Not a machinist, just an amateur fab guy but sweet Jesus carbide burrs on a die grinder suuuuck for that kind of thing. If they weren’t so good at material removal I wouldn’t have them because those damn micro metal splinters are the worst. I used to get them stuck in my socks because my shoes were loose and then they would stab my feet.

Uncle Iroh, but post general/fire lord.

I can say the same for myself, I just don’t see it as often as I had hoped in others.

I reflect on my past self and wish I had been a better person in my teens/early 20s. I can’t change who I was or how I behaved or thought back then but I can change the person I am now and who I aspire to be. I am also trying to foster that attitude and the skills to be empathetic in my kids.

Lack of empathy is not something people grow out of, it seems like it is something that grows more severe the older people get.

We just need another 10 trillion gallons of water and 1.21 more gigawatts. Just a little more bro, share your nuclear power plants, you aren’t even using them right now bro.

Puffin Rock is the shit

Inside Job could have continued but I am not sure they had a bigger story planned.

Free market climate change works both on the cause and effect side.

The rate on our house in the Houston Metroplex has more than doubled within the last year despite no historical damage or flooding since 1980.

The broader market in this region is not in good shape though since developers keep building homes in riskier areas and taking away natural grasslands and forests that can accept water.

We were shopping for insurance on some houses we were looking at and got quoted $16k/year on an average size/cost house out in Missouri City. This area is rapidly going the way of Florida/California with insurers pulling out or dramatically rasing rates. Our insurance broker specifically said companies have pulled out of Fort Bend County citing the risk.

Emby is a good option if you don’t want to hop to jellyfin. I have been pleased with it so far. I found the media tag/idenifier to work better/quicker than plex’s.

Texas sucks. Everyone talks about how much it has a low cost of living and minimal taxes because there is not a state income tax, then the homeowners insurance rates go up or get cancelled and you can count on property taxes going up 10% annually. We bought our house in 2016 and the amount has gone up 10% every year since, not including the other bond issues which increase the tax rate on top of the existing rate.

If you have a good foundation for a relationship, an equitable partnership with open and compassionate communication, shared empathy, and respect for eachother, you are going to be in reasonably good shape.

The thing is, the process of having a kid is stressful, once they are here, it is physically taxing and can be emotionally draining. You don’t get sleep in regular or meaningful amounts or patterns, your pattern is disrupted but you also have to do all the other things you had to do before to maintin your life. Chores and work get less time and things pile up. Which makes it harder to do other things you have/want to do. Even if you find the time, you may not have the energy or mental capacity to do it. It can be a very lonely experience even with a good partner.

That said, if you remember, its you and your partner working together for the baby, for eachother, or against the problem, its manageable. You WILL need to adjust to it but it gets easier over time.

Around here (houston metroplex) there is not a bidding war but sellers are acting like there is or should be one. There are several houses we liked that have been on the market for upwards of half a year and the sellers are unwilling to negotiate on prices that are significantly higher than market value or prices of comps. We had an offer on a house that we walked away from recently where the seller outright refused to negotiate on price after the inspection found it needed a new roof and 2 new ac units despite being priced higher than it should have been already.

Yeah that’s where we are at, sellers still think they are worth covid prices and the broader market is in complete chaos. If we weren’t out of room from having a smaller house with 2 kids, I would be more receptive to sticking it out but the chaos has become less manageable so we are looking for more room despite not really wanting to make any decisions right now.

8 years ago, I bought a house at 3.25% interest on a 30 year loan. We are currently looking to move and interest rates are damn near 7% because of all the fuckery going on and it is probably going to keep going up since no one trusts anything in the economy right now.

Preventable too, if these old ghouls would release their skeletal grip on power and let younger candidates in…

Kind of like Altered Carbon

Salchicha al Carbon is a delicacy. Never be ashamed of it.

It could have already happened hundreds of times and we would never know it.

Up: My unraid server with media library, emby and my kids Down: the fiber internet line into the house that the contractor working on our siding snapped. No one is upset so the system is working.