The Vent and Rant Thread

[ApK]

Originally Posted by issybird

It's disheartening and infuriating how many are science deniers and/or just selfish. The stupidity is colossal. “An ordinance is not a law.” “Masks make you sick.”

A friend of mine was a census taker. Here's an exchange he had at someone's door:
"You have no right to be doing this."
"It's actually required by the Constitution, sir."
"Which amendment?"
"No amendment, it's in the articles of the Constitution."
"If it's not an amendment, it's not in the constitution." <closes door>.

As for masks, I'm not sure if my wearing a mask prevents ME from getting sick, but I'm certain that OTHER PEOPLE wearing a mask helps prevent ME from getting sick, which is why I want to punch people in the exposed target of a nose when they walk around places where masks are required with the mask pulled down not covering their nose at all.


BTW, as for my kitchen counter issue, it was actually resolved a few weeks ago. I did contact the manufacture, and they worked with the fabricator and retailer (after several calls by me...they were just some of the people who spurred the 'call back when you say you will' rant.) I won't bother with the details, but I was ultimately satisfied with the outcome and it was less bother than court. I just had to rant about that woman's warranty comment.
(and the suitability of counter top materials was almost part of my cook top rant...don't put anything hot or cold on the counter....geesh...sure why would there be anything hot or cold in a FREAKING KITCHEN?!?!
Next time I'm getting stainless steel.)

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by ApK

OK, a few FWPs I need to vent and rant about:



4. LED light bulbs that are so poorly made that they die within a year or two are NOT better for the environment, or your pocketbook. The energy cost of manufacturing them and disposing of them, not to mention the (re)purchase prices, negates any operational savings of using them if they don't last for many years, like they are supposed to. We need to stand up against this garbage!

Yeah, they are marketed as lasting a long time but I've had some of them die pretty quickly. And then you have to find a special place to dispose of them. It's a real pain.

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Yeah, they are marketed as lasting a long time but I've had some of them die pretty quickly. And then you have to find a special place to dispose of them. It's a real pain.

Thanks for posting'

I did not know LED's had to be disposed of in a special place. I knew fluorescent did.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

Thanks for posting'

I did not know LED's had to be disposed of in a special place. I knew fluorescent did.

Actually I didn't really pay attention to the specific type of bulb - that's what I get for posting in a hurry. I was probably thinking of other kinds of supposedly long-lasting bulbs.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Yeah, they are marketed as lasting a long time but I've had some of them die pretty quickly. And then you have to find a special place to dispose of them. It's a real pain.

One thing that isn't really advertised about LED bulbs is that they don't like warmth. So if they are in an enclosed light fixture and it's a light that's on for longer periods then they can break quickly. Also, there are a lot of qualities available.

We sell LEDs and there are still a lot of problems with them, including the warmth problem, dimming (something us Dutch people love to do with lights) and colour quality.

Originally Posted by Gardenman

Thanks for posting'

I did not know LED's had to be disposed of in a special place. I knew fluorescent did.

With fluorescents they can recycle the chemicals (including mercury), with LEDs it's the electronics that can be recycled.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

One thing that isn't really advertised about LED bulbs is that they don't like warmth. So if they are in an enclosed light fixture and it's a light that's on for longer periods then they can break quickly.

Absolutely. The LEDs that are specifically labeled for use in fully enclosed fixtures tend to fair better. I might start buying those for all uses just because.

Also, there are a lot of qualities available.

We sell LEDs and there are still a lot of problems with them, including the warmth problem, dimming (something us Dutch people love to do with lights) and colour quality.

We have some that dim nicely, and some that seem to have basically three settings: full-->slightly dimmer-->might as well just turn it off. The ones that are color or CT adjustable seem to do very well with color quality. Others are variable but they seem to be getting better overall.
If you can recommend some of the best brands, I'd appreciate it.

