Cup of Coffee

March 24, 2023: My Buddy

38 Comments

I guess you can consider this an endorsement, but last weekend I used the product that is a friend of bar keepers and for, like, the third time I was kind of shocked at how effective it was compared to other products that had failed in their duty.

38 thoughts on “March 24, 2023: My Buddy”

  1. Homeowner pro-tip: don't get pinhole leaks in your pipes.
    Pro-tip #2: Especially don't have that leak angled such that it sprays all over your electrical panel.

      1. Thankfully, no. But wiping down the wires with a damp cloth (with everything off!) got me thinking about how to ground the same arm rather than using my other arm.

  2. We're upgrading to Level 2 charging in our garage this morning, and GM's EV program is completely covering the cost of the 220* outlet install. Noice.

    *220, 221 -- whatever it takes

      1. Technically it should have been more (our panel is full), but some clever combining/splitting breakers kept things under GM's budget. Someday we're going to need a bigger boat panel when we kick our 22-yr old gas furnaces to the curb and get electric ones.

          1. I am looking forward(?) to the day when one of our furnaces goes and we can switch to a heat pump system.

            Unfortunately, we have mature trees shading our house, so solar isn't a very good prospect and electricity is ridiculously expensive Because California and PG&E.

          2. Our heat pump performed well over the (second warmest in Hartford, CT recorded history) winter. It struggled to warm the house in the morning when the outside temperature dropped below 25 °F so the backup oil furnace took over then. It had no problem maintaining that temperature during the day down to the cut-off of 15 °F. It did take longer but the thermostats never switched to the furnace. The biggest thing I noticed was simply the lower BTUs: the heat pump is rated at 44k (above 40 °F I think) while our furnace is rated around 82k. This means the air coming from the vents is merely warm rather than "hot". This has the side effect, good and bad, of running longer to keep the house warm. While it does take longer to feel the heat, the air tends to be circulated better and that reduces warm and cold spots.

            1. An air source heat pump is a similar size as a regular AC unit. We did need an extra foot of clearance but overall it looks the same.

  3. I was driving home on 169 last night and almost hit a woman who was on the side of the road trying to put gas in her car but the can was mostly empty. She was Somali and wearing dark clothes and a hijab and her car was so close to the road she was actually standing in the traffic lane. I pulled over and threw on my flashers, got her off the road and got her son out of the car, he was about 12 or 13. About then a state trooper showed up. We did a quick huddle, I took the boy in my car while he pushed the woman's car up the off-ramp and off the highway. Now, the whole time this woman is just completely distraught, crying and moaning and muttering that she was so stupid because she fell asleep in her car and burned up all the gas. Her son, on the other had, was calm but clearly embarrassed by his mom and the situation in general. Since it's Ramadan I asked if he'd eaten anything and they hadn't, by now it's after nine o'clock so they had to be famished. As I was driving them to the gas station the woman went off again because she couldn't find her wallet (she'd left it in her car) and she didn't have money to pay for the gas. I filled their gas can, went in and bought some snacks for them, drove them back to their car, put in the gas and had them follow me back to the gas station to fill up. By then the woman had calmed down for the most part. When she went inside to pay for the gas I gave her son a $20 and told him his mother was having a very bad day and he needed to take care of her and make sure they got home okay, and then I drove on home myself. Strange night, indeed.

    1. The standard Good Samaritan stuff alone made a huge difference, but your cultural sensitivity & empathy about their holiday fasting situation probably went further than any of us likely can truly appreciate.

      1. Seriously, I'm very impressed by the awareness. Well done Twayn. I'm sure that family appreciated it so much.

        1. Agreed. I would like to think I would have done the same, but there is zero chance I would have a $20 bill on me.

          1. This (having "emergency" cash) is why I always keep a 20 "hidden" behind my driver's license. I sort of know it is there, but having it out of sight keeps me from just spending it. Or my wife from swiping it when she is out of cash and unwilling to go by the bank.

            Also, kudos, Twayn. The world needs more of this.

    2. Twayn - thank you so much for both the deeds, and for sharing the story. It really made my day.

  4. I'm not sure I buy the Twins losing $30 million, fifth most overall, last year. I can accept them losing money with decreased ticket sales thanks to the bad team, but fifth most? And payroll in 2023 is higher than 2022 and that was higher than 2021.

    2. Funny how that amount is ~86% of what they paid Correa.

      I don’t buy it, either. I’ve read plenty of science fiction that requires less suspension of disbelief than MLB’s accounting ledgers.

      2. Do any of us buy the A's turning that big of a profit? I have seen this graphic depicted with it being not a change in profit, but a change in valuation.

  5. Gopher puck demolished Cannisus 9-2 last night in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. At one point early in second period they were losing 2-1 and the term Holy Cross was trending on Twitter. Funny, it didn't really trend for long. While I get it was a big deal when Holy Cross beat the #1 Gophers, that was 16 years ago and there have been other #1's losing much more recently, including Saint Cloud State losing to American National University for pete's sake.

    Anyway Gophers play St. Cloud State tomorrow and should be a fun game.

    1. I'm rooting for the Huskies, but I wouldn't bet a penny against the Gophers right now. Cornell knocking out Denver was a pleasant surprise, though, the Pioneers were good enough to win it all again this year.

    2. Well, Gopher fans definitely never, ever ride a joke way too long... right? I was talking to a Mankato fan at my joint yesterday. He stopped for lunch on his way to the game. Both of us joked how we root for the Gophers in every sport except hockey. Why? Gopher Hockey fans.

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