I owe you an apology. I realized while I was going to sleep last night I had directed all the anger and hostility I have been feeling lately at you. I could explain further, but that feels too much like making excuses for my inexcusable behavior. I have been engaged in various thread here on the Dope and many other places on the web. Some of the people involved certainly deserve harsh and angry words. You very much do not. Again, I am sorry and I will strive to do better in the future.
Wow, thank you. I have gotten used to some insults here ( from some stupid posts I had made) but I never felt you were mean to me.
People can differ in their opinions, and even angrily, without it being taken personally.
You are a quality person!
That’s the one, and it’s as good as it looks (but I think last time I got one, it was coated with granulated sugar, not powdered sugar). My only complaint is that they’re not very large, so they don’t last long enough. I’m always left wanting more.
Open enrollment drama continues at work. For us, open enrollment ended before Thanksgiving, and we had a few employees who did not submit their elections in a timely manner. At the end of each week of OE, we sent employees who had not completed their elections a notification explaining to them failure to do so would result in a loss of benefits effective 12/31/24.
Since OE closed, I’ve had a few employees ask if they could make changes to their elections for 2025. Without a qualifying life event, the answer is no. OE is that magical time of year allowing people to make changes to their elections without a qualifying life event and if you miss it then you miss it. Most employees just accepted that OE was over and it was too late to make changes. One was happy because it meant they couldn’t add their soon-to-be ex-spouse to their coverage, but others are understandably very unhappy.
At the start of this week an employee sent me an email asking if we could grant them an exception allowing them to enroll late. They sent this email request almost three weeks after open enrollment was closed and finalized. I asked if there were any extenuating circumstances, and while this employee had been on leave, they returned a few days before OE started. Their excuse was they had been so busy playing catchup they missed OE. I explained OE was closed and finalized and changes could only be made due to a qualifying life event such as gaining/losing coverage from another source, marriage/divorce, birth/adoption, etc., etc.
A few days later employee emailed someone else in HR explaining they reached out to benefits but never received a reply. That HR person forwarded the email to me and included the employee. I didn’t technically call the employee a liar in my reply, but in my reply I included time stamps of our previous communication and told them it was inaccurate to say they hadn’t received a reply.
So the employee sent another email asking for an escalation of their case to appeal my decision. I don’t mind that a bit. What I don’t like is the employee lying about not receiving a response. I hate that I have to be the bad guy and say no to coverage because this person couldn’t get it together and complete a 10 minute process they had almost 20 days to complete.
I’m really sorry to be presenting you with this potential headache (but not sorry enough to refrain from doing it). Could someone get a quickie divorce (followed by a quickie reconciliation) and get away with counting that as a qualifying life event?
First, the musical lightning gun is indeed a real thing. I met the inventor, saw and held the device, and touched the electrical arcs (this is completely safe unless you have a pacemaker). It was small y, et sturdy and quite impressive. Using mostly off the shelf parts, she built a programmable machine that shot electrical arcs of up to several inches in length from its tip. Different lengths made different tones. She had the song Popcorn preprogrammed into the gun and played it for me. I instantly wanted one. She was selling kits. IIRC they $150. At the time, I was very broke. Going to the convention was my big gift to myself for the year. I was also unsure if I had the skill needed to assemble the kit, even though it included detailed instructions. She was selling finished musical lightning guns. But they were $250. These were very reasonable prices for such a complicated project. I just could not afford it.
A few years ago, I realized I was a hoarder. I have since done a lot of work and gotten rid of a lot of stuff. The friend I am trading the old computer to previously made and gave mine The Dragon’s Eye. I have posted about that before-when you shine ultraviolet light on uranium glass, it glows bright green. He took a uranium glass marble and surrounded it with a ring of ultraviolet light emitting diodes. You just hook a square 9 volt and the marble glows and flickers like the flame in a dragon’s eye. Today, he was at an antweight fighting robot competetion with a robot he designed and built.
It would be child’s play for him to get the parts and assemble them following the instructions. Except, neither of us can find the plans. The inventor died a few years ago. So, we can’t ask her. I would still prefer he come to my place and take the computer. We can worry about his providing me with electric wonders later.
Here is a video of the Dragon’s Eye I posted on Imgur
Hmm, I keep getting a ‘cannot embed media in post’ errror. So, here is a link to my Imgur page. Just scroll down to the Dragon’s Eye. You can’t miss it! NOTE- This being Imgur, all photos and videos are safe for work.
I was about to shut down the computer and go to bed Thursday night, when I heard a brief 5-second “squeeee” from an electronic alarm. It seemed to be from somewhere in the basement with me, and there are a number of devices that can generate alarms. The two smoke detectors had no flashing lights, the CO monitor showed a 0 reading, the three UPS would only alarm if the power was out and the battery was getting low (and beep instead of squealing), the water leak detectors had no water around them and also only beep. I was at a loss as to what was causing the noise and decided to stay up a while longer just in case it repeated.
