Re: Petty

1

If you brush your teeth with the water running, you waste so much water. So you should learn to brush your teeth faster.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:36 AM
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2

Anyway, back in my day Sean Young would cut you if you wasted even a few drops of water.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:47 AM
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3

If my math is correct they are using something on the order of 10,000 drops in a gallon.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:49 AM
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4

If Google is giving you that many significant figures, it's treating "drop" as a well-defined unit. But even then it seems like there is a wide range of choices in use. And a drop of water from a faucet is potentially bigger than a pharmaceutical or medical drop.

There are about pi times 10^7 seconds in a year (a useful mnemonic), so yeah, they're assuming about 10,000 drops to a gallon.


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:55 AM
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5

Our water bill is stupid high because they are finally forced to deal with the poop in the river. Plus it turns out having lead in drinking water is bad. Anyway, I was used to thinking of the water bill as trivial, but now I think it might be more than the electric or gas.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:56 AM
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6

Our water bill is high because it turns out water mains laid out in like 1914 need a lot of maintenance and replacement.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 7:12 AM
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7

So they're claiming about 1/3 of a gallon per hour. Someone turn their tap on! Let's measure this!


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 7:21 AM
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8

Aside from issues with the imprecision of "drop", is anyone else bothered by the math using one drop per second? That seems like a huge amount. I think I'd notice in minutes and get it fixed in days if manually tightening it wasn't enough, and I'm not the most attentive person.


Posted by: Cyrus | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 7:36 AM
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9

The noise of a drip drives me nuts, though I have not established the frequency range required for this.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 7:51 AM
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10

For me it's the smoke alarm chirp or things with a fairly low frequency that keep me on edge.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:01 AM
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11

Whereas I love the sound of wasting water.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:01 AM
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12

Smoke alarm chirps are one of those things that make me angry at Democrats. Republicans don't care if the house burns down but Dems made us put those little chirping bastards in every room.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:02 AM
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13

They stop chirping if you change the batteries. Just throwing that out there.


Posted by: Cyrus | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:04 AM
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14

The passenger side seat belt in our old car doesn't register that it is buckled anymore. The beeping is driving me nuts but apparently asking people to sit in the back seat makes me the asshole.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:07 AM
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15

13: Also if you don't.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:13 AM
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16

The car is barely over fifteen years old.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:13 AM
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17

I just want smoke alarms that can tell the difference between burning wood/fabric and bacon. If we can analyze soil samples on Mars, surely this is a surmountable technological hurdle.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:15 AM
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18

Stop burning the bacon. I like it before it gets crisp.


Posted by: Opinionated smoke alarm | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:17 AM
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19

One time I my wife and I were alone in an otherwise deserted, creepy old hotel in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania during a hurricane and the power went out and there was constant beeping from every room in the building for the entire night. By the end I would have preferred if the walls were bleeding.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:30 AM
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20

We have a sump pump that has wifi and when the power goes out, it beeps unless you go turn off the wifi-thing. The pump has a back-up that works from a battery. It's not beeping over water. It's beeping because it has no wifi.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:31 AM
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21

19: I was surprised to learn that Glen Rock had any hotels in that very small town!


Posted by: Rance | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:31 AM
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19: I was surprised to learn that Glen Rock had any hotels in that very small town!


Posted by: Rance | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:31 AM
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23

I beeped because I had no water, until I met a sump pump that had no wifi.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:34 AM
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24

The wifi tells your phone how many gallons are pumped a day. It's never been below 2000 gallons a day, which is enough for 120 showers.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:37 AM
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25

17: Same for most other foods. Not sure if this makes the thing easier or harder to design. Dinners I cook usually come out OK but often get smoky, and we're getting to the time of year when cooking with the windows open is unfeasible. I'm sure it's partly user error but also the stove and certain commonly used pans are all getting old.


Posted by: Cyrus | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:40 AM
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26

Putting the smoke detector in a different place can help. Ours kept beeping when we made toast so we moved it from the ceiling to the little table that holds the x-box. No problems now.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:50 AM
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27

We have the world's most OP toaster.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:52 AM
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28

The Glen Rock Inn has a bunch of little rooms upstairs but I think we were the only people who every stayed there. It was our home for like six weeks one time when we were waiting for a house purchase to close.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 9:05 AM
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29

If you want bleeding walls in a small town, you really do need to buy.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 9:08 AM
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30

And so much blood is synthetic these days.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 9:14 AM
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31

Labor shortage.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 9:28 AM
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32

Here in the UK, Starbucks got shamed about their policy of leaving a tap running all day to save that small amount of time that staff took turning taps on and off when they were rinsing spoons, etc.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/oct/06/water.drought

I believe, but can't find confirmation, that they eventually stopped.


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 10:21 AM
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33

Then everyone got covid from sharing the same spoon.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 10:27 AM
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34

They should use a fountain. Or a circular trough.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 10:39 AM
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35

The troughs in the men's room are never circular.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 10:46 AM
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36

12,10: Smoke alarms in every bedroom, and in the immediately vicinity outside of bedrooms, is a fire code requirement copied into the building code. So you can blame it on a distant conspiracy instead of your local Democrats -- they have no say.

Plus, given the anti-vax fire department protests, we know that too many firemen are fox-news addled, so you can blame the Republicans via their lobbyist group, big fire.


