Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

Well, to put a bookend on my ranting yesterday about my issues with the computer and the projector... as should probably come as very little surprise to anyone who knows me, the problem ended up being not with any of the hardware (not exactly... I'll get to that...) per se but with the user. After failing yesterday to get the VGA connection to work with the projector, I forged ahead with using the older computer and it has been working just fine (it has after all been what I have run every other show we've done at this theater on). But I was griping on the drive back home last night that I didn't know what I was going to do since I had planned on selling the old computer since there was no reason to have it sitting around but had explicitly not sold it yet in case it was needed for this show... and I didn't want to have it just sitting around and gathering dust and being used once a year when we do a show here.

I was still mulling that over when I dragged the new computer in and was hooking it back up at home- and per chance the USB-C cable for the nice Satechi clamp-on hub that sits at the bottom of thet computer had come unplugged (likely had pulled it out when I was annoyedly packing up at the theater)- and I noted, "Hmmm. I never noticed that the two inboard USB-C ports had lightning-bolt symbols next to them..." at which point my brain clicks back into gear and an idea hits me- and I get the computer plugged back in at home and grab the VGA adapter and plug it into one of the two inboard, lightning-bolt-marked ports (which my brain deduced indicated them as being Apple's Thunderbolt ports...) and back into the old VGA monitor- and lo and behold, it immediately comes up with the background for the computer. So I drag the new computer back in again with me this morning and decide to go for the gusto and hook up my usual HDMI adapter (plugged into the Thunderbolt port)- and the computer picks up the projector and after a minute of convincing it I didn't want it to mirror the screen but use it separately, it was working jsut as I had wanted.

Now, I'm not a complete idiot- I had tried the adapters in different USB-C ports- but since the hub is usually plugged into the outboard-most Thunderbolt port (which apparently are the only ones what will do video out I'm guessing), I had only been plugging the adapters into the non-Thunderbolt ports or the USB-C port on the front of the hub (which though the hub was plugged into the Thunderbolt port will apparently not do pass-through to work as one). So... if I'd looked closer or better understood how the ports worked I would have saved myself a whole lot of trouble and worry.

Appleseed said:

Toyman! said:

I have never seen our local PD write a speeding ticket except on residential streets and near playgrounds, but they are death on red-light runners. Multiple days a week, all hours of the day and night. Frequently 2 of them working the intersection at a time. They also frequently watch stop signs in the neighborhoods. Zero tolerance. It's kind of nice. 

Wish they'd do that here. In a neighborhood FULL of kids, if someone slows down at a stopsign, it looks like a mistake.

The stop sign runners in my neighborhood actually have gotten on Facebook to justify running the stop sign by saying that sign shouldn't even be there since this is the only cross-street in the whole subdivision that has a stop sign.  Ergo, it's okay for them to not even slow down for it.

And, of course, the local constabulary does pretty much zero about it.

In reply to wae :

That would make it awfully tempting to toss out some spike strips...

In reply to wae :

Maybe some video to the local news outlet?

In reply to Recon1342 :

The desire is strong, let me tell you.  I could weld and grind come caltrops in an afternoon...

For now, though, I just enjoy watching drivers behind me get increasingly agitated as I drive the 25mph speed limit down the main street in the subdivision and then pretty much totally lose it when I come to a stop at the stop sign.

In reply to stanger_mussle (Supported by GRM undergarments) :

Hope you recover fast.  Florida seems to be getting hit pretty hard right now.

What the hell is up with the freight charges. 9/2021, freight for one wood door panel was $229.00. Yesterday it is $653.00 for the exact same order. 

That's a 280% increase in less than a year. Fuel prices haven't gone up that much. Inflation hasn't added that much to it. 

In reply to Toyman! :

I suspect that many of the price increases we're seeing is just "cause I can", then blame it on other factors.

In reply to Toyman! :

Yikes!  That might explain my experience this morning...

I just put my Doughnut Robot on uShip.  I've never used them before, but I put the dimensions and weight in there (41"x20"x24", 137lbs) and the first quote I got was for $800 to get it the 476 miles from Covington, GA.  The "average" that it gave me when I submitted it was $264 or something like that, and I would pay that in a heartbeat.  But it's only about $200 in gas for me to use the 5 and make a round-trip.

In reply to Toyman! :

Conspiracy theory: they're making up for losses from 2020. The CEO isn't paying for the gas in his jet.

