Castanza

I was just in WV the past four days at a cabin and spent a night camping at the Greenbank Observatory air strip campground. Didn't have a telescope but the view was still amazing. Cherry Springs in PA is also a solid location for people on the East Coast

Yeah the push connect fittings can have small drip if it isn't seated properly or if you're going copper to PEX and the copper side isn't cut perfectly square. I could be wrong but I believe it's against code to use push to connect fittings in areas which cannot be accessed. The compression rings ( @ERICOPOLY) are what I meant, Forgot their was also the crimp rings. (Example) I took some extra PEX and crimped two pieces together and tried to pull them apart with two people. Couldn't budge it....As bluegolds alluded to there is a tool "Go-NoGo" gauge which let's you know if you did it right and the crimp tool itself is kind of a ripoff but I haven't been able to find any other off branded ones on the market. The manifold is definitely a good idea if all the plumbing in the house is already isolated but you for sure will use a lot more pipe, where you could just branch off a main line. Thinking about it as an engineer it would look wayyy cleaner though and PEX isn't that expensive.

PEX can still burst but it's not as likely to do so. Make sure you're using the crimp ring style if you're putting it in an area you can't access (behind a wall etc.). SharkBite push to connect fittings are great and simple for areas you can access. Big benefit is you can go copper to pex without a problem. Saves so much time. I haven't had any problem with mine. I even have a 1 inch push to connect line which is copper to pex and my PSI is definitely a bit high at 85PSI. Get the ball valves and use a lot of them. I recommend the ones with the bleeder/drain port. This is incredibly useful for future projects or changes that you might not think of now. Easily allows you to drain a line without having to turn all the water off and you can isolate sections even more. Cost wise it's a no brainer. 3ft piece of 1/2 copper is what $20 right now? No soldering, no cutting, no mess.

Thanks for the recommendations, you’re probably right that just going with some good sticks is better than dealing with inconsistencies of cheaper ones. Montecristo sounds about right for what I’m looking for. I don’t smoke very often either so I tend to stick with mild vs anything robust. Smoked some Oliva Maduro golfing once and it about put me on my ass lol

Problem is that their government has so much corruption. Would they even get a fair election? There are going to be a lot of people salivating for that power seat.

Lmao gotta love that. Whenever I make cutting boards I just use mineral oil but make sure to pick it up from a pharmacy. Some of the stuff at Lowes and Home Depot is distilled differently and not technically food safe. All about the same price. I do like the look of butcher block counters or island. Definitely a timeless look if incorporated right. also love those This Old House vids. Tom Silva saved my ass a few times. HomeRenovision DIY is also a good Youtube channel. Canadian guy who “helped” me sort out some things for a bathroom like Kerdi board, tile etc. Good luck!

@ERICOPOLY Whatever you finish the wood tops with, make sure it's food safe. I believe Waterlox is but some Poly may not be. https://www.cuttingboard.com/blog/what-type-of-oils-are-safe-to-use-on-your-cutting-board/

@Parsad @stahleyp thanks appreciate it! @ERICOPOLYman that looks like a big project to take on! Definitely good and bad working with older homes but once done refinished they really are a gem. I have to agree on the countertop. You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble by going with a man made quartzite. I believe you’re in Cali so not sure what it’s like there but here you depending on how big of a piece you need there are plenty of off cuts which you can get for a reasonable discount. Just be sure to leave your tenant a bunch of cork hot pads. A friend of mine does that for his tenants and says he hasn’t had a single problem with countertops since he started doing that.

