Had a few deck boards that were completely rotten through. As in step in the wrong spot and the foot is going through the deck. And a few others that were just half rotten.

Previous owner, I swear bought the cheapest deck paint. Or not even deck paint and just bought outdoor paint and gave the deck a coat before selling it. Within a year it was completely worn off. Luckily due to hail damage insurance is paying for a sanding and painting of the deck (and other things too, but that's irrelivent)

I still have one more I need to do tomorrow.

My office fan went from squeaking a little when I first turned it on, but then the quieting down once it warmed up, to full on constant high pitched whine that didn't stop.

Last year I had ineffectually sprayed some white lithium grease in between the slots. It maybe helped delay the problem a little, but this time I decided to take it apart and see if I could actually get the grease in where it needed to go.

Turns out there's a nice little nipple/reservoir at the top for this very purpose. The white lithium grease straw fit perfectly in the little hole at the top.

A few sprays later and a little cleanup made my cheap fan I bought back in 2010 whisper quiet once more.

I came up with this strategy a few years ago, and I think it might help others feel like they're doing more.

I tend to vote democrat more often than not for the general elections. But I'm registered as a republican. This allows me to vote in the republican primaries.

The strategy is simple. Usually the dems have a few decent options that I don't really care who wins. Sure, I like one better than another, but if the other wins, I'd still be happy. So, I put my vote where it matters more.

On the republican side it's usually a dumpater fire of bad choices. So, I dig through their bios and their plans for office, and am usually able to find at least one that I don't mind too much.

Why do I do this? Because I want two good candidates to choose from in the general elections.

Side benefits: it fucks with election numbers. Republicans counting on registered republicans to vote republican don't get what they want. I just read an article about the current administrstion tracking people based on their political affiliation. Poision that data up too.

Bonus, it's perfectly legal. Feels like it isn't, but it sure it.

I bought myself a cheap sodastream for fathers day recently. I did some research and lots of DIYers recommended getting your own CO2 tank and adapter hose to hook up to the sodastream directly instead of refilling the small canisters that sit inside.

I waited to make sure the sodastream was going to be something I liked before committing to the big tank. I'm a big dr pepper fan and the dr pete syrup wan't very good. It was metalic and tasted like a cross between dr pepper and pepsi. I'm not a huge cola flavor fan. But I love carbonated waters and got the bubly natural flavors and those have been good.

Nobody in the family really liked their first drinks. A lot got poured out. But, I decided to pull the trigger and got a big 20lbs tank for no other reason than to save money on all the carbonated water I buy. I go through 1-2 cans per day. That shit's only getting more and more expensive too. I took it to the local gas store and filled it with beverage grade CO2, ($40) hooked it up, and was pleasantly surprised.

Not just that it worked, but by how GOOD it tasted. Even plain with no flavors. Had others in the family taste to confirm and they all agree the new CO2 tank tastes WAY better. I wonder if the small canister that came with the sodastream was just sitting in a warehouse for so long it started to pick up a lot of taste from the metal or something.

Very happy, gonna need to retry the dr pete syrup, and see if that was the problem.

I'm looking for some good space opera. I read a lot on royal road and KU. I love space opera, but I'm sick of military and AI tropes. Any good suggestions? The more ship to ship battles the better. I understand that may be counter-intuitive, but I've read several privateer/freighter/scrapper books that were amazing. Looking for more of the same.

Thanks!