Erich Zechar @Erich@a2mi.social

Would much rather nap but about to head out for potluck #4 this week 😫

My potluck maximum comfort level is 2 per week, it turns out.

This is an unfortunate discovery to make as I still have two more to do this week :(

10 year old: Dad why are you so lame?

Me: Well you see, "cool dads" seem cool because they pretend to be younger than they actually are and pretend to be their kids' friends.

10: So cool dads are actually lame and lame dads are actually cool huh?

Me: yeah actually

10: sounds like something a lame dad would say

Me comparing notes with neighbors: yeah it's nice having skylights but they don't last forever, I bet ours need replaced soon.

Me at home: dammit is that skylight seriously dripping right now?!?!

We are having a neighborhood potluck tonight, inexplicably, in the rain. I don't know why but my neighbor refuses to reschedule.

I'd rather be drinking a manhattan with you guys if I'm going out in the rain :(

Reminder: Bike-In is tomorrow night at 7pm, rolling out from the Farmer's Market. I plan on being there

My friends who are trying to buy a home are facing a very competitive market, and in part I think it's people trying to lock in a mortgage in the face of the quickly rising tide in interest rates.

A few months ago you would have gotten a 3% rate, and a $400k loan would cost ~$1700 a month. Today you're lucky to find a 6% rate, and that same loan costs $2400 a month.

And then of course there's the cash buyers who want to use their money before inflation devalues it.

Bike-In returns to Ann Arbor this Friday at 7pm, rolling from the Farmer's Market

If you haven't gone before, it's a slow 7-10 mile roll through the city streets with 50-200 others on bikes. Not a race, it's at a party pace, with music. It rolls at 7pm from the Farmer's Market and ends at Blom Meadworks.

This month's theme is "In Bloom" and you can catch it, same time, same place the last Friday of every month.

Bring your lights and your bell! I'll be there

Guess I will *not* be doing my traditional "take off the snow tires" Easter routine today

Gee I wonder what the line is like at Washtenaw dairy...

does anyone have an oscillating tool to lend for an afternoon? Gotta cut some drywall.

The EPA designated the shed a superfund site, cleaned it up, and didn't tell the neighbors anything.

This kid assembled a bunch of radioactive materials and got arguably close to assembling a rudimentary breeder reactor.

All of this happened in a shed behind his mom's house, within a half mile of the house my wife lived in at the time. Wild.

It did not end well for him. He died young after struggling with mental illness and substance abuse.

https://www.geotraces.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/HarpersMagazine-1998-11-0059750-1.pdf

Today's internet rabbit hole:

Russian soldiers mishandling radioactive materials in Ukraine -> Radioactive accidents wiki -> record scratch 👀

I had a great day off yesterday that involved test riding an eBike, toodling around downtown's protected bike lanes, and relaxing.

It reminded me I need a week off, not just a day.

Took today off as I was feeling burned out at work. Think I'll go check out some eBikes, take the dog for a walk, and laze around

Ann Arbor just found out what their marijuana tax portion will be for 2021.

$1.4 million. That's a million more than last year.

One of my favorite Facebook Marketplace searches is airbrushed vans.

Sometimes the airbrushing is pretty impressive. Sometimes it's really not, as in this case!

https://www.facebook.com/commerce/products/5205340272817984/

does anyone have any 12-2 wire lying around that could sell me a few feet? Most stores sell it by the 125 feet.

I just cut our vehicle fuel costs by 25% with one weird trick (recharging on DTE's time of day rate)

Thanks @ablyler for the hot tip - the meter was swapped today.