Recent project I did for a neighbor. Completely rebuilt this mantel from the ground up. Never did this before so it was a fun project. Not perfect, and a few things I would do differently but turned out alright. A few finishing touches missing in the pic but that's the latest I have. I think they are going to put a gas insert in at some point so this was the immediate solution. - Pulled off old sheeting - Reinsulated duct work - Added canless lights, new outlets from circuit from box, and hidden media box behind TV with dedicated ethernet. Samsung Frame mounts flush which is pretty cool. - Also thought the picture mode looked pretty real if you got some high res paintings (one pictured is not) - Re sheeted in 3/4 veneer core finish ply - Custom milled trim - Custom built beam (shoutout to Sheppard Brackets <- use these) - Removed old insert cleaned and painted brick/fire box

Devils advocate This assumes the US would even get involved. It’s a big risk to defend Taiwan and have China cut off all manufacturing to the US….what then? US gets far more goods and items from China than Taiwan 430b vs 29b. A single fab would be worth risking the rest when we are building our own (Intel)? That would cripple the US economy. Sure, China would also be hurt in this scenario, but ask yourself which group of people could handle more suffering? People here are soft and haven’t had to endure any type of suffering in their life. The country is demoralized and is in a full fledged identity crisis. We haven’t had solid leadership in decades, congress fails to operate properly and everyone is war weary from GWOT. The military is strong, seasoned and advanced….but what’s backing that military isn’t.

China has 2.8m troops (double the US), warships cyber capability, missiles, modern infantry equipment etc. Plus they have public sentiment (at least seems that way). Taiwan has 88,000 active troops….sorry but idc what type of missile defense system you have or what geographic system you have. You’re not going to outlast China. Amphibious landing is not the only way into Taiwan. If China wanted to push in Taiwan they absolutely could. Why would the US get involved? It has a lot to lose by standing up to China. Frankly we’ve done it to ourselves by exporting manufacturing for almost every industry. US has zero leverage. I agree though, there is no way to play this. Intel seems like the obvious answer.

https://asiatimes.com/2022/02/china-takes-rare-earth-aim-at-raytheon-and-lockheed/

Testing 5 year support at 44....next stop 35?

Can't find the post but I know someone a few pages back mentioned wheat and fertilizer as a play. Looking at all the wheat producers...they are all trading at 52 week highs (some all time highs).

Up is down and down is up! Who would have though a global pandemic would send stocks and indices to record highs. Wouldn't be surprised if you're right on this.

Same

Added to AIV past few days

Because humans are irrational. Always have been and always will be. = opportunity

Right?!? @james22 put the pinky down man

The Doha Agreement came with stipulations. The Taliban had commitments that they had to keep or the US was not obligated to withdraw. Biden used the Trump agreement as a scapegoat argument for being weak. Biden should have free a pair and told the Taliban the US isn’t leaving until they abide by the terms agreed upon. Biden had ZERO obligation to withdraw. eh, this is too far into the weeds at this point. How are we making money off all this?

Pretty interesting, thanks for sharing. If I may, which part of Ukraine are you from? East or West?

Eric you should go talk to some troops and see how they feel about current leadership vs the last administration. Obama was generally fine with most troops and pretty balanced. But definitely had US troops on a tight leash. Trump had the troops backs and let them do what they do best. The objective went from allowing OSIS to exists, to eradicating ISIS (ask Eddie Gallagher, Mark de Alencar Moab bomb response). The jury is still out in Biden though. I know first consensus is almost nobody trusted him. Guess we will see

From an outsiders perspective the country seems to be very fractured regarding support for and against Russia. Just curious if you could break it down. There is definitely some support there for Russia (probably a minority). If I had to guess most pro support is in the older generations who look back with some nostalgia of a “united purpose” while ignoring the terrible conditions they endured under the Soviet’s. Didn’t Crimea have a 97% vote to join Russia back in 2014 (example of pockets of support). Situation is very complex and I wonder if sanctions will just escalate matters. Further, sanctions on Russia will also affect Ukraine. I thought the below video was the best no bullshit no bias explanation of the situation. If I had to guess at what happens? Ukraine receives a haircut in the landmass department. Russia takes pro Russian/Russian speaking eastern Ukrainian regions and establishes a border they feel more “comfortable” defending against NATO. Who knows though, this stuff is never predictable.

AIV

AIV