Oh. Well I thought...

Ahem. I wasn't talking about you. What ever are you talking about?

Prez wrote on Jul 5, 2024, 17:36:
Hey, that gives me a new idea! I no longer want to be "El PREZidente for Life".

***Starts plotting the takeover of a certain gun-toting, dog-loving, network security expert in Texas...***

Plot away...but I am no "network security expert" so you would have the wrong guy. I'm a gun-toting, dog-loving, senior system architect.

Hey, that gives me a new idea! I no longer want to be "El PREZidente for Life".

***Starts plotting the takeover of a certain gun-toting, dog-loving, network security expert in Texas...***

Prez wrote on Jul 5, 2024, 12:03:

Burrito of Peace wrote on Jul 5, 2024, 11:49:

Prez wrote on Jul 5, 2024, 10:02:
Okay show of hands (not sure how that works on a discussion board but whatever): anyone else feel like they deserve a T-shirt or commemorative pin for surviving a July 4th family gathering or am I the only one? These people are insane...

Just you, Prezolini. I had an altogether lovely time.

Is it wrong that I wish I was you?

Burrito of Prez? Well, it is BoP, too.

Prez wrote on Jul 5, 2024, 10:02:
Okay show of hands (not sure how that works on a discussion board but whatever): anyone else feel like they deserve a T-shirt or commemorative pin for surviving a July 4th family gathering or am I the only one? These people are insane...

✋

I came from Europe with my wife and had 2 daughters here in Connecticut. My biological dad lives here, and his family is just fucking CHAOS. He's a chef, and he made the most amazing dinner, but we were all just fucking EVERYWHERE. My half-sister was in the front yard with her man, apparently they needed privacy for fuck knows what. My half-brother was collecting branches during dinner, for some reason he thought that was the right time so he could start a campfire later. My dad went upstairs and didn't come back down -- all during dinner, this -- and I heard from my mom-in-law that he had a hard time because my other half-brother died of a fentanyl overdoze 5 years back and it also was his birthday. That did made me hold back tears for a moment myself, truth be told.

So anyway... yeah, I was almost literally just with my own wife and daughters. At some point I thought screw it and I let the girls leave the table and play.

✋

Burrito of Peace wrote on Jul 5, 2024, 11:49:

Prez wrote on Jul 5, 2024, 10:02:
Okay show of hands (not sure how that works on a discussion board but whatever): anyone else feel like they deserve a T-shirt or commemorative pin for surviving a July 4th family gathering or am I the only one? These people are insane...

Just you, Prezolini. I had an altogether lovely time.

Is it wrong that I wish I was you?

I saw a 7 month old Australian Sheppard with heterochromia. That'll brighten anyone's day.

Prez wrote on Jul 5, 2024, 10:02:
Okay show of hands (not sure how that works on a discussion board but whatever): anyone else feel like they deserve a T-shirt or commemorative pin for surviving a July 4th family gathering or am I the only one? These people are insane...

Just you, Prezolini. I had an altogether lovely time.

Stopped going to those in my early 20s. I only see extended family at funerals.

Okay show of hands (not sure how that works on a discussion board but whatever): anyone else feel like they deserve a T-shirt or commemorative pin for surviving a July 4th family gathering or am I the only one? These people are insane...

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024 crowns new champion
Patrick Bertoletti, of Chicago, won with 58 hot dogs and buns

Chestnut holds the all-time record, in 2021 he ate 76.

The AC culture of the US is pretty crazy. I've lived in Europe more than 20 years and when you enter a shop or restaurant there, the temperature is just... pleasant. I've never gotten used to stepping into fucking Siberia whenever you enter an AC'ed building here.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Jul 4, 2024, 21:08:

Simon Says wrote on Jul 4, 2024, 17:41:
And when you're not home, it's useless to...cool a house, shut it off and turn it back on when you arrive.

Do not do this if you live in a high heat and/or high humidity environment.

Hard disagree on both.

If your AC/heat pump can't quickly reach and maintain its target temperature, your AC/heat pump is simply underpowered, cheaping out when buying means costing more when using it long term. That's basic advice from people who are experts on the subject, ignore it are your own costs.

For humidity, and I live in humid climate so I know very well what I'm talking about, de-humidifiers exist, they easily keep a house from going moldy and use a fraction of the energy so you can run them 24/7 even on vacation without worrying about your electricity bill too much.

Anything else?

'an annual celebration of our divorce from Great Britain a couple of centuries back'

Surely it's more like a stubbornly independent high school aged kid casting off his overbearing parents ?

