Dark Shadow's Surprisingly Well-Lit Random Banter #217

[2D8HP]

He's from Cali... In a part of Cali where you'd be lucky to get s cardboard shack for less than a million dollars..

Oof. And I thought here was bad. That's significantly more than I was expecting.

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Well not quite that expensive yet:

Major Fixer! Bring your hammer & vision and restore this stylish Albany home to its original charm. This home features 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, price $775,000

My friends in Huntsville got a house in a.... less ideal area for 50k. The city is improving it, so the value is slowly increasing, but every July 4 they still play "gunshot or firework?"

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Oh good, we may depend on Huntsville to be the nucleus of the resistance, when the Canadian caribou and

Spoiler: moose cavalry

Show

come from beyond the Great Ice Wall to force us to apologize, speak some French, eat poutine, and say "oot" for out. I've been very concerned as compared to the 1980's I hardly hear gunfire anymore, only one shot this last new years eve, when I used to hear many shots and bullets dropping on the roof (though maybe it's my hearing that's going away, instead of the neighborhood arsenal).

[Peelee]

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Well not quite that expensive yet:

Major Fixer! Bring your hammer & vision and restore this stylish Albany home to its original charm. This home features 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, price $775,000

Holy hell, my closet back in my parents' house was bigger than that thing.

ETA: Sell your house, use it as a down payment on 7 Montagel Way in Birmingham. It's a cozy little 54,000 ft² home. I may even rent out one of the extra houses it comes with, if you need.

[factotum]

Holy hell, my closet back in my parents' house was bigger than that thing.

If you think that's small you never want to move to the UK.

[Peelee]

If you think that's small you never want to move to the UK.

I'd actually love to move to the UK. I hear out in the country, the houses can be a bit bigger. And I have no problem with a relatively long commute, especially since I think that means something entirely different to an Englishman.

I'll never get to, of course. Wife kills that dream.

ETA: Plus, I'm from Alabama. I already know the names of half the cities.

[2D8HP]

Holy hell, my closet back in my parents' house was bigger than that thing....

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That house is a ten minute walk from my house (it's uphill), and a five minute walk to my house (downhill), and it's a wreck.

If we didn't get our house during the last recession we'd be stuck in the apartment still hearing our neighbors every step and word.

If you think that's small you never want to move to the UK.

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Or near my work in The City where homes are smaller and cost more (admittedly it's new, not a "fixer", but the sidewalk usually smells like pee there).

[factotum]

And I have no problem with a relatively long commute, especially since I think that means something entirely different to an Englishman.

It's not the distance of the commute, it's how long it takes, and you'd be surprised how long that can be. Bear in mind we have maybe a sixth as many vehicles on our roads as the USA does, all crammed into a space less than double the size of your state.

[Peelee]

It's not the distance of the commute, it's how long it takes, and you'd be surprised how long that can be. Bear in mind we have maybe a sixth as many vehicles on our roads as the USA does, all crammed into a space less than double the size of your state.

Let's be fair here, you also have more and better mass transit options than my state.

[Knaight]

It's a cozy little 54,000 ft² home. I may even rent out one of the extra houses it comes with, if you need.

Why would you even want 54,000 square feet? The cleaning alone is a nightmare, and I don't even want to think about temperature control.

[Peelee]

Why would you even want 54,000 square feet? The cleaning alone is a nightmare, and I don't even want to think about temperature control.

If you can afford 54000 square feet, you're unconcerned with the cleanning and temperature control. Of course, you could always rent out the four guest houses to fund it.

[factotum]

Let's be fair here, you also have more and better mass transit options than my state.

You've clearly never been on a British train! Seriously, I had to go to the hospital earlier in the week, and I had to choose between driving the 20 mile round trip and then paying £5.50 for parking, or walking 2 miles and going by train. I chose the car, because even with the fuel and parking it still worked out cheaper than the train and I didn't need the 2 mile walk!

[Peelee]

You've clearly never been on a British train! Seriously, I had to go to the hospital earlier in the week, and I had to choose between driving the 20 mile round trip and then paying £5.50 for parking, or walking 2 miles and going by train. I chose the car, because even with the fuel and parking it still worked out cheaper than the train and I didn't need the 2 mile walk!

See, having the choice sounds delightful. I too had to go to the hospital quite a few times over the last week or two. 55 miles round trip and $6 parking. Didn't mind it much, but if there was the option of a train to take that had a two mile walk, well, some days I like walking.

[FinnLassie]

I finally have a fidget cube. After literally ripping my hair out for the past couple of days, now my hands have something else to do. Something that actually feels calming.

[LaZodiac]

I finally have a fidget cube. After literally ripping my hair out for the past couple of days, now my hands have something else to do. Something that actually feels calming.

