Random Thought Thread v2

[Sr. Mints]

Edelweiss has a great assortment of horrible-yet-tasty black licorices, about 15+ varieties as I recall.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

You may have bought licorice flavoured crack.

It seems it's called Schoolkrijt and yes, it might indeed be licorice flavored crack.

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

Edelweiss has a great assortment of horrible-yet-tasty black licorices, about 15+ varieties as I recall.

Hmm... very tempting for trying new stuff I haven't before...

[jayswin]

Holy cow, just saw they still have paid sponsor forums here! Figured they were all dead and gone, but just glanced up while clicking for the first time in months, Still two guys kicking.

[81MC]

Found out my former father-in-law has died. Really strange feelings right now man, not really anyone to talk to about it. I simultaneously hated and loved the man. The kind of guy who would go grocery shopping and get a ton of microwave meals so I’d have food if I wanted to come over for lunch on my high school breaks, and drive a handful of us to Vancouver for a concert, yet would wage psychological warfare on his daughter as a coked up alcoholic. I helped him move out of his house when he lost it after a long ass battle with substance and small time crime, and he helped 17yo me break into my car when I locked the keys in at a strip mall. Also had to talk him out of getting into a tough-guy alcohol fuelled fight with a passerby while doing so, but I was sleeping with his daughter in his own house so who the hell knows.

He’s been through some ####, and I’ve always felt for him. But he’s out his kids through some serious #### too and I could never look past it. And now that he’s gone, one moment plays in my mind so strongly…we came over from his daughters moms house for ‘his week’ one night, to him blaring the stereo just sitting there coked out of his mind, and he told her to go away. “And when you lose control, you’ll reap the harvest you have sown…” from Pink Floyd’s Dogs as we walked back down the steps with as tears rolled down her cheeks.

That moment will stay with me forever, and in some way witnessing this man’s tragic downfall taught me a lesson that I will never repeat, and I pray his own children never will.

RIP Shawn man. It’s a trip, indeed.

[fotze2]

Just learned the Peter schilling song Major Tom was a sequel to bowies space oddity. Both great songs.

[Locke]

Whenever I see Knut's thread: "I am an Optometrist, Ask me Anything"

I just really want to start a thread: "I am an Optimist, Ask me Anything!"

And then see how long it takes people to determine that I am indeed...not an Optimist.

The possibilities are endless.

[TheIronMaiden]

The Mount Rushmore of people it is impossible to win an argument against is

1. pregnant women
2. black women
3. sassy gay men
4. edge lord white boys between the age of 14 and 30

any of these get a power multiplier if they are an engineer.

conversely the easiest people to argue with are

1. archaeologists
2. husbands who came home from visiting a friend a little late
3. stoners
4. strangers on the internet.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

The Mount Rushmore of people it is impossible to win an argument against is

1. pregnant women
2. black women
3. sassy gay men
4. edge lord white boys between the age of 14 and 30

any of these get a power multiplier if they are an engineer.

conversely the easiest people to argue with are

1. archaeologists
2. husbands who came home from visiting a friend a little late
3. stoners
4. strangers on the internet.

Oh boy, white males between 45 - 65 are super high up there for me. I have 50 year old welders telling me how the law works all the time

[Dion]

Got an email from the secretary of my HOA here in High River: "Please remember to lock your car doors at night if parked in the driveway. Last night, one of our HOA residents had their vehicle stolen from inside the garage after the thieves accessed it using a garage door opener left in an unlocked car parked outside. Securing your vehicle and removing any valuables or devices like garage openers can help prevent similar incidents."

How can people be so ####ing stupid!

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Dion

Got an email from the secretary of my HOA here in High River: "Please remember to lock your car doors at night if parked in the driveway. Last night, one of our HOA residents had their vehicle stolen from inside the garage after the thieves accessed it using a garage door opener left in an unlocked car parked outside. Securing your vehicle and removing any valuables or devices like garage openers can help prevent similar incidents."

How can people be so ####ing stupid!

Remember, PD's have to frequently remind people, EVERY YEAR, not to leave their car running, 'cause someone will steal it...and every year, there are hundreds of "I just left it running to warm up for a second" thefts...


The "I left a garage door opener in an unlocked car" thefts are a rarer, but are also usually accompanied by someone getting a bunch of stuff stolen out of the garage too.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

Remember, PD's have to frequently remind people, EVERY YEAR, not to leave their car running, 'cause someone will steal it...and every year, there are hundreds of "I just left it running to warm up for a second" thefts...


The "I left a garage door opener in an unlocked car" thefts are a rarer, but are also usually accompanied by someone getting a bunch of stuff stolen out of the garage too.

And a lot of people with attached garages don't lock the door from the garage to the house, so it often leads to a full-on burglary.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by getbak

And a lot of people with attached garages don't lock the door from the garage to the house, so it often leads to a full-on burglary.

