[MarkJerling]

Is the absence of reticulated gas because of earthquake risk?

No. For some reason, Wellington has reticulated gas but we don't, and Wellington has a higher earthquake risk. I believe we used to have a gas works many, many years ago but that was shut down and I'm not sure why.

[tim60]

No. For some reason, Wellington has reticulated gas but we don't, and Wellington has a higher earthquake risk. I believe we used to have a gas works many, many years ago but that was shut down and I'm not sure why.

Interesting. In Taiwan they use bottled gas, usually in small bottles, double bbq size, located adjacent to the appliance. There is also a network of gas bottle suppliers who will come out and exchange the bottle very quickly when needed. They are responsive enough that if you run out while cooking the meal will only be delayed by half an hour.

In contrast I visited US about 10 years ago and wanted to order Amazon delivery to my hotel. Watching how slowly they were delivering on the shipping made me wonder why the workers had such a lack of enthusiasm for getting their job done during a recession.

I notice in UK Amazon seem to usually deliver days earlier than predicted at checkout when using the free shipping option.

[savoche]

occasional tidbits if extremely valuable and informative stuff

Occasional?! We're looking at 80749 posts of Big Brain Thinking!

Well, 80748.

[RoxnDox]

Bacon Brain Thinking, surely?

[robtcorl]

Mrs Bob and I were involved in a drive by shooting this morning.
We both got flu shots at a drive-thru behind our doctor's office.

[lesmore49]

I was reading my Hemmings Newsletter today and they had this history on the Datsun/Nissan Z series cars. Think there will those (me for example ) who will find it of interest and although I'm sure Racer knows this history and more on the Z cars, he will also enjoy it.

https://hemmings.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=47e76dd5d8367788e56a632f...8&e=576ec02c8c

[MarkJerling]

Interesting. In Taiwan they use bottled gas, usually in small bottles, double bbq size, located adjacent to the appliance. There is also a network of gas bottle suppliers who will come out and exchange the bottle very quickly when needed. They are responsive enough that if you run out while cooking the meal will only be delayed by half an hour.

In contrast I visited US about 10 years ago and wanted to order Amazon delivery to my hotel. Watching how slowly they were delivering on the shipping made me wonder why the workers had such a lack of enthusiasm for getting their job done during a recession.

I notice in UK Amazon seem to usually deliver days earlier than predicted at checkout when using the free shipping option.

With 9kg bottles, we have those filled at the petrol station or you can do a bottle swap at various shops. We usually do the bottle swap. It's quick and easy. Wityh the 45kg bottles those are rented and delivered to your home. When we lived in Wellington the house had reticulated gas and gas central heating. Very nice, although expensive to run.

[gaweidert]

Back in 2018 Aslyfox and I met up at Yellowstone, National Park. At the hotel we were at there was a cinder block wall bordering part of the parking lot. The hotel was on a hill. About 10 feet below this wall was a 1,000 gallon propane tank that the hotel below us used. A guest at the hotel was pulling into a parking spot and tapped the wall. Not even enough to dent the car. Part of he cinder block wall collapsed onto some very expensive bicycles and the propane tank. Seems the wall had no reinforcement at all. It could have been a very interesting afternoon for us.


It gets better. A year later, my wife has retired and i take here out to Yellowstone. We are staying at the same hotel. The wall had been repaired. They simply made a form and filled it with cement. If it fails again the tank will now be smacked by a several hundred pound chunk of cement. The town where this is located is an unincorporated town. Fairly common for small towns in the the American West. No zoning laws. No building inspectors and no need to get your projects approved before you start them.


View from the hotel. The arch is at the north entrance of the park.

[Parallax]

When we lived in Wellington the house had reticulated gas and gas central heating.

According to timeanddate.com the av July low is 44F.
You need a furnace there?

[MarkJerling]

The town where this is located is an unincorporated town. Fairly common for small towns in the the American West. No zoning laws. No building inspectors and no need to get your projects approved before you start them.

I've never heard of such a thing! Wow! I'd like me some of that!

[MarkJerling]

According to timeanddate.com the av July low is 44F.
You need a furnace there? :confused2:

It would get to freezing, but seldom. I don't think it was a question "need" but it sure was nice. Until you got the gas bill!
We get to sub zero here in the Wairarapa much more often but the wood fire does an OK job of heating the house. We have ducting that moves the heat from the Living Room to the Bedrooms and that seems to work OK. More low-tech and much cheaper to run, but not as toasty warm as the house in Wellington.

[Racer X 69]

In contrast I visited US about 10 years ago and wanted to order Amazon delivery to my hotel. Watching how slowly they were delivering on the shipping made me wonder why the workers had such a lack of enthusiasm for getting their job done during a recession.

