What's under your lip/in your nose right now? - Part 2

[rothenbj]

When I got my stimulus check, I decided to spend it on something that I'd never buy normally. I wanted to make sure I found something made in the US. I wasn't sure what I would spend it on. Thought maybe another hand gun but that didn't make a lot of sense with my current arsenal. Then a TV ad hit me.

I bought a Litter-Robot to deal with complaints about having to clean the litter box as well as constantly buying kitty litter as she didn't like scooping out the stuff. She'd just throw away the entire contents.

When it arrived, I was amazed how big it actually is, it doesn't appear to be so big in the ads. I set it up and, they wouldn't use it. I put both of them in but they had no interest. I started to think I wasted $600 (yeah it was something I'd never have spent my money on).

I've had it for over a month and I'd constantly check top see how much it was used on the app (yeah, it is WIFI enabled). It looked to be inching upward on the gauge but not much. They go out and there was no smell in the house so I figured they just were going outside. Then things changed.

I was walking down the hall and I heard something strange in the sun room. Looked in and sure enough, the robot was moving, dumping the dirty stuff into the compartment and coming back to ready. It doesn't even look like it was ever used after it recycles.

It's just about 3/4 full and I'm dying to see what the dump area looks like when I empty it. You put in a liner bag that you're just supposed to lift out, twist closed and put in a new bag. Eventually I'll need to add some new clump litter but there's not a lot of waste.

I had swore off of having cats probably ten years ago but when these two got abandoned by my gf's nephew's wife and she brought them here, I got sucked in again. Can't complain though, didn't see a mouse all winter in the house and I've found 2 or 3 dead chipmunks in the grass or drive. They seem to be pretty good hunters.

 

[hittman]

Our stimulus check went straight to summer tuition for my youngest. She failed a chemistry class so had to retake it along with two other classes she was already registered for. We did pay rent for the oldest while she was laid off.

My credit card was hacked last night. I woke up and had a text from the company. The only online purchase we have made recently was thru Walmart. My wife ordered something a couple weeks ago.

 

[rothenbj]

My check wasn't much, less than half of the allotment.

 

[hittman]

My check wasn't much, less than half of the allotment.

Why is that? If you're retired then your income shouldn't have been too high right?

 

[stols001]

Meh: pensions, investments, who knows. Although I think your income has to be FAIRLY high to not get it. ALSO, I think they based it on last year's taxes. Yeah, I think that is what it was. Me and the husband got it I was surprised but then I thought about it.A
Anna

 

[Waho]

Another round of stimulus would be welcome but I doubt it'll happen. I built that computer and paid off my new range and was awaiting my comeuppance for it and it occurred the day before we had family over for the 4th.

My wife was cooking up a storm and I noticed the dishwasher sounded more quiet than usual, but I figured it was the stand mixer, range hood, convection oven fans and ceiling fan all going at the same time.

For whatever reason it's not firing water up into the machine. I ran the diagnostics and it wasn't throwing any codes. I disassembled the sprayers and checked if the diverter was clogged or stripped out and it looks fine. The flood sensor checked out fine, it fills, heats, and drains fine. The only thing is when it would normally switch to washing I can hear clicks like something is binding or teeth stripped.

I have a tech coming out to look it over this week, hopefully it's a cheap fix and not a $400 control panel or something.

 

[stols001]

They make PARTS of dishwashers that are 400 bucks? Holy goodness I don't think I've actually owned one AT that price point. Maybe when I lived across the street from my mom and the sellers had upgraded all the appliances.

Right now my dishwashing costs are PENNIES a day. Yes. some dawn, some elbow grease and a sponge.

I actually like washing dishes by hand but I would not turn DOWN a house with a dishwasher let me put it this way.

Anna

 

[Waho]

I bought a normally $1200 machine that was last years model on sale and scratch and dent which ended up costing a third of the price. All the gizmo's and whirlygigs are $35 to replace but apparently the NASA computer in the control panel is worth it's weight in gold.

I'm a huge fan of the dish cleaning wands with soap in the handle and a little valve to dispense it out. I got a lot of extra practice over the holiday as my wife is infamous for dirtying every dish in the house when she cooks and washing dishes are my responsibility.

 

[hittman]

We looked at a bosch dishwasher that was around 8-900 that a friend raved over but ended up going with an LG that was 6 something. It honestly doesn't work as well as the 400 whirlpool we had before. It had a built in heater that dried the dishes really well. It was quite a bit louder though when it ran.

