First World Problems thread

Yeah just my tired old brain making random connections. Damn I need a vacation. Apart from a few days off while Ice visited a couple of months ago, and week in February where I worked 10 hours a day on home improvements I haven''t had break since Christmas. I can't remember the last time I felt this exhausted.
 
Forgot to put my ice packs in the freezer yesterday when I got home from work..... went to put my packed lunch in my lunchbox this morning and found I have no ice. Guess I'll be eating out for lunch today. Worst part is that I'm totally sick of all the lunch options around work.
 
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Apologies to Matt2000...

Waiting months for your shiny new Tesla Model 3 Performance only for it to arrive during a pandemic so all you're allowed to do is wash it.

That's basically the automotive equivalent of boxing gloves at bedtime.
 
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Why You Need to Stop Baking Bread

WRITTEN BY Caren White

I was walking down the baking aisle to see if the organic flour was on sale. Organic flour is expensive and I am poor so I always try to buy it when it goes on sale. There was no sale and no flour. The shelves were bare. My eyes travelled up to the top shelf. The shelf with the leavening ingredients. Also bare.

How could this be?

When I got home, I logged on to my laptop and started reading articles on the pandemic. I had stopped reading most pandemic related articles weeks ago because they were upsetting me too much. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t concentrate. I needed to distance myself. But I knew that the pandemic had something to do with the bare shelves in the baking aisle so I exposed myself to the turmoil once more.

It seems that there has been a run on flour and yeast because people are bored so they are baking bread to pass the time.

Seriously?

Baking bread is a way of life for me, not a hobby. Not something to do just to pass the time. I don’t eat store-bought bread. I rarely eat prepared foods of any kind. If you visited my kitchen, you would find food but nothing to eat because I only stock ingredients. I do all of my own cooking and baking. On Saturday nights, I don’t order pizza, I make it. From scratch. Including the crust. I also grow my own popcorn, but that’s a topic for another day.

You see, I am one of THOSE people. You know the ones. You offer them a plate of food and they look at it suspiciously asking “Is that organic?” I want to know what is in my food so I make it myself. By the way, croutons? Made from my homemade bread. Breading for fried chicken? Made from my homemade bread. Stuffing for the Thanksgiving turkey? Made from my homemade bread. So when you buy up all of the flour and leavening ingredients for the sake of pretty photos on your Instagram feed you are literally taking food from my mouth. And the mouths of other families who also do their own their baking so that they can provide healthy food for their families.

Here’s the problem. It’s Economics 101. Supply and Demand. Before the pandemic, very few people did scratch baking so the grocery stores carried only limited supplies of flour and leavening. Both go bad, so they don’t want it hanging around the shelves for too long. Hence the limited quantities. That was okay. There was always enough for those of us who needed it. But there is not enough now that we are competing with a bunch of dilettante bakers who care nothing for anyone but themselves.

Yes, I know that sounds harsh, but I’m willing to bet that not a single one of them stopped to think as they grabbed the last of the flour and the yeast that they were robbing other people’s children of their daily bread. Nope. I’m certain all they cared about was how impressed everyone was going to be with their picture perfect loaves of bread.

Here’s an idea. If you are bored and want to learn new skills, why don’t you learn how to garden and impress everyone with your tomatoes? Or how about learning how to sew to make masks for hospitals and first responders? I know, learn to crochet so you can make those cute market bags for when you go to the farmer’s market.

But, please, please, I’m begging you, stop baking bread.

And it was even written by a Karen! OK, Caren.:lmao:
 
Washing a brush that's been used for a clear, water based varnish.

If the medium is clear then how the fuck are you supposed to know when the brush is clean?
 
I don't know if this is a first world problem per se, but I have so much stuff I planned to order from China, and if I order too much stuff at once, the customs office might declare it all one package, and charge me with tax and customs fees. Which are exactly the reason why I'm ordering from China in the first place.

Also, related to this, starting from July the 1st next year, thanks to some EU directive, taxes will apply to all packages, even those under €22, which were exempt from taxes and customs fees. But that's definitely not a first world problem per se.
 
One cannot argue much with that. :D

When I said it might not be a first world problem per se, I was thinking more in lines of 'if it's something that could happen in a third-world country, then it might not be a first-world problem'. ?
 
Tonight after I got the speshul oil filter (for US anyways) on Sunday I chose to change the oil tonight on the Fiat since I hadn't yet since buying it. How hard can it be?