Sweet!

The only thing I don't like about the cube is that it reminds me of Hellraisers. Which I mean by the way if you're trying to pitch a remake of Hellraisers, that one's for free yo.

[Teddy]

Speaking of fidgetting, my team leader at work has a fidget spinner which I with all my wit have dubbed "The Noise Jammer" and "The Jamming Transmitter", as he likes to spin it up and then put it down on his table, causing the table to resonate with the vibrations and create a quite loud white-ish noise until it stops, perfectly blocking out every attempt at thinking in his proximity for five seconds at a time. It's funny because I work in the defense industry with radar jammers.

[LaZodiac]

Speaking of fidgetting, my team leader at work has a fidget spinner which I with all my wit have dubbed "The Noise Jammer" and "The Jamming Transmitter", as he likes to spin it up and then put it down on his table, causing the table to resonate with the vibrations and create a quite loud white-ish noise until it stops, perfectly blocking out every attempt at thinking in his proximity for five seconds at a time. It's funny because I work in the defense industry with radar jammers.

Maaan, that seems inconsiderate.

Less than a week until my vacation. Woo!

[enderlord99]

I just got kicked out of the basically-college program I was in because someone said "bite me" and I did.

[LaZodiac]

I just got kicked out of the basically-college program I was in because someone said "bite me" and I did.

I mean don't bite people Enderlord come on. That's not rocket science.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

So I just need to vent a little bit, bear with me everyone. Anyone play Minecraft? Anyone play Dark Souls 3?

Alright so some of you know that I have fun playing games in strange ways. I've remade the entirety of Ocarina of Time in Super Mario Maker, for instance. My current insane project is to remake Lothric Castle from Dark Souls 3 in minecraft survival on a server, and I've been working on it for over a year now. Well, Minecraft has a build height cap, and I'm just about to hit it (40 blocks more), with quite a bit more to go on the castle. So now I have to lower a year's worth of work 80 blocks, which will affectively double the amount of height I can put on my castle. Fortunately, the server admins are going to copy and paste it down to the level I need (some 80 blocks lower, to level 5). Unfortunately, I have to dig out the area they're dropping it into first. Now I built it over an ocean, so a lot of what I have to clear is water, which isn't so bad I suppose, but I counted out the area in which I have to clear, and its about a 634 x 634 x 57 square. Which factors out to 22.9 million blocks. Which means if I clear 100K blocks EVERY DAY, I'll finish clearing in about 229 days. I'm about to just give up. That's SO much. To put it in perspective, the year that I've been working on this, I've only mined about 200K blocks in that entire time. At that rate, I'll finish mining that in about 115 years... And that's before terraforming that square so that I don't have a cube around my castle...

Here's the kicker. I don't know if lowering the project 80 blocks is going to be enough, so even if I do clear the whole project, it might all be for naught, and there's no way of knowing until its been done. FML...

I'm either going to need a lot of help, give up, or get the world save and stop working on a survival server. Getting a lot of help would be wonderful, but I'm not sure I can drum up a lot of people to clear out stone and water for days and weeks on end. Giving up is always an option, but I've come so far. Working on my own is the easiest solution, but then I don't have the ability to say that I built the whole thing in survival, and I tend to work better in a setting where I can work with other people.

So yeah...

[LaZodiac]

Wombat you are a mad man and I cannot believe you've worked yourself this hard over this. It's also kind of impressive as well.

Man it's a good thing there I haven't gotten into any new Zelda LPs yet or you'd be even more swamped...

[Algeh]

So, I'm buying some stuff for my house, and I have a question particularly for you European folks out there (although other responses are also fine):

In my stereotype-infested American head, I think of city-dwelling people in Europe being reasonably likely to (a) buy furniture at Ikea and (b) drive teeny cars or get around on transit.

How in the world do y'all get those Billy bookcases home?

I'm having trouble figuring this out even with our presumably-larger American vehicles now that no one in my circle of "people to borrow cars from" owns a reliable minivan. Sedans are clearly not the answer, and the two SUVs I've measured so far (a RAV 4 and a Nitro) fall just short even with the back seats folded down and the front seat as far forward as it will go.

[Florian]

So, I'm buying some stuff for my house, and I have a question particularly for you European folks out there (although other responses are also fine):

In my stereotype-infested American head, I think of city-dwelling people in Europe being reasonably likely to (a) buy furniture at Ikea and (b) drive teeny cars or get around on transit.

How in the world do y'all get those Billy bookcases home?

I'm having trouble figuring this out even with our presumably-larger American vehicles now that no one in my circle of "people to borrow cars from" owns a reliable minivan. Sedans are clearly not the answer, and the two SUVs I've measured so far (a RAV 4 and a Nitro) fall just short even with the back seats folded down and the front seat as far forward as it will go.

