands are made but just a few companies.....The internet tells me Kenmore stuff is made by either Whirlpool or Samsung.

\

Wirecutter reviews says that virtually all mid-range microwaves are made by one factory in Korea, from the same components. They have minor differences in appearance and features but are all essentially clones. One exception is Panasonic, which placed in the top 3 among all of the several review sites that I checked. So I bought the Panny. Picking it up at the local Target is $25 cheaper than Amazon and it will be ready this afternoon. I paid $165, which is a little on the expensive side for its class but not ridiculously so. The closest competitor was a Toshiba for $140 at Amazon.

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 5:38 pm**

We've had a Panasonic Inverter microwave for eight years now and it's been fantastic. It's powerful enough to heat very quickly, but the inverter technology allows it to function better at low power to heat thoroughly through the middle of more dense food and defrost evenly. It really is the best microwave I've owned and a noticeable difference from the cheap ones I've had in the past.

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 6:49 pm**

Ya mines an inverter. Also the turbo defrost will thaw a block of ice in under 3 minutes.

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 6:52 pm**

naednek wrote: ↑Tue Jan 03, 2023 12:01 am
mori wrote:
naednek wrote: ↑Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:16 pm
mori wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 5:48 pm Going to buy a new wood pellet grill. I bought my Traeger grill in 2017 and after getting the kinks worked out of it is been a faithful servant. But I want something that will sear and one that is better insulated so I can use it in colder temperatures and year round. Not loyal to Traeger so some research ahead into this purchase as there are many more options on the market now.
Before doing that, have you looked at the Masterbuilt Gravity series? It's like a pellet grill in terms of convenience and technology. Instead of pellets, it's charcoal. Charcoal goes into a vertical hopper. You light the charcoal at the bottom of the hopper. There's basically a computer fan that blows air into the hopper. A controller controls how fast the fan spins, which controls the temp. As the the first layer of charcoal burns the charcoal above moves down (GRAVITY!!!!) heat and smoke gets funneled into the cooking chamber.

You end up with some great flavor. You can use wood chunks, wood splits. I often put a split of wood in the hopper with charcoal around it. Or for cooks that are not so long I use wood chunks. I place them below in the ash pan.

The flavor of the meat is night and day better than the traeger I once had. And it's much cheaper than traegers.

This is what I have.

https://www.masterbuilt.com/products/gr ... ill-smoker

They have a 800 series that has a griddle accessory. The 560 is smaller and to be honest I feel like it's cheaply made.
This must really be something because you were the champion of Traegor back in the day. I will take a look.
I liked the Traeger a lot but I felt it was missing a good smoke profile. Like when you walk into a bbq joint you get that aroma and when you take that first bite you get that bbq taste.

It's night and day different

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

Thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole. I am about to pull a trigger on a Masterbuilt 800. Price is within budget. The sear ability alone just about sold me after years of not being able to do so properly has me envious. I thought I would have no use for a griddle. I am not going to start it up to fry bacon & eggs, but after I watched videos of people doing smash burgers on it

. Operating costs will be higher and it will have to sit outside year round because of its size (the Traeger I have I can put in the garage easy enough). Hoping the cover will get me 5 years until the next great thing. So I may have two grills out on the patio as soon as I can get the couple feet of snow cleared off. I have 2 years worth of wood pellets around but if this thing makes me never fire up the Traeger again they will go away easy enough.

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 6:53 pm**

New laser printer. I inherited my current one from a previous job, and while it works fine, it’s probably 15 years old or more (Dell color laser/ Wi-Fi - for reference, Dell stopped making printers more than a decade ago

)

Was constantly losing wifi ‘lock’, and I ‘upgraded’ to Windows 11 w/o realizing this ancient printer is not supported.

Will be nice to be able to print directly from mobile on a newer model (looking at the $300 Brother)

Posted: **Sat Jan 07, 2023 6:58 pm**

Brother wireless.

Posted: **Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:14 am**

I think $10K to get the basement dried out and cleaned up after the drains backed up counts as a major purchase.

This was not supposed to happen in the new house . . . .

Posted: **Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:40 am**

How much to put in backflow prevention?

Octopus Overlords

What are your next major purchases?

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