It sits too low so I can't drive it on the ramps I have, there's no jackstand point so I jack it up, place ramp under one side, and do the other. I get underneath to undo the underbelly panel. I broke off 5 or 4 out of 6 or 5 bolts that hold it in place. Ok so that cover isn't going back on tonight. Drain plug was put in by He-Man and aluminum+steel bolt caused a nice welding effect so my 1/2 13mm socket rounded it a little. Finally seat the socket on fully, there's a cross member right under the drain plug, and use a breaker bar to get it off. Now that the bolt head is marred, I chose to replace the bolt. Bolt is reinstalled and now it's time for the filter. It's not a big deal but where it is, is a pain in the ass. It's on the front of the engine and you can see it from the top, but there's no space for a wrench or ratchet to be in there. so 2x 6 inch extensions plus 1x 4 inch extension and half in the socket gave me just enough leverage to loosen the filter housing. I don't have enough 3/8s extensions because I have a u-joint in that size, but not in 1/2 inch... Once the filter broke free oil splattered everywhere, yay, a mess to clean up. Now that my hands are oily, and sweaty because it's high 80s(low 30C or something) and 90% humidity, I'm starting to get really frustrated to wear nearly every phrase after this was "For fucks sake" or "son of a bitch." Now I'm getting clumsy, because when I get fatigued, I get clumsy which only compounds the anger. 3 times I dropped the socket down the engine bay... Filter is replaced, oil is going in sweet. I think to myself that going for a milkshake would be a nice reward after that ordeal. I start the Fiat, turn it off, and check oil. I go inside to change and chose shorts and a t-shirt. As I'm putting a leg into the hole I miss and hit the center causing me to fall over because I was expecting my foot to hit the ground and not stop halfway. Masks are in the wash, which is good. Mask restrictions are being dropped since the CDC mandate. I have my shots, all is well right? I get to Coldstone Creamery and find out they specifically still have a mask mandate. Defeated, I drive home and stop at a 7-11 on my way because I still have cookies. I could have some of those with milk at least. Get to 7-11 and this knob with his scratch off tickets are getting the scanned 1 by 1. Then with his winnings he wants to buy more. This always takes so long. Finally I pay for my milk and drive home. One of the last roads on one of the routes I go that is along the Fox River is a slow 25-30mph (50kph-ish) road. The defeated exhausted mood I was in, I didn't mind being behind a guy in his mid 2000s Monte Carlo doing the speed limit, shitty Saturn driver behind me did and he made his presence known. Rolling up close, coasting to drop back, throttle up and gets close again. I can hear him because like every old Saturn and their owners, the original muffler fails and the owners never replace them. I get annoyed and signal to pull over. I goes past and starts tailgating the Monte Carlo. We get to a stop sign and Monte Carlo guy stops and goes by the book of "You must wait 3 seconds before proceeding." Saturn guy yells out "really asshole?" and as Monte Carlo guy turns, the Saturn guy speeds off into his neighborhood.

On the plus side, driving to the ice cream shop, a girl in a passing car hangs out the car a little and says "I really like your car!" with a thumbs up(I was in the Fiat). That was nice. :)

Which is a nice change from the over 50 male crowd doing the same thing in the Mercury wagon.
 
On the plus side, driving to the ice cream shop, a girl in a passing car hangs out the car a little and says "I really like your car!" with a thumbs up(I was in the Fiat). That was nice. :)
The friend/work colleague I went roadtripping with last week would've leapt out of the car at this point and tried to get in hers. I got a wave from some guys in an MX-5 while up in the hills and kids love the Tesla but that's about it.

I sort of forgot that this thread existed but got a FWP today. If I order from Amazon and items show different delivery dates I will try and co-ordinate them using 'Amazon day delivery so they don't have to delivery one day after the other, I feel it's my responsibility to reduce the pollution of the vans and the workload of the drivers. So what's the point in doing this if one of the packages is going to be sent by post and turn up A) a day before my Amazon day B) a day earlier than the earliest delivery date offered. I could've had all my shit today and got on with the project that needed opto-couplers. :rolleyes:

Their service is still brilliant and I'd be pretty lost without it.
 
 
I think this will qualify as a first world problem.

For the last few weeks one of toilets has been slow to flush, if at all. I've spent hours messing with it and finally decided to replace it this morning. Spent most of the day chasing parts, pulling the old toilet, finding the solution to adapting a PVC closet flange to the old cast iron pipes (the GDPO had effectively lag bolted the damned thing to the floor). All the fun stuff that comes with owning a 100 year old house that wasn't even built with electric or water. Got the new one in this evening, works great, looks great. Awesome, job well done.

I carried the old toilet outside to the truck to haul off and as soon as laid it on its back, a small plastic bottle floats out of what little water was left in the bottom. I guess the kiddo had tried flushing it for some reason.

?‍♂️

So that's $300 on the toilet and parts, a full day of running around and messing with a disgusting old toilet because the kiddo wouldn't own up to what he'd done. Lesson learned, I suppose.
 
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I think this will qualify as a first world problem.

For the last few weeks one of toilets has been slow to flush, if at all. I've spent hours messing with it and finally decided to replace it this morning. Spent most of the day chasing parts, pulling the old toilet, finding the solution to adapting a PVC closet flange to the old cast iron pipes (the GDPO had effectively lag bolted the damned thing to the floor). All the fun stuff that comes with opening a 100 year old house that wasn't even built with electric or water. Got the new one in this evening, works great, looks great. Awesome, job well done.

I carried the old toilet outside to the truck to haul off and as soon as laid it on its back, a small plastic bottle floats out of what little water was left in the bottom. I guess the kiddo had tried flushing it for some reason.

?‍♂️

So that's $300 on the toilet and parts, a full day of running around and messing with a disgusting old toilet because the kiddo wouldn't own up to what he'd done. Lesson learned, I suppose.
Well, now the next time the toilet gets replaced, it should be easier. :)
 
Future flower pot?
 
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