Stereodude
Not really a
People built houses without any insulation? That's crazy! 
wneddnce:
Congrats BTW. :beer:
wneddnce:Congrats BTW. :beer:
Something Random
- Thread starter ddrueding
- Start date
ddrueding
Fixture
Well, it does freeze here about 5 days every 5 years, and it exceeds 90F about the same number. 80% of the time it is between 55F and 75F, so insulation when it was built (in 1960) was considered optional.
Someone did have insulation blown into the ceiling about 5 years ago, but the furnace is a 1960 original as well.
Someone did have insulation blown into the ceiling about 5 years ago, but the furnace is a 1960 original as well.
ddrueding
Fixture
Possibly. I did inquire with JTR some time ago about the feasibility of going all-LED, and the answer was "if money means anything, not yet".
Perhaps things have changed? I'll probably start a thread on this topic, as decisions will need to be made relatively soon.
ddrueding
Fixture
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore opened yesterday. That is a very cool pool.
Stereodude
Not really a
There was an episode of Build it Bigger about the skypark that spans the top of the three towers. It was pretty interesting.
I'm not one for heights, so you wouldn't find me hanging out at the edge of that pool. :errr:
Bozo
Storage? I am Storage!
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
dd, congratulations on the new house!
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
:0
That is very cool.
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
How about some pictures of the rest of the house?
ddrueding
Fixture
Not much to see at the moment, crappy white carpeting, crappy tile, and unfortunately little original hardwood. I'll put together some stuff when I have some. At the moment I'm just documenting the progress I'm making.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Now that is one pool where the stakes for being the top person in a game of battle horsie are significantly raised
Is there actually any restraint if you go over the edge?Congrats on the house dd. Oil heat?
Stereodude
Not really a
My recollection from what I saw on Build it Bigger is that the glass edge of the pool is not the quite the edge of the building. IE: it's not straight down to the ground once you're over that the edge of the pool.Now that is one pool where the stakes for being the top person in a game of battle horsie are significantly raised
I'm pretty sure this is a picture of the pool area from the other side.
Bozo
Storage? I am Storage!
Still WAY too high!
ddrueding
Fixture
Thanks. No Oil for heating around here, natural gas plumbed into the house and a forced-air furnace. The only issue with that system is that our furnace is as old as the house (50 years) and doesn't work very well. Rather than put the money into a new furnace, I'm putting it into crazy insulation. This stuff is rated R-7 per inch, so I'm at about R-21 in the walls, R-14 under the floor, and about R-40 in the ceiling. More significant than the specific R-value is that this makes the place completely airtight, so no drafts. It is actually so tight that I'll need some air-air heat exchangers to keep it from getting stuffy. We'll finish off the exterior with some serious windows. We're on a fairly busy street, so their Quiet Glass will go in front.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Ah, good to see you stayed in civilisation (had thoughts of you off grid with a muddy goat trail for access).
Sounds like you wouldn't use the furnace much, if you do the high efficiency ones are so good they use a PVC pipe for the exaust. I guess the air exchanger also does filtration?
Sounds like you wouldn't use the furnace much, if you do the high efficiency ones are so good they use a PVC pipe for the exaust. I guess the air exchanger also does filtration?
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Awesome news for law abiding people, the Supreme Court ruled against Chicago, and has found the right to own handguns for self defense "is fundamental" and not to banned willy nilly.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Stereodude
Not really a
Beware of making a house too airtight. CO isn't something you want to mess with.
ddrueding
Fixture
Awesome news for everyone, not just the law abiding. This will keep the prices on the black market low as well.
ddrueding
Fixture
The air exchangers will run full-time, and since they are drawing from the bathrooms, act as exhaust fans as well.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Get a detector for each floor, and any bedroom.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
No, it's bad news for the criminals in Chicago. Because now when they break into law abiding citizens homes, chances are they are coming out in a body bag, because that resident is no longer forbidden by the bloody town he/she lives in from posessing a device that can equalise the power imbalance between the innocent resident, and the criminal who preys upon the weak. I don't see how it would affect the black market? Criminals will continue to roam, paying no heed to town/county/state lines and arbitrary demarkations.
I gotta have me a drink. This is too much to take in. It's huge!
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I fully support making handguns and ammunition as difficult to obtain as humanly possible, Pradeep's edge case of sport shooting aside, there's no reason to have a handgun except the desire to hurt or kill another human being. Chicago's law was correct and it is unfortunate that the Supreme Court does not agree.