Another thing people don't seem to understand about LED bulb life claims is that those high numbers--10,000 hours, 10 years, whatever, refer ONLY to the actual solid-state Light Emitting Diode elements themselves, which indeed almost never go bad. It's the uber-cheap. made-by-the-lowest-bidder-third-world-sweatshop support components: driver circuitry, solder connections, pc boards, etc, that can crack, overheat or otherwise fail at the drop of a hat, and the bulb is just as dark and useless when that happens.

Companies I've dealt with (and I have had to deal with them a lot because of prematurely failed bulbs) are generally pretty good about replacing bulbs for free, which softens the immediate impact on the wallet, but if the hope is to reduce overall environmental impact, energy usage, and to push back against disposable culture, it's a failure, even if you get a free replacement every time one dies.

ApK

[4691mls]

I didn't know there were bulbs labeled for use in enclosed fixtures. I'll have to check for that next time I buy light bulbs. My bedroom ceiling fixture is the one that goes through bulbs the fastest. It's not completely enclosed but not as open as my living room floor lamp, either. (it's something like this https://www.lowes.com/pd/11-75-in-Wh...ght/1001321392)

At least it has two bulbs and so far they haven't gone out at the same time, so I have some dim light in the room until I can replace a dead bulb.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I didn't know there were bulbs labeled for use in enclosed fixtures. I'll have to check for that next time I buy light bulbs.

Yup, it's not always as obvious as on the attached box from from Home Depot.
In Walmart, their store brand has ones that are and aren't rated for enclosed fixtures, and I haven't yet figured out how to tell which is which other than to look at the small print on each box.


BTW, can someone tell me how to properly attach an image to a post here and also display it inline bigger than the thumbnail?

[Rumpelteazer]

In the Netherlands I've never seen LED bulbs labeled as suitable for enclosed light fixtures. But we have a limited number of brands. Calex is okay for the price, some bulbs have a bit of a greenish cast. Unfortunately Calex is focussing on decorative bulbs and is phasing out a lot of their regular bulbs. Dimming works well with their own dimmer switch.

Philips is also good, we can't get their Hue series, according to Philips we're not specialists (in reality the big chain stores have exclusivity). We do have their Scene Swtich series. Which has three brightness settings and works with a regular switch.

We also sell LED bulbs from an importer who is originally from China and his family owns a factory there. The quality is really good, as is the colour quality (CRI). They are also the one that's most universally dimmable we've found so far.

Dimming is very hit or miss. Most LED bulbs work with two or three dimmer switches, and there are hundreds of different types if dimmer switches at this point. The first batch of bulb is tested with dimmer switches, each new batch is updated, and they don't retest which dimmers work. Sometimes a dimmer will work for months and then the problems suddenly start. Last year a manufacturer released three different universal dimmers, you don't do that if it's truly universal.

If a manufacturer says a bulb lasts 10 years that means 10000 hours. They assume a bulb is on, on average, for three hours a day. All lifetime claims are theoretical. They test the LEDs in hot temperatures. For instance in 40C temperature a bulb's life will half compared to a 20C temperature. That way they think they can determine how long a bulb will last under average temperatures. But we know from experience it doesn't work in reality.

We usually tell customers about the the warmth problem, for some situations we can tell if a LED will work, but for some situations we can't. If you want LED but you haven't got the space for a bigger light fixture, or you need one that's closed for wet/humid spaces we advice to get a light fixture with integrated LED, then the light fixture itself will work as a cooling mechanism.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Philips is also good, we can't get their Hue series, according to Philips we're not specialists (in reality the big chain stores have exclusivity).

So their excuse for only selling through high-volume generalists who specialize in NOTHING is that they only sell through specialists? Man, that's some Orwellian master-level spin-doctoring.

[Rumpelteazer]

I'm glad I took the last Prednison pill today. Since Tuesday my face has become puffy and red and warm. I was afraid of having a fever, but my temperature is only slightly higher than normal and the weather is really hot. And I'm not feeling sick, I'm feeling better than in a long time, despite the heat which normally makes me miserable.

Other fun side effects are mood swings. Monday and Tuesday I was feeling depressed, yesterday and today I'm feeling good. But very busy in my head and I can't concentrate on anything.