Posted by: Mooseking | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 10:51 AM
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37

Wait. We have zero smoke alarms in bedrooms.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 10:53 AM
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38

We have one in the basement, one on the table with the Xbox, and one on the ceiling above the doorways to two of the three bedrooms.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 10:54 AM
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39

That seems like plenty for a house that's under 1,500 square feet and has a firm rule about finishing your cigarettes before turning out the lights.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 10:59 AM
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40

It looks like these guys actually measured a bunch of sink faucets and estimated that one gallon = 15,140 drips. So then the flyer is only off by 1/2 and not an order of 10.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 11:06 AM
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41

I guess when not all parents are good at enforcing rules, the state has to step in.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 11:26 AM
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42

This thread reminded me to call the water company to figure out why the last 4 months have billed me for estimates (not meter readings) that are 8-10x higher than any of the actual meter readings from the past year.

Thanks Unfogged!


Posted by: E. Messily | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 12:27 PM
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43

Also, when was the last time you checked your oil?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 12:46 PM
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44

I have a slow leak in the steering pump so I check the power steering fluid and the oil like every week or two. I should get that fixed too but I can't do it over the phone so I'm not.


Posted by: E. Messily | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 1:01 PM
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45

Can anyone fix an oil leak over the phone?


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 1:21 PM
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46

Yes, but not a steering pump leak.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 1:39 PM
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47

Earworm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqxns-JTTqA


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 2:03 PM
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48

Our apartment is 1500 square feet and we have 9 smoke detectors to comply with code plus a few more in the basement. I think the other 1100sf unit also has 4 or 5.
There are a bunch of fire codes here that everyone ignores. Propane grills on balconies, little fire pits or tiki torches in their yards. I guess since most of the city is fairly dense and primarily wood construction they're really strict about open flames. I once called the fire department to ask how much gas I could store in a gas can if I kept it in a deck box away from the house and they said one quart. I'm pretty sure they were full of shit- that's barely enough to prime the snowblower.


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 5:45 PM
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49

Propane grills on balconies, little fire pits or tiki torches in their yards.

You aren't required to have any of those here either.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:16 PM
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50

We only have one in our house. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


Posted by: heebie | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:18 PM
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51

I was impressed when I stayed at my friends apartment in Chicago that had this huge wooden fire escape that you were allowed to grill on.

Maybe Mrs. O'Leary's cow was part of a broader, systemic problem, is what I'm saying.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:20 PM
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52

I looked it up and I guess we are required to have one in every bedroom. I supposed they've updated the code since 2003.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:20 PM
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53

Gonna find a couple leaky faucets, fix them, and then shower twice a day.


Posted by: corporate person | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:25 PM
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54

51: It is really short-sighted for cows to get involved with people who like to grill.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:45 PM
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55

Today I read that your house should, ideally, have one bathroom to every bedroom. Once again, I felt defeated.

(But holy Mother of God! that's a lot of leaky faucets, is it not?!)


Posted by: Just Plain Jane | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:56 PM
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56

Windows facing the rear of the house are the same.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 6:58 PM
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57

We call them 1/4 baths.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 7:56 PM
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58

Today I read that your house should, ideally, have one bathroom to every bedroom.

This is why houses are too damn big.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:26 PM
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59

We have only one shower, which is a problem when you need to redo the bathroom.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 8:28 PM
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60

I looked it up and I guess we are required to have one in every bedroom. I supposed they've updated the code since 2003.

Residential code or building code? Apparently everything 3 units or more is subject to the latter which has a lot more safety requirements, possibly overdoing it for residential.


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 9:03 PM
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One of the reason buildings around here don't get converted from two to three units is that there is a cost associated with putting in the plumbing for a sprinkler system in all the units.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10-27-21 9:15 PM
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62

60: Residential.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 3:09 AM
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63

Anyway, people should probably not get their plumbing tips from a deli.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 4:48 AM
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64

We got a letter taped to our front door a couple of years ago from the water department alerting us to unusually high usage and suggesting we look for a leak or something similar. Sure enough the irrigation system in the back yard had a valve stuck open and had been drip-running for a full day (or two? can't remember) instead of the programmed 7 minutes -- the result was something like $1000 worth of extra water. We were impressed by the service from the city, letting us know right away!


Posted by: Osgood Yousbad | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 6:13 AM
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65

That's a lot of money for a drip.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 6:37 AM
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66

Yeah, it wasn't exactly a drip -- it's one of those perforated hoses that runs around the flowerbeds so that everything gets watered gently just underground, so even though each hole is only dripping (and we couldn't see it) the actual effect was of having a hose turned on for however long. And it might even have been more than a day or two, now that I look back: we pay our water bill quarterly and the usage graph the guy sent me only broke it down by month, so it could've been as long as a week or two (the letter came mid-month). Our water consumption was ~15x higher in the month with the problem than in any other month.


Posted by: Osgood Yousbad | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 7:05 AM
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Today I read that your house should, ideally, have one bathroom to every bedroom.

We have one bathroom for every bedroom! However, we have two people in every bedroom.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 7:29 AM
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Except when one is in the bathroom, I suppose.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 7:30 AM
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69

We had four kids with one bathroom and two bedrooms, so we considered ourselves rich because the Brady Bunch had it worse.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 7:42 AM
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70

But did you have the floating stairs?


Posted by: heebie | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 8:31 AM
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71

We had a single story house.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 8:37 AM
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72

A single floating house?


Posted by: heebie | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 8:42 AM
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73

Not that house. This one has all the water under it.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 8:44 AM
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47: I only just realized now how that is on topic.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 10-28-21 9:30 AM
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