I'm legitimately hopeful that Clarence Thomas and/or Antonin Scalia will end their service to the court in the next six years.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Merc, don't you see? The regulation only affects the law abiding. The only ones who couldn't posess guns were the bloody victims. The prey are made weaker. The criminals continue to rob, rape and murder.
Read the decision. The municipal entity was arguing a fucken crock of shit. They lost out bigtime, and the implications for the entire country are profound.
Read the decision. The municipal entity was arguing a fucken crock of shit. They lost out bigtime, and the implications for the entire country are profound.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
And frankly, as an edge case sporting shooter, I would argue that my elderly neighbours right to defend his life with a pistol is just as legitimate a need as I to shoot holes in paper with one. In fact his right to self defense is the more important right.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
"Pradeep's edge case of sport shooting aside, there's no reason to have a handgun except the desire to hurt or kill another human being"
Well the only problem there is that millions of handguns are owned, and operated, by people who want to stop other people killing or hurting them. It's called self defense, and it doesn't mean you are a murderer. If you want to take your chances calling for the cops whilst someone is breaking into your house, by all means. Others choose to protect themselves. That is what these city ordinances actually took away, the means to defense.
Well the only problem there is that millions of handguns are owned, and operated, by people who want to stop other people killing or hurting them. It's called self defense, and it doesn't mean you are a murderer. If you want to take your chances calling for the cops whilst someone is breaking into your house, by all means. Others choose to protect themselves. That is what these city ordinances actually took away, the means to defense.
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
I'm still not convinced a hand gun will provide any better self defense than a shotgun, which, was always legal to have in the City of Chicago.
ddrueding
Fixture
Either follow the UK or Israel, both solutions work.
Either everyone has a gun, or no one does.
Either everyone has a gun, or no one does.
Sol
Storage is cool
I always thought the US second amendment was about the right to have guns so you could overthrow the government. On that basis I think the law was pretty clearly unconstitutional and needed to be slapped down, you can agree or disagree with the constitution but you can't just go making laws contrary to it, there are very good reasons that the government isn't allowed to do that.
That said I don't think guns for self defense really works as an argument. Even in the most conscientious hands with the best of intentions throwing a gun (or another gun) in to a volatile situation is rarely going to improve it. I could, of course, be totally wrong about that but when the issue is discussed all I ever see is people arguing that it's their constitutional right to protect themselves. I don't recall anyone dragging out a scientific study that showed people who keep guns are safer.
I guess it's a bit irrelevant though since the constitution does give people the right to own guns, and it's a bit hard to require people to have a legitimate reason when the constitution would require one of the tick boxes to be "Overthrow of a corrupt government".
That said I don't think guns for self defense really works as an argument. Even in the most conscientious hands with the best of intentions throwing a gun (or another gun) in to a volatile situation is rarely going to improve it. I could, of course, be totally wrong about that but when the issue is discussed all I ever see is people arguing that it's their constitutional right to protect themselves. I don't recall anyone dragging out a scientific study that showed people who keep guns are safer.
I guess it's a bit irrelevant though since the constitution does give people the right to own guns, and it's a bit hard to require people to have a legitimate reason when the constitution would require one of the tick boxes to be "Overthrow of a corrupt government".
ddrueding
Fixture
There is that whole bit about a "well regulated militia", and I don't think Pradeep, or many of the residents of Chicago, count.
I'm a fan of freedoms in general, not "freedom" as a marketing slogan, but the right to do stuff that doesn't by definition mess with other people. I'm against mandatory seatbelts or bike helmets if you're over 18, for example. But I could go either way on this one. I have no doubt that there are WAY more shootings in this country due to the prevalence of guns. But that may be an acceptable cost for that freedom. Arguing that less people will be shot if more people have guns is a painfully poor argument.
There is a cost to every freedom, either it is worth it or it isn't. Why don't we have that argument?
I'm a fan of freedoms in general, not "freedom" as a marketing slogan, but the right to do stuff that doesn't by definition mess with other people. I'm against mandatory seatbelts or bike helmets if you're over 18, for example. But I could go either way on this one. I have no doubt that there are WAY more shootings in this country due to the prevalence of guns. But that may be an acceptable cost for that freedom. Arguing that less people will be shot if more people have guns is a painfully poor argument.
There is a cost to every freedom, either it is worth it or it isn't. Why don't we have that argument?
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Yeah, that states rights of militia versus individual rights has been decided now. Certainly in Australia that is how the media portrayed it. No more gray areas. It's an individual right.