Huh? Weird question.

Most companies offer a delivery service and if that's not available, rent a truck yourself.

[factotum]

Roof rack? Also, does the flat pack have to lie completely flat? Would it fit down the space between the seats and the doors (on the passenger side, obviously)?

[AMFV]

So, I'm buying some stuff for my house, and I have a question particularly for you European folks out there (although other responses are also fine):

In my stereotype-infested American head, I think of city-dwelling people in Europe being reasonably likely to (a) buy furniture at Ikea and (b) drive teeny cars or get around on transit.

How in the world do y'all get those Billy bookcases home?

I'm having trouble figuring this out even with our presumably-larger American vehicles now that no one in my circle of "people to borrow cars from" owns a reliable minivan. Sedans are clearly not the answer, and the two SUVs I've measured so far (a RAV 4 and a Nitro) fall just short even with the back seats folded down and the front seat as far forward as it will go.

That is why God made bungee cords and orange flags. As long as it doesn't stick out like 5' you're probably okay to just put in the back and bungee the hatch down.

[Knaight]

That is why God made bungee cords and orange flags. As long as it doesn't stick out like 5' you're probably okay to just put in the back and bungee the hatch down.

Bungee cords are less than ideal here - a ratchet strap is probably a better option.

[Insane Jeenyus]

its been said, a delivery service s common. I have seen the delivery trucks with a large interior but with a narrow body.

[Teddy]

Maaan, that seems inconsiderate.

Kinda. He doesn't do it that often, though, and usually only when most people around already are a bit distracted, but yeah, kinda inconsiderate...

Less than a week until my vacation. Woo!

Woo! Personally I'm more swamped than ever, but woo!

But yes, for some reason, I've found it a good idea to get involved in the planning and production of one ambituous party in two months' time and producing content for another one in one week's time, and on top of this, I'm developing an add-on for my web browser, and I've got an upcoming business trip to South Africa scheduled "soonish". And that's on top of my regular schedule of Paradox gaming Mondays with my colleagues, Wednesday roleplaying sessions with more colleagues and Thursday gaming club. Why am I doing this? Why am I having so many irons in the fire?

[Algeh]

Update: the bookcase packages just barely fit in the RAV 4 with the front seat as far forward as it would go. Backup plan was to run them between the front seats along the arm rest, which would have involved using both the RAV 4 and the Nitro since I was buying more than one.

Ikea does offer a delivery service, but it "starts at" $60 so I was trying to avoid that route since I live pretty far from the store (I have to drive on 5 different freeways to get there, which is partly just a local freeway graph connectedness issue but is also because it's not near where I live). If that's the typical workaround for not having a big car that makes sense, though.

Also, Ikea sells cookies that don't have soy in them!

[AMFV]

Bungee cords are less than ideal here - a ratchet strap is probably a better option.

True, but if he doesn't know somebody with a truck what are the odds he owns ratchet straps?

Edit: It's also much harder to close a hatch on an SUV with ratchet straps, at least not without damaging it. Since he was describing the situation as fairly close to fitting I'd use bungee cords and then probably secure the bookcases inside with something else. Although to be fair, I'd just toss them into the bed of my truck.

[Knaight]

True, but if he doesn't know somebody with a truck what are the odds he owns ratchet straps?

Pretty decent - they're also really useful for things like attaching canoes/kayaks to the top of cars. Plus they're about $10-$15 each unless you need stupid huge ratchet straps, which comes well under the delivery fee in question, and also you have ratchet straps for future use.

Edit: It's also much harder to close a hatch on an SUV with ratchet straps, at least not without damaging it. Since he was describing the situation as fairly close to fitting I'd use bungee cords and then probably secure the bookcases inside with something else. Although to be fair, I'd just toss them into the bed of my truck.

I'm thinking of the ratchet straps as better for securing the interior. A big loop that goes through the back windows and around the back of the car and thus book case while the hatch is open backs up bungeeing the hatch mostly shut pretty well.

[2D8HP]

On the whole "getting things home from Ikea" thing, not European, but a City dweller, I've done sticking out of a sedan's trunk, with red cloth tied to the stuff in the back, and moving all but the drivers seat down in my wife's Prius, and basically resting my head on the box, I also used to have a truck, but helping "friends" move proved tiresome, and dangerous to my career (bad back), so no more truck, just on old compact sedan (which I've carried lumber in by sticking it out the window!), and the Prius (I've laughed on coming home near Berkeley, California upon seeing that my wife's Prius was one of five all parked in a row!).

Old blankets, new (moving) blankets (sold at lumber yards), sleeping bags (all to protect the stuff and your car), rope, desperation, and stubbornness gets it done!