I put a smart lock on my garage door for that reason. To make sure it automatically locks after a duration passes. At least it can reduce the theft to garage only if somehow someone gets into the garage.

I should consider a smart garage door opener too.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I put a smart lock on my garage door for that reason. To make sure it automatically locks after a duration passes. At least it can reduce the theft to garage only if somehow someone gets into the garage.

I should consider a smart garage door opener too.

Tell me more about the smart door lock.

We are very good at locking the door to the house at night, but when we are out it isn't.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Tell me more about the smart door lock.

We are very good at locking the door to the house at night, but when we are out it isn't.

The one I use is this one:
https://www.amazon.ca/August-Home-Co...86&sr=8-5&th=1

You basically use it to replace the thumb turn deadbolt on the inside of the house.

You can use your phone to control it via bluetooth or wifi and you can set the lock to automatically lock after a duration (1 minute-30 minutes) and/or when you leave the geographic vicinity. If the lock stops working/out of power, you just use your key as normal. TBH I am lazy now and I just let it auto lock.

I sometimes also use it to unlock the door to let guests in, if they get to my place and I am not home yet.

Assuming it's compatible with your deadbolt, installation is dead easy and takes like 5-15 minutes depending on how many thumbs you have.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Tell me more about the smart door lock.

We are very good at locking the door to the house at night, but when we are out it isn't.

There's a billion choices. My suggestion is to get one that also works with a key. I have an August Lock that is connected locally via Zwave to SmartThings but they have WiFi Versions. It replaces only the inside portion of the lock so the exterior and internal mechanisms of your existing lock stay the same and you can continue to use a key.

You can have it set to lock if unlocked after a certain time, with your phone, generate keys for visitors. Theres a version that comes with a sensor to tell if the door is not shut so it wont lock, you can set up proximity boundries to lock and unlock based on location, and there's a separate keypad you can get.

I keep it pretty simple as I am in and out of my garage and find it a pain in the ass to have to unlock it all the time but because it's tied to SmartThings it will still work with no power or if the Internet is down. I have an Alexa routine so when I say 'Goodnight', it turns off the TVs, outside, main floor and basement lights, locks the front and garage door.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Barnes

There's a billion choices. My suggestion is to get one that also works with a key. I have an August Lock that is connected locally via Zwave to SmartThings but they have WiFi Versions. It replaces only the inside portion of the lock so the exterior and internal mechanisms of your existing lock stay the same and you can continue to use a key.

You can have it set to lock if unlocked after a certain time, with your phone, generate keys for visitors. Theres a version that comes with a sensor to tell if the door is not shut so it wont lock, you can set up proximity boundries to lock and unlock based on location, and there's a separate keypad you can get.

I keep it pretty simple as I am in and out of my garage and find it a pain in the ass to have to unlock it all the time but because it's tied to SmartThings it will still work with no power or if the Internet is down. I have an Alexa routine so when I say 'Goodnight', it turns off the TVs, outside, main floor and basement lights, locks the front and garage door.

There are very few smart locks that don't take a physical key, so I don't think that's an issue. The lock needs a method to unlock as a contingency if there is no power.

What I would highly recommend though, is a smart lock with an app. That way you can enter your home using your phone or a physical key. The August lock as you mentioned lets you leave the outside lock the same, or customized to whatever compatible lock you want. This is great because it allows you to retain the profile/look outside. There are certain locks that require you swap the whole thing and I kinda found they exterior piece often looked ugly on a house door. A key pad or interface on a front door lock looks weird to me.

I used a Weiser keypad lock on a detached garage in the past and I thought it was awesome. I'm not sure I want to use an August lock on a detached garage. But an August lock for an attached garage is pretty great.

[activeStick]

I just saw this on the news - every 6 days, a woman is murdered by her partner in an intimate relationship in Canada. This is absolutely CRAZY. I had no idea it was so high! What in the hell.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I just saw this on the news - every 6 days, a woman is murdered by her partner in an intimate relationship in Canada. This is absolutely CRAZY. I had no idea it was so high! What in the hell.

It's why women were choosing the bear. and men didnt seem to understand that

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I just saw this on the news - every 6 days, a woman is murdered by her partner in an intimate relationship in Canada. This is absolutely CRAZY. I had no idea it was so high! What in the hell.

Well, you need statistical context to get an idea of what it means. There's about 800 murders per year in Canada, so just over 2 per day. So one of every 12 murders is a woman murdered by her partner, or 8% of homicides if one woman is murdered by her partner every 6 days.

The national averages in Canada in 2022 show that 32% of homicides are family related with 18% being an intimate partner.

[BigThief]

Downtown Calgary smells like Lethbridge right now