Sol, if you want to take a chance and submit to an intruder good luck mate. I simply appreciate the option of an armed response. No one is being forced to own a gun, if you don't feel safe with one you definitely shouldn't have one about the residence.
Potentially you could be looking at Vermont type laws, i.e. any person, even if you visiting, can carry open or concealed, no permit needed. You do need to be a resident to buy guns there.
Sol, if you want to take a chance and submit to an intruder good luck mate. I simply appreciate the option of an armed response. No one is being forced to own a gun, if you don't feel safe with one you definitely shouldn't have one about the residence.
Potentially you could be looking at Vermont type laws, i.e. any person, even if you visiting, can carry open or concealed, no permit needed. You do need to be a resident to buy guns there.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
The worst mass shootings in the US have occured in so called "gun free zones", like secondary schools universities, and other areas where employees and adult students are not permitted by procedure from carrying concealed. You are like a lamb in a slaughterhouse if someone heaven forbid ignores regulation during his mass murder attempt. Just hide under the desk and hope the end comes soon and without suffering. Maybe you'll only be paralyzed.
Look at what happened recently in the UK, bloke went berserk with a shottie, gunning people down of their bicycles, first responder cops didn't even have guns on them to kill him before he drovev off for several more hours of murder.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
That city ordinance did nothing to take away the ability to defend oneself. There are all kinds of ways to defend oneself without using a handgun. You do understand that, right?
Also, where the hell do these people live that there are marauding bands of home invaders that justify the use of deadly force? You say self-defense and the thought that immediately comes to mind is that I'm talking to someone who has paranoid delusions sponsored by Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson. The whole idea that an armed person can pull out, safely and effectively use a firearm in any circumstance where they, in their judgment, feel that it is necessary to do so is ridiculous. I don't trust that person's judgment. I don't trust their ability, and I do not believe they have the right to put ME in danger through whatever combination of poor thought processes have led them to believe that they need a handgun for personal protection.
Sol said:
That's a polite fiction at best, because a bunch of rednecks with Glocks and shotguns will obviously be very successful against Apache helicopters and nuclear submarines. Cue the NRA. At this point I'll cue the NRA argument that when Nimitz class aircraft carriers are illegal, only criminals will have Nimitz class aircraft carriers.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Where are the murderers? How about in Washington D.C. Illegal for you to have a handgun in the house. Or on the street. Since 1975. And yet the highest gun murder rates of any US city. I believe this Lack of correlation between heavy gun restrictions and crime rate was also considered by the court in that case.
The point is one of deterrence. In areas where guns are allowed, the rate of home invasion is very vlow. Because whilst the criminal may scoff at a little jail time, he respects the bullet and therefore, unless you happened to have a sign in front of your house saying "no guns in here", a criminal in say even upstate NY knows that the likelihood of being killed by the homeowner is extremely high. He doesn't know who exactly is prepared to defend. You benefit without ever touching a gun yourself.
Same if you try and do any kind of aggravated assault/robbery. If you start shooting up a restaurant, someone is going to blow your head off before you get too far. And that's the society I want to live in. Mutual respect for the fellow man. The alternative, where dozens lay dead, the criminal free to pick off targets in yet another gun free zone, has already been tried and found wanting.
The point is one of deterrence. In areas where guns are allowed, the rate of home invasion is very vlow. Because whilst the criminal may scoff at a little jail time, he respects the bullet and therefore, unless you happened to have a sign in front of your house saying "no guns in here", a criminal in say even upstate NY knows that the likelihood of being killed by the homeowner is extremely high. He doesn't know who exactly is prepared to defend. You benefit without ever touching a gun yourself.
Same if you try and do any kind of aggravated assault/robbery. If you start shooting up a restaurant, someone is going to blow your head off before you get too far. And that's the society I want to live in. Mutual respect for the fellow man. The alternative, where dozens lay dead, the criminal free to pick off targets in yet another gun free zone, has already been tried and found wanting.
Sol
Storage is cool
I totally agree, I just think a constitutional convention is needed to contravene the constitution, no matter how out of date it's gotten.
Pradeep said:
I honestly don't know how I'd deal with that situation and I really hope I never find out. I don't have a particular problem with guns, I currently own 5 of them for various reasons. Protection from intruders isn't one of those reasons though. (To be fair I'd be screwed if it was since the guns must be stored in a separate safe to the ammo and I don't actually store any of them at home, I'd probably pass 3 police officers on the way to the armory)
Also, as timwhit suggested earlier, my choice for self defense (If I chose a gun) would be a 12 gauge. Sure it'd make a mess, but how often do you have hostile armed intruders around?