They still love you, even from afar

Mr. Tact wrote on Jul 4, 2024, 21:43:
I mostly agree with BoP, my caveat would be if we are talking about being out of the home for an extended period. Say you go to visit a relative for two weeks. I'd agree turning off your AC would be sub optimal. However, it wouldn't be terrible to up the thermostat a few degrees. So, say you normally cool to 76, setting to 82-84 while you are gone would be fine.

I agree with this. Just keep your home in a consistent state and you'll be better off.

Hyperacusis -- knew about the condition without know the word.

I mostly agree with BoP, my caveat would be if we are talking about being out of the home for an extended period. Say you go to visit a relative for two weeks. I'd agree turning off your AC would be sub optimal. However, it wouldn't be terrible to up the thermostat a few degrees. So, say you normally cool to 76, setting to 82-84 while you are gone would be fine.

Simon Says wrote on Jul 4, 2024, 17:41:
And when you're not home, it's useless to...cool a house, shut it off and turn it back on when you arrive.

This is terrible advice. Do not do this if you live in a high heat and/or high humidity environment. This is a fast way to kill components before their rated lifespan and a great way to ensure that you develop a mold problem.

Let me explain.

At the very best efficiency and running at full rated capacity, your AC unit can drop the temperature 10 degrees in the first hour (all measurements are in Freedom Fahrenheit, not Commie Celsius). After that, you can expect a 2-4 degree drop and that is with the AC running at full blast with a clean air filter, perfectly sealed ducts, clean coils, and an unobstructed and well ventilated condenser. However, most people don't have an AC unit running at peak efficiency. Average is about 74% efficiency. So your central AC unit is going to be working harder for longer. If you add humidity in to the mix, your efficiency drops like a rock because not only does your AC unit have to cool the air, it also has to run the evap cycle at full tilt, too. Dense, humid air is incredibly difficult to dry and cool so it sucks up a lot of electricity and slows the temperature change cycle.

Other factors like insulation, which almost universally sucks in most homes, are also going to slow down the cooling process.

Keeping your AC pegged during the day to a consistent temperature actually uses less electricity and causes less wear and tear on your HVAC system because the HVAC system only needs to maintain a pre-existing environment. Your AC well kick on less, run for a shorter duration, and run at a lower duty cycle by just maintaining what is already conditioned. In addition, you are also keeping the humidity level in your home to a consistently dry level which goes a long way to thwarting the growth of mold.

To see this in action, we'll use my most current electricity bill. It's been pretty humid, hot, and generally gross here throughout June so the AC was on 24/7 throughout the entire month of June. I keep it at 77 during the time I am awake and 73 for the 4-6 hour window I am asleep. My total electricity bill for the month with the "added" AC usage? $158 bucks. An $18 dollar increase over the previous month. So 60 cents extra per day. I keep it on when I am out running errands, actually go in to work for a half-day, and so forth.

In addition, the condenser for my AC unit is literally right below my office window. It kicks on 2-3 times per day. I notice it because I am both hypervigilant and have hyperacusis (both stem from the same source) so I really notice when it kicks on.

Just leave your AC on at a reasonable temperature even when you are not home. You'll avoid costly HVAC repair bills, extend the life of your unit, ensure your own health, and actually save yourself money in the long run.

We set ours to 75 when home, 73-72 when sleeping, maybe 76-77 when away. In the summer, with temps in the 80s and 90s, our bill would usually be 200-250, but we have a single-story home with a cool basement. The 72-73 sleeping only works because I have big fan blowing on me all night, otherwise it would need to be more like 68-70 for me to get to sleep and stay asleep. I'm an overweight, very hot-natured, sweaty person, and these temps are usually pretty comfortable for me as long as a fan is blowing. In the winter, we keep the house more like 65-68.

Mr. Tact wrote on Jul 4, 2024, 19:12:

Simon Says wrote on Jul 4, 2024, 17:41:
And when you're not home, it's useless to heat ( unless it drops below freezing, RIP plumbing ) or cool a house, shut it off and turn it back on when you arrive. Who are you heating/cooling it for? Your local friendly spiders?

I don't understand. Not home? People leave their houses?

I heard it still happens... sometimes.

Simon Says wrote on Jul 4, 2024, 17:41:
And when you're not home, it's useless to heat ( unless it drops below freezing, RIP plumbing ) or cool a house, shut it off and turn it back on when you arrive. Who are you heating/cooling it for? Your local friendly spiders?

I don't understand. Not home? People leave their houses?