 

[stols001]

Oh I wasn't chastising you. The thing I tend to like to splurge on is the refrigerator,. My dream refrigerator is one of those like, stainless steel, freezer down below, and like, you open it in the middle and it has all these cool storage compartments etc. Also, it will dispense hot, cold, ice, or ice water. I want one very BADLY.

You can go too far. I was considering nannying for a bit, and the couple (who I HATED) asked me the weirdest questions. Like, the dude was like, "What do you think of talking about politics to a kid?" I was like, "Well my kid went through a politics stage and I talked to him but let him think what he wanted. However, that should not be a question that should be an INSTRUCTION from you, you're the dang parent so if it is all hot button tell me what to do I don't care it's your kid I will do what YOU want." He also asked me if my shoes were "cultural." I just laughed and said, "Nope, these shoes will enable met to chase down your kid at any time. Next time you go to the doctor check out the clogs on the people who stand All Day Long."

They had a smart fridge where you could add and list things (!!!!!!) and they took me through its paces for TIMELESS eternities. The kids were not present at my interview, the parents were like, "Oh they do what they are told we just need you to get them from school, supervise their routine from a distance, and cook and clean." I was like, "I'm sorry I happen to believe children need attention and what you seem to be looking for, more cheaply I might add, is a chauffer and a housekeeper so you can forget that. Also, you would have to pay me DOUBLE what you are offering and I would have to meet your poor children before I'd EVEN consider it, and I would do it FOR them in order to be willing to deal with you."

We were not a match, LOL.

IDK I just never really focused on dishwashers because like, IDK it was like my parents never replacing mattresses, l slept on old cast me down things until the husband (who gets free beds for life through his car insurance co due to his broken neck) informed me it was abnormal to wake up aching from head to foot and we bought, well insurance did, a 1200 Serta king size mattress and on the first night I had my best night's sleep in FOREVER.

I keep telling my mom to replace her mattress but she says she "likes it." I think it may be a subtle form of self flagellation, but well, it's none of my business. She has commented on sleeping on unfamiliar mattresses and that she likes them and I am like, "Why not get your very OWN then?" IDK.

Anna

 

[rothenbj]

Nah Hitt, I have requires distributions from my IRAs plus SS. I make a pretty good taxable income. Basically my SS goes to paying my taxes. lol

I must have your Whirlpool Hitt. It was cheap, is noisy but the dishes come out dry. I might as well wash them by hand as all I really to is clean them off, then sanitize and dry in the dishwasher.

I went to Lowes on Saturday and found almost the same range as I ordered from them two months ago. It was $50 more but on hand and, after two delays, I wasn't willing to wait a few more days to see if I got notice that it had shipped. Picked it up yesterday and installed it. I still need to fiddle with the legs. Got the front to back adjusted but found the left to right has an issue also so I need to pull it our again and give it one last tweak. Now if the refrigerator just holds up for another couple years. Maybe I'll be old enough to let them install it.

 

[hittman]

I wanted to have the dishwasher installed last time but Home Depot wouldn’t do it because it’s not right next to the sink and wouldn’t connect with the factory hardware. I’ve cussed through two dishwasher installations in 20 years in this house and swear that I won’t buy another one unless the store offers installation.

It has taken us a long time to get used to the flat top range with the double oven. We do use the double oven quite a bit but it’s a whole different ballgame with the flat top and how it cooks compared to the old range.

 

[Waho]

Oh I wasn't chastising you.

I didn't think so [emoji106] I'm not the type of person to splurge on utilitarian items that I just need to work, and the only reason we have the fancy dishwasher is the deep discount. The parts cost may end up biting me however.

Now that we've gotten used to the flat top range it's pretty nice. I don't know about yours, but ours is fairly picky when it comes to pan and burner size. If the burner is even a 1/4" larger than the pan it regularly shuts the burner off to prevent over heating and cooks pretty slow. When they're matched up well it works fast enough that I actually use my tea pot to boil water for tea vs using my coffee pot or the microwave.

 

[hittman]

Yes I've noticed the burners cycling on an off. I thought that was just to regulate the cooking temperature. We might have to splurge on some new pans and pots. I have noticed that the one pot we have that has what I think is an aluminum bottom heats up faster than the copper bottom ones.

 

[rothenbj]

Well, it looks like at least one of us read the instructions. I was with Hitt on the on and off thing. I thought it was regulating the temperature.

Well I leveled the range and pushed it back in between the cabinets and it stopped a third of the way in and wouldn't move. Pulled it out to make sure nothing was in the way and tried the same thing with the same results. So I pulled it all the way out again and right away I know something wasn't right.