An hour later, I decided it was safe to go to bed, shut down the computer and headed upstairs. I had just reached the bedroom when “squeeee”. I rushed downstairs and it stopped before I could find the source. About 10 minutes later it happened again, then several more times, but only for a few seconds each time.
At this point I called the Fire Department, worried that perhaps the scammy service tech (see previous rant) had buggered up something and the furnace was leaking CO. Firetruck and crew quickly appeared, and they heard the thing sqealing again as they were coming downstairs. Test showed no CO or other common hazardous gases, and no sign of smoke or any other discernable hazard. Naturally, whatever it was remained silent for the rest of their visit. They decided that CO monitor was working OK, and tested the two smoke alarms (one about 2 years old, the other about 15) and produced similar noises, but we all judged that they were a different pitch. Eventually, they left with my thanks.
I went to bed and was awakened an hour later with another alarm squeal. I went back down, decided that the only possible source was a malfunction of the older smoke alarm, pulled the battery out, and haven’t heard anything since. It is recommended that you replace your smoke alarms after 10 years, as they become less effective, and I had put in two new ones (and a new CO monitor) a couple of years ago, with the basement one put in a better location, but had left the old basement one as a useful additional alarm. I guess they can also become glitchy when they age. I’ll be getting as new one to replace it.
By coincidence, I had the same thing happen in this house about 20 years earlier, when the CO monitor I had at the time went off in the middle of the night. I called the FD, they came and found no CO, and told me that the model of CO monitor I had was prone to false alarms., and recommended replacing it. Both times I welcomed the professionalism of the firefighters, and am grateful that they quickly respond to such calls, even in the middle of the night.
I did not have pecan pie at Thanksgiving. I only had a very thin slice of pumpkin pie.
If my local market has half or smaller portions, I think I’d like to sneak some.
They sure could but they have to provide documentation showing said divorce. I can’t imagine anyone doing this, but if they went that route then more power to 'em.
Mice!
A few minutes ago, I saw out of the corner of my eye a brown, mouse-sized, mouse-shaped thing moving very quickly along the base of the wall. I’m assuming it was a mouse.
Starting last week or so, I heard what sounded like gnawing coming from behind the cabinets and oven. Apparently, they’ve succeeded in chewing a way into my apartment.
I absolutely do not want glue traps. I’m considering snap traps. I’d prefer translucent catch-and-release traps. Depending on how bad the rodent situation gets, I may consider poison or just a small bowl of antifreeze.
Know anyone you can borrow a cat or small dog from? 
Snap traps.
Yes, glue traps suck - not only cruel, but much messier for you. I appreciate the impulse to do catch-and-release and if these were different animals I’d say go for it. But urban rodents in the U.S. are largely non-native explosive breeders tied to human habitation. Releasing them in urban areas is pushing your problem onto someone else, releasing them in a wild area away from people is a.) probably a death sentence anyway and b.) if not is almost invariably bad for the local ecology. Poisons are bad because of the potential downstream damage to animals that eat tainted poisoned rodents - just bad for the environment.
Most mouse problems that aren’t at the explosive infestation stage can be solved (or at least reasonably controlled) by a little persistence with baited snap traps, which kill pretty humanely.
You sound knowledgable on this matter. I will reluctantly follow your advice. I dislike killing animals for the simple crime of trespassing. It sems I have no choice.
I had an MRI two weeks ago. I was nervous but I figured I could power through. They put me in the tube and start playing Christmas music. How I loathe Christmas music.
They sent me a survey afterwards, and I was polite but let them know that subjecting patients to Christmas music is cruel and wrong.
After being subjected to I Got My Stretchy Pants On while shopping at Target last week, I posted here and on Facebook about how truly terrible it is. Apparently, people thought I was exaggerating for comedic effect. No, that ‘song’ really is that awful. There were some grocery items I needed that are not available any where else in this section of Philly. I’m certain because I went through every place that sells groceries that I can get to. Before I opened the door to Target, I put in disposable ear plugs. It really is that bad.
As I said, it is the auditory equivalent of Tubgirl. It is not like walking in on your parents having sex. It like walking in on your parents having sex that involves watersports and scat while they eat live cockroaches.
I’m not sure what people are missing here.
Thankfully, I’ve not heard the song.
When I was little, they were called leggings.
Now they are yoga pants.
I had heard descriptions of Tubgirl for years. I never felt the need to see for myself. When a friend (he used to post here as Meros ) tried to show it to me, I both turned my back and removed my glasses. He eventually got the message. Later, while we were doing something normal and healthy on the computer, he hit a key to minimize the current screen and revealed Tubgirl. I say this seriously, I will never forgive him for that.
If you have not heard I Got My Stretchy Pants On, please heed my advice and avoid it. Once heard, it can not be unheard.
Like Adam and Eve, you tell someone not to check something out…
Omg
Its weird. Never would’ve known it was Carrie if it hadn’t said so.
THANK YOU for posting this.
Make friends with someone who owns a Jack Russell terrier?
I utterly, truly understand this sentiment.
You were probably their “cupcake” call of the night.