I notice in UK Amazon seem to usually deliver days earlier than predicted at checkout when using the free shipping option.

I have had mixed results with shipping from Amazon, so much so that I avoid buying anything through it.

I have had a few orders fulfilled in 24 hours. Didn't know it was going to be that quick after I clicked the buy button,so it kind of freaked me out.

Then there was one order I clicked buy in the morning, around 6 am, and it was on my stoop when I walked out to the mailbox to grab the daily mail.

Really freaky.

But the large majority of my Amazon experiences have been negative. Delayed orders. Cancelled orders. The delivery drivers are young snot nosed punks that look like they fell face first into their daddy's tackle box, and then got drunk and went to the tattoo parlor. The drive up and down our private one lane gravel drive at 30, 40, 50 miles an hour. I have confronted them.

One afternoon coming home from work I encountered one, driving about 40 or so, a cloud of dust billowing behind him. I blocked the road to force him to stop, and when I pulled alongside to tell him to slow down, he sped away, tires spewing gravel and dust. I gave chase. When he reached the paved county road he was going 70 or 80 (a 35 mile an hour country lane). I caught up with him at his next stop, on another private one lane gravel lane, blocked his way when he came out and confronted him. He refused to engage in any manner of respectful discussion about his poor driving skills and total lack of regard for private property and the safety of the motorists and community. An Amazon contractor, the delivery van didn't have a front license plate, I tried to step behind and grab a picture of the rear plate and he tried to back over me. I dodged him and he backed into a tree.

I called the sheriff.

He called the sheriff.

We waited, he, after getting untangled from the tree, backed down the neighbors driveway out of sight, me, still blocking his path..

The sheriff came, I related my view of the recent events, he took my info and sent me on my way. He went to chat with the delivery driver, and I'm sure he had plenty to say to the punk.

A few days later there was a different contractor kid, driving int he same manner. This time I completely blocked the road. He was confused (read stoned), and failed to slow down quickly enough and ran into the bushed on the side of our lane. I walked up and he hadn't rolled the window up like the other jerk. I calmly began to express my position, and he interrupted me about running him off the road. I explained how I was going about 5 miles an hour when I came around the last bend in the road, and we were on one of the longest straight stretches. He had plenty of time to come to a safe stop, had he been going the posted MAXIMUM LIMIT of 15. He began to argue with me about how many stops he had to make. I told him that wasn't my concern.

He never really let me simple tell him that he was expected to drive safely, respectfully, and adhere to the wishes of this small country community of a few homes.

Jerk.

Amazon sucks.

And I doubt Jeff Bezos cares.

I don't care if they can deliver something to me on the same day I place the order.

[MarkJerling]

That reminds me. I'm waiting for an AlieExpress order. Been waiting quite a while actually. Almost long enough for me to forget I ordered a replacement charger for my laptop.

[Racer X 69]

We get to sub zero here in the Wairarapa much more often but the wood fire does an OK job of heating the house. We have ducting that moves the heat from the Living Room to the Bedrooms and that seems to work OK. More low-tech and much cheaper to run, but not as toasty warm as the house in Wellington.

When I designed my house, winter power outages were considered. The propane cooktop and the freestanding fireplace were solutions to the problem of heating the house, and using the cooktop to cook, as well as heat water for washing and bathing. It has served us well.

We use the cooktop everyday, and in the winter we (read I, Mrs. Racer 2.0 doesn't buy into it) will place the central heating on fan only, and run the fireplace, which has a remote with a thermostat mode. I turn it on, and set the remote to a certain temp, and then place that across the room from the fireplace, and it keeps the house heated fairly evenly in all rooms, upstairs and downstairs, moving the heated air from the main room through the air returns and out all the registers.

I have a spreadsheet with four of the refills on it. The first with date (I would guess 2010, 2 years after the house was finished) we paid $1.69 a gallon, for around $676 (I'm guessing 400 gallons as I didn't record it). In 2012 it was $2.08 and the total fill cost $671. In 2014 we paid $1.99 for around $650. Somehow I can't find the receipts for the period before our most recent fill in August 2019. But in 2019 we paid $1.28 for around $400 to fill it. I would guess we had at least one other fill, in 2016 or 2017, and the initial fill when we buried it out back.

The price of propane has been hovering around $1 to $3 a gallon as long as I can remember. As a fuel it is always fairly cheap, and readily available. I should have a car that runs on propane.

[Racer X 69]

That reminds me. I'm waiting for an AlieExpress order. Been waiting quite a while actually. Almost long enough for me to forget I ordered a replacement charger for my laptop.

Did you remember when the battery died and you could no longer use it?