On the other hand the sensitivity of the tonsils has mostly gone, though the left side is still somewhat swollen and a bit red. Hopefully it will keep improving now the Prednisone course is over. And hopefully my body will also return to normal quickly.

[Rumpelteazer]

As I've told before I'm house sitting for friends. This year they booked a campsite in Belgium instead of Spain. It's only a two and a half hour drive with the caravan. If there is going to be a lockdown they could easily get home.

Two days ago I got a message that they didn't like the campsite in Belgium and that today, Saturday, they were going to another campsite in France. I looked up the new campsite on Google Maps and it's a 800km drive. At least nine hours not taking into account any traffic problems. Which are bound to happen since it's a Black Saturday in France.

They mentioned something about face masks. I'm not if it meant they didn't like the campsite in Belgium because they had to wear them all the time or that it's just an observation. But in France the face mask rules are stricter than in Belgium, if they didn't like in in Belgium, they won't like it in France.

I'm somewhat annoyed by this development. It means that they'll return later on the 17th. But I also think it's a bit irresponsible to go away that far in a country where the corona cases are rising sharply at the moment.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

As I've told before I'm house sitting for friends. This year they booked a campsite in Belgium instead of Spain. It's only a two and a half hour drive with the caravan. If there is going to be a lockdown they could easily get home.

Two days ago I got a message that they didn't like the campsite in Belgium and that today, Saturday, they were going to another campsite in France. I looked up the new campsite on Google Maps and it's a 800km drive. At least nine hours not taking into account any traffic problems. Which are bound to happen since it's a Black Saturday in France.

They mentioned something about face masks. I'm not if it meant they didn't like the campsite in Belgium because they had to wear them all the time or that it's just an observation. But in France the face mask rules are stricter than in Belgium, if they didn't like in in Belgium, they won't like it in France.

I'm somewhat annoyed by this development. It means that they'll return later on the 17th. But I also think it's a bit irresponsible to go away that far in a country where the corona cases are rising sharply at the moment.

Shortly before the coronavirus arrived in the US, a friend and I had been talking about meeting up for a long weekend this summer in a larger city where neither of us lives. Fortunately we hadn't actually made reservations. We've postponed indefinitely.

I've heard that lots of people in the US are doing RV's or tent camping this summer.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Shortly before the coronavirus arrived in the US, a friend and I had been talking about meeting up for a long weekend this summer in a larger city where neither of us lives. Fortunately we hadn't actually made reservations. We've postponed indefinitely.

I've heard that lots of people in the US are doing RV's or tent camping this summer.

From what I understand now is that there were a lot of rules on the Belgian campsite and you had to pre-book everything: shopping at the camp store, swimming pass, etc. And the app didn't work properly. So I can understand that they went to a different campsite (though I think the rules will be strict on all campsites in Europe). But I doubt they had to drive 800km to find a campsite that would work for them.

Just one more week to go. After a week it takes a while in the morning for my back and neck to stop complaining about the hard mattress I slept on. But I'm also glad I'm here; there's a heatwave until at least Thursday and this house cools down a lot faster than my own home, so I can sleep fairly decently here.

[Rumpelteazer]

I'm feeling very much an asshole, for getting annoyed with Keira. It's just that she's so incredibly clingy and dependent. She's constantly following me and when I sit down she prefers to lie on my lap, if I don't allow that she lies against me. Since Thursday it's been over 30C degrees, having a Belgian sheperd on my lap is not my idea of fun. When I'm doing things like cooking or cleaning she is constantly in way. When I go to the toilet or upstairs to get something she waits at the living room door making squeaky sounds. When the cat does something she thinks is naughty she starts making squeaky sounds. She's jealous when I give the cat any attention.

After three days of staying in I'm glad I'm working this morning. Granted, the weather also makes me more irritable than normal, but the clingy behaviour is really getting n my nerves. My friends' previous two dogs were much more independent and just did their thing, occasionally wanting to play or some attention.

Right now, cat Pien has the zoomies, making Keira squeak like crazy. I just told her to lie down on her pillow, that doesn't help with the squeaking but at least she isn't curled up against me for a little while.