In reply to wae :

Try goship.com - I had good luck shipping R&L Carriers through them. Quoted on R&L's site it was ludicrously high, then on goship.com it was 1/3 or 1/4 the price and I got a 15% off code to use just from signing up. (Hint, they'll call you after setting up the account, take the call and the sales rep will give you a code. Or email me and I'll send you my code to try. The sales rep said it would work "forever." Who knows.)

Edit: I just ran a quote on it, using Goship, commercial to commercial location, got a quote of $261 for R&L Carriers. A few others were cheaper, but I'd be willing to pay more to use a proven reliable company. R&L has good equipment, good drivers, and doesn't mind using a liftgate even if you didn't pay the liftgate fee (nudge nudge, wink wink).

In reply to dculberson :

Oh, nice!  That looks like that's going to work well!  The most difficult part for uship seems to be the relatively short runway for getting it picked up.

I just walked through how to find spring rate given deflection and force, then walked through how to find that force given that it is a moment arising from another moment.

The two coworkers (white collar, non engineers, but Solidworks users) looked at me as if I knew magic.

I'm not gonna claim I'm the most intelligent person in this office (I might be, honestly don't know nor care,) but outside the owner I am the most educated and I'm tired of it. 

Is it sad that I've been here about 8 months and I know I need to leave?

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Sometimes it happens. Don't let it become personal challenge to stay if it isn't the right fit, staying/leaving is a business decision and you need to do what is best for you. 

wae said:

In reply to Recon1342 :

The desire is strong, let me tell you.  I could weld and grind come caltrops in an afternoon...

For now, though, I just enjoy watching drivers behind me get increasingly agitated as I drive the 25mph speed limit down the main street in the subdivision and then pretty much totally lose it when I come to a stop at the stop sign.

When I was printing up a bunch of things on my new-ish 3D printer one of the things that I printed up was a bunch of 'painting stand' pyramids that had (by design, so they contacted whatever they were supporting as little as possible) very pointy tops that made me think that scaled-down they would make excellent caltrops...

The real pandemic has become aggressive drivers.  I can't believe how aggressive people are. I'm not grandpa. I go with traffic, go with the flow of traffic, use the correct lanes, etc. Never fails that I have someone tailgating me every day on every road. 

NickD said:

The dispatcher at work must have given me 5 or more Tahoe/Yukon/Suburbans with AC system problems this week. Stop

it is 55F in the morning, how am I supposed to check A/C?

The Accord (2010, 2.4l) was easy, with the A/C on it was blowing five degrees warmer than ambient   Corroded condenser at the fittings.  The Aviator was heartbreaking. Zero refrigerant in system, and also almost zero flow from the vents.  Turns out the recirc door fell off and was blocking the fan inlet.  Instant evaporator case assuming you can still get one for a 19 year old forgettable SUV.  Then we found out he had a $200 budget, which won't even get you an evac and recharge.

there are at least three mice in the Batcave, one of which is in the red RX-7.  I can HEAR it chewing on something.

grr.

the tenant next door raises ducks, she told me that the ducks will grab the mice and drown them in their water bowls.  Go ducks!

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I've heard GLUE TRAPS work well. 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I've had pretty good luck with the Tomcat branded snap-traps with their "attractant gel" out at the shop.  I've also used the glue traps but somehow I always manage to drop something that is not a mouse on them. 

Scotty Con Queso said:

The real pandemic has become aggressive drivers.  I can't believe how aggressive people are. I'm not grandpa. I go with traffic, go with the flow of traffic, use the correct lanes, etc. Never fails that I have someone tailgating me every day on every road. 

This, so much this.   I drive a lot for work in a lettered company vehicle so I pretty much stick with traffic flow and watch the shiny happy people do their thing.   It's not good.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

$200 budget - that's the diagnosis cost.

Two headlight bulbs and four oil filters on RA.

$40 shipping. Holy carp.

The worst part? It's still cheaper than buying locally.

Mr_Asa said:

I just walked through how to find spring rate given deflection and force, then walked through how to find that force given that it is a moment arising from another moment.

The two coworkers (white collar, non engineers, but Solidworks users) looked at me as if I knew magic.

 

I'm not gonna claim I'm the most intelligent person in this office (I might be, honestly don't know nor care,) but outside the owner I am the most educated and I'm tired of it. 

Is it sad that I've been here about 8 months and I know I need to leave?

Like him or not (I do) this is a good piece of advice. 

In reply to Peabody :

Sounds typical for RA.  I just ordered some pliers from Speedway, and paid within a few dollars of purchase price for shipping/tax.  Amazingly, it was still cheaper than the exact same thing through amazon.