The damn Chinese metal bent where the plastic leveler screwed in. I tried my best to bend it back in shape but there was no way. My first impulse was to call Lowes and complain but then I thought of all the hassle of getting a replacement and exchanging it.

I found a metal leg on Amazon and ordered it, I figured a couple washers and nuts and I can make it work fine without all the other hassle or at least I'm hoping. We'll see.

 

[Waho]

I should clarify that it does cycle on and off according to the burner setting. But on high it'll leave the burner on constantly with a proper sized pot/pan and boil water in 3 minutes, with a pan smaller than the burner it cycles on for maybe 3 seconds then turns off for 15-20 seconds and takes 10+ minutes to boil still on high.

We've taken our dog to the vet a few times recently for her arthritis and incidentally discovered she's either starting kidney failure or has kidney damage, or maybe has an intestinal mass. Waiting on another test result to figure out which and then what we can do to at the very least ease any pain/keep her comfortable. Even with the fairly bad arthritis, being mostly deaf, and blind from cataracts, she's very lively for a 15 year old dog and it sucks to think she may not be around much longer.

 

[hittman]

I should clarify that it does cycle on and off according to the burner setting. But on high it'll leave the burner on constantly with a proper sized pot/pan and boil water in 3 minutes, with a pan smaller than the burner it cycles on for maybe 3 seconds then turns off for 15-20 seconds and takes 10+ minutes to boil still on high.

We've taken our dog to the vet a few times recently for her arthritis and incidentally discovered she's either starting kidney failure or has kidney damage, or maybe has an intestinal mass. Waiting on another test result to figure out which and then what we can do to at the very least ease any pain/keep her comfortable. Even with the fairly bad arthritis, being mostly deaf, and blind from cataracts, she's very lively for a 15 year old dog and it sucks to think she may not be around much longer.

Our cat had kidney problems at 14+ years old and we had to put him on special food but he lasted maybe another 6-8 months. We just couldn't bring ourselves to put him to sleep so let him pass naturally.

Our dog has had problems with one of her back legs on and off. We took her to our regular vet and he said that she "might" have a problem with her ACL. He would have to do surgery to find out and it would be a minimum of 1500. We are of course going to find another vet for a second opinion before we let anyone cut into her. Between the new AC and furnace, tires on my daughter's car, and three of us going to the dentist this month, I can't really afford surgery right now. She gets around the house ok but you can tell after a while that she favors that leg a little. She's 8 right now so she should have some good years left. We will have to make a decision sooner or later. Also on top of everything else, the keyboard quit on my daughter's MacBook pro and it's just out of warranty. I'm hoping they will slide it in on the warranty with being closed due to Covid but I don't know. If we have to pay for the repair it's going to be several hundred dollars.

 

[stols001]

Man @hittman when it rains, it pours. Hopefully they will. How did her keyboard fail was it the whole thing, or just a letter or two. Because you can buy replacements fairly cheaply and install them yourself. Well, you could IDK about now but with my MacBook pro I changed several letters in that fashion.

Anna

 

[hittman]

Man @hittman when it rains, it pours. Hopefully they will. How did her keyboard fail was it the whole thing, or just a letter or two. Because you can buy replacements fairly cheaply and install them yourself. Well, you could IDK about now but with my MacBook pro I changed several letters in that fashion.

Anna

It started with a couple keys sticking then the whole keyboard stopped responding. I looked up a repair guide and it looks like you have to disassemble just about the whole thing to replace the keyboard. I don't really feel comfortable trying to do that myself. I've replaced batteries in different iphones but have never worked on a mac.

 

[stols001]

I think (and honestly I did LOVE my MacBook pro) that Apple has become an Evil Company, officially. Steve Jobs, to quote a recent quote now floating around the boards, "Great men are usually evil men." HE made 1/3 of his employees cry for like, no reason all the time, but Apple used to be great. Now, I consider them poorly put together, deliberately overdesigned (there is NO reason for a keyboard to be THAT hard to disassemble for NO reason other than they the want you to pay for it. Don't even get me like started on, uh, apple phones. Half my family buys apple phones, and I discovered my mom was getting texts so truncated and backwards, she could not read them. I had to send her several "If you are seeing THIS word here, it means apple has cut my text HERE and start reading HERE texts before she could even understand.

Can your daughter's warranty be extended more cheaply than fixing the keyboard? Can she wait a month?

I can understand if she's used to all the crap Apple software but man, buy her a cheap android thing. Unless she's and art major or whatnot. I'm sorry, I know some people have brand loyalty but I always remember, the Turing apple was full of Cyanide.
Anna