News:

if there were no need for 'engineers from the quantum plenum' then we should not have any unanswered scientific questions.

Main Menu

what's the last thing you bought?

Started by billy rubin, November 01, 2019, 09:49:47 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Tank

Quote from: Dark Lightning on January 14, 2023, 10:41:23 PM
Quote from: Tank on January 14, 2023, 09:25:43 PMAh! An ELCB! Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker.

Sounds about right, you guys use "earth" for our word "ground". International communities like this provide a larger vocabulary.

Yes we do use 'earth' as the use uses 'ground'.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Tank

Quote from: hermes2015 on January 15, 2023, 03:17:41 AM
Quote from: Tank on January 14, 2023, 09:25:43 PMAh! An ELCB! Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker.

Tank, here it is a legal requirement that all outlets be protected by earth leakage circuit breakers (as we call them as well). I assume that is the case in the UK as well?

Yes and no. Historical systems can be kept without protection but if you add to or modify a system it must have full ELCB protection.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Tank

Quote from: The Magic Pudding. on January 15, 2023, 07:57:00 AMI ordered a $50 yoga mat for $4, bargain.
I use my exercise bike everyday, to hang my clothes on.
Not sure what I'll use the yoga mat for, something...

I love the bike quote :)
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Dark Lightning

Quote from: billy rubin on January 15, 2023, 05:11:11 AMthe american national electrical code requires GFCI anywhere the outlet is within 6 feet of a sink, shower, or any source of water. also exterior outlets

There was only a standard outlet with the old switch. But I know the above, so when I replaced the switch for 89¢, I saved money. There is no requirement for an outlet in a bathroom, to my knowledge. I'm getting browbeat into installing the GCFI part. The renters took advantage of the Covid moratorium and quit paying rent January last year. We finally got them out at the end of September, a week ahead of the Sheriff. They had income, there was no excuse for not paying.

billy rubin

thats might bea reason to keep the utilities in your own name and just add to the rent. if they didnt pay the rent, you could disconnect the utilities.

or could you?

seems like you could.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Dark Lightning

The wife didn't want that liability.  ::)  They could just go pay the utilities themselves, if we cut them off. The energy providers don't care where the money comes from, only that it comes. I go over to that house every day to make sure nobody is squatting. If someone can show the police that they have a paid utility bill, it takes a whole lot more effort than just kicking out trespassers or people committed breaking and entering.

Asmodean

Quote from: The Magic Pudding. on January 15, 2023, 07:57:00 AMNot sure what I'll use the yoga mat for, something...
It could probably make for a decent rain cover for the bike, should it find itself outdoors. Failing that, you can roll it up all nice and tight and test cutting capacity of swords with it. Of course, that may necessitate the acquisition of said cutlery, but details. You could also use it to do stuff like partly screen off your balcony, so you can wander around there with no pants on and nobody will call the police on you.

Hmm... Yoga mats sound exceedingly useful. I wonder if I should get a few... :notsure:
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

billy rubin

swords are easy to come by. my son has several

https://forgeofsvan.com/

well i was going to post a link to his swordmaker but all that immediatley came up was the armourer

here are some IMCF swords

International Medieval Combat Federation

https://medievalextreme.com/swords/


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

billy rubin

#503
a while back i gave my lttle ruger LCP pocket 380 to my young daughter, who at the time was living in her pickup truck in parking lots in nevada while she worked at various forestry gigs.

this left me without anything, and i work before and after dark in bad neighborhoods of depressed rust belt cities, where some form of self-protection is prudent. what i ended up with was an ancient beretta 85BB .380, a 40-year old blowback single-stack surplus police weapon.  bigger than the little ruger, but smaller than a glock 19 or the colt government model i used to own. 

but i had no way to carry it safely or politely, until now. i have a legal concealed carry permit, but options for comfortably carrying a small handgun while driving a truck some 10 hours a day are limited. but i found a company in the czech republic that makes what i was looking for.



this is a cross-draw holster, worn on the weak side (my left) to allow a concealed carry under an untucked shirt while still allowing a seat belt to be buckled underneath it. thumb break snap to keep the gun secured in an almost horizontal carry position.

i also bout a dedictaed gun belt for it, and a carrier for an 8-round single stack magazine.



once its on the weight is well distributed and its almost unnoticeable. the holster stays on the belt (no snap fitting), but i can remove the gun and leave it off my person if i have to enter locations that specify no concealed weapons.

its a small-framed pistol, and one that is very easy to shoot accurately. i can put multiple 94-grain solids into a two-inch circle at 21 feet, and since thats the customary standard for self-defense accuracy, i think the combination of gun and holster is good enough for what im looking for.

i specified a black leather dye because black is less easy to identify as a holstered gun than any other colour, and th ewhole point of concealed carry is be unobtrusive. the pistols and holster are a small enough package that it doesnt print on my clothing and is almost unnoticeable when i wear it.




"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

billy rubin

the gun is an interesting relic, all on its own. they made these things between 1982 and 1987, i think, and were used extensively in european police forces for many years



its a medium-framed weapon, with an alloy frame and steel slide. so its reasonably light, and the .380 cartridge is an acceptable self-defense round in the expanding hollow-point configuration that i use.



carries 8 rounds in the magazine, and one in the chamber. can be carried safely with a loaded round, safety on, half-cock. so it requires the safety to be flipped off, then almost a full double-action trigger pull to fire. cant carry it un-cocked, because if i drop it on the hammer it can go off, old -style. not a good practice.



the cartridges are the same diameter as a 9mm, but are shorter, with a subsonic muzzle velocity. sometimes called "9mm short." not a super high-powered round, but im not interested in rambo-style performance, just adequate stopping power at short range.

the gun comes apart in seconds for cleaning with no tools, so maintenance is easy.



all in all, a conservative and non-ostentatious carry gun. plus, it was not expensive, unlike some of the current glamour pistols favoured by the clint eastwood imitators. inexpensive, concealable, adequate, historically interesting. and now with a good holster, practical for daily carry.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Tank

If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

billy rubin

#506
we live in interesting times, tank.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Tank

If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

jumbojak

The Cheetah is a nice little pistol. A bunch made their way through this area over the last six months. There was a double stack version as well but they are quite rare.

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

billy rubin

the double stack is the 84. not so common, as you say. but with a spare magazine the 85 has 17 shots.

i really like the old 70 series berettas. an automatic point, at least for me. but its been gone 50 years, and collectors have bid up the price.

the only problem i have with the 85 is that it has an ambidextrous safety, normally a plus. but in this crossdraw holster, ordinary movement standing up and sitting down causes the leather under the lever to flip the safety off. it still cant fire without almost a full double action triggrr pull, but i like the safety. not sure whether thered a workaround or not


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."