Month: August 2022

Any ideas what the sound might be? It doesn’t start right away; it takes about 10-15 minutes of driving. The sound only occurs under load. There are two possibilities – a bearing (and needing to change the wheel) or the tire is flapping. At first glance, the pressure seems normal, but it can’t be checked or confirmed (without disassembling the wheel). The fact that it only appears after some time makes me think that the tire warms up and begins to flap. It might also be contributed to by a possible drop in tire pressure (it doesn’t look low, but who knows). If it’s the bearing, logically the sound should start earlier. If you spin the wheel with your hands, it turns for about a minute without any sounds. Only under load and after some time do sounds appear. It drives fine even with the noises, but darn it

Any ideas?

Researched what this Schengen is all about. Turns out, the “Agreement on the Gradual Abolition of Checks at Their Common Borders” was signed by Germany, France, and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) in 1985 aboard the “Princess Maria Astrid” on the Moselle River near the village of Schengen, located in the very bottom right corner of Luxembourg. So at that moment, they were just passing a small town with a population of 2,500 people, and now this town is a star. The photo shows a stele at the border of the three countries in Schengen, smoothly transitioning into a tree.

For myself and others: If you need to paste without formatting (Paste and match style), there is already a keyboard shortcut for this on a Mac: Option+Shift+⌘+V. It effectively pastes plain text, and in some applications like Outlook, it preserves links but not formatting. Very convenient.

Last weekend, we took the cat along with Lisa to Blacksburg. It took Yuki two months to suppress his hunting instincts and make friends. In recent days, it was no longer necessary to watch them closely or worry that Yuki might eat him.

Yuki misses the cat and Lisa. In their room, he crawls under the bed and sits there exactly as he did when playing with the cat. But the cat does not come out. Somehow, we had to explain to Yuki that the cat is on vacation.

I called Lisa with video, and now Yuki understands that the projector can show not only all kinds of gibberish that he does not understand, but also his fluffy ginger friend. Lisa needs to get used to the projector at her place too, so the cat doesn’t forget.

Interestingly, many have noticed that projectors are more understandable to pets than even large televisions.

Yuki has found another buddy beyond the fence: a little rabbit. Our neighbors have long moved out, and their backyard has grown over with tall grass, and the rabbit has taken to a spot under a bush on the other side (The fence is almost opaque, so no video with the rabbit will be available). Now Yuki runs to the fence many times a day trying to dig a tunnel to rescue the bunny, and communicates with it in various ways until the rabbit goes off to lunch. I’m not sure if the rabbit misses Yuki. So, that’s his own pet now.

At a Roger Waters concert with two friends! Electrifying! Very heavily laden with political and social themes. It seems like Waters started his 2022 tour because he has something to say, and he sings there too

Major chains, including Walmart, Wegmans, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, Aldi have removed free bags at the checkout. Now they cost something symbolic, like 50 cents. Result: everyone started bringing their own bags. Despite the fact, for instance, that Wegmans is like a smaller-scale “Azbuka Vkusa” in a neighborhood wealthy like the Russian “Rublyovka,” and my typical bill there is about $80 (that’s a full basket of basic staples like pasta, patties, etc.). And yet, shoppers prefer to carry bags. Whether it’s for saving money or being eco-friendly, we are just glad that these bag wastes are no longer clogging our kitchen cabinets.

Tried a new AI tool for photo restoration — link in the comments. Quite decent. The photo shows my great-grandmother and great-grandfather. 1914, Kherson.

I wonder if there are any standards or research on what chair and table heights would be comfortable for most customers? Why aren’t there slightly different configurations of tables and chairs suitable for various types of guests? Why does no restaurant have adjustable chairs with a button, when many offices have already equipped all employees with such? Why isn’t there a “need a waiter” button that would light up a bulb somewhere, like on an airplane?

Our Liza — happy birthday! 21!

In Europe, I was always surprised by the scarcity of power outlets in airports, cafes, and hotels. Currently waiting for boarding at Reagan Airport, Washington, local airlines. There are several places to eat here, both cheaper and more expensive. So, in any place where you can sit and eat, including tables in the center of the hall, there is a tablet for ordering food and drinks, a card reader for pre-payment, and two power outlets. You order coffee and breakfast – they bring coffee and breakfast right to where you are sitting. Really well done!

Also, there’s a store in the corridor here. On the honor system. No staff. Photos in the comments.