nuxx.net
Making, baking, and (un-)breaking things in Southeast Michigan.

House of Rothschild

January 8, 2008

The outside of Advance America on Opdyke in Auburn Hills, MI.Advance America on Opdyke in Auburn Hills, MI

Today I had to go pick up a MoneyGram sent by a friend overseas. Near work I pretty much had three choices: Walmart, Advance America, or any number of gas stations and tobacco shops. Not wanting to walk out of a gas station or tobacco shop with a couple hundred dollars in my pocket, and not wanting to give Walmart any business (I presume they get a slight fee for MoneyGram transactions) I opted to go to the local loan shark, Advance America.

To start, if you don’t know about these places, take a look at Advance America’s Michigan Fee Schedule (PDF) for people who are taking out loans. It ranges from 332.19% APR on a $600 loan to 402.80% APR on a $100 loan. These places are just insane! Or, should I say that using such places is insane. Those fees are absolutely abusive. I’m really surprised it isn’t illegal. Thankfully I have no need to, and wasn’t getting, a loan from there.

Also, I really think (particularly being near Pontiac) that they regularly only see people getting loans, because the woman working behind the counter had no idea how to receive a MoneyGram. While coughing with what she said was a case of “walking pneumonia” she made a total of three calls asking people at other offices how to handle the transaction.

After about 20 minutes she had things sorted out, and I was to receive the money. I’m not sure if this is a special case for Advance America, but I was issued one money order for $100, and a second for the remaining balance. The first money order was then cashed in the office, while I had to take the other with me. As I was going to the bank to deposit everything immediately anyway this wasn’t much of a problem, but it still struck me as a bit odd.

Maybe I should have gone to Walmart instead, but at least now things are sorted out and the monies have been deposited into my account. Yay!

financesmoved from livejournal

Trails

January 6, 2008

That right there shows why I couldn’t bike any trails in Rochester today. The Clinton River trail there was covered in around 3″ of slush and snow, making pedaling nearly impossible. So, I ended up riding from the parking lot just off of Letica Drive up to Parkdale, back down, around the eastern side of downtown Rochester for a while, up Letica Drive to Parkdale, down Parkdale to a little ways before Dequinder, then back.

It was foggy / misty from the warm air and cold, damp snow, but this was a bit pleasant. I do think that I may need fenders for my bike, though… There’s a good bit of wetness on the back of my jacket, and I had to periodically stop and clean off my glasses.

While it wasn’t very far, the hills in that area, the bits of snow that were still on the pavement, and the giant (1′ high, 3′ wide) banks of snow at each crosswalk made going a bit slow. I went a total of 5.76 miles, averaged 8.5 MPH, with a recorded maximum of 25.4 MPH (down a hill along Parkdale).

I imagine that once there isn’t snow on the ground and I have smoother tires, those numbers will change considerably. Also, I’ll be able to easily ride on dirt trails and whatnot too, once they aren’t coated with ice.

After returning home Danielle and I went for a ride around the neighborhood then down to a yet-to-be-completed (after ~3 years) neighborhood just down 22 Mile, closer to Hayes. Being on flat ground this was considerably more leisurely, covering 2.6 miles and averaging 7.3 MPH. Basically, we were riding around and just talking and stuff.

Also, here is a photo of cotton balls spilled in the parking lot of Meijer.

cyclingmappingmoved from livejournal

Trash

January 6, 2008

While riding bikes around my neighborhood, Danielle and I noticed a VCR/DVD player combination sitting at the side of the road. After getting back to my house we headed over there to pick it up.

In a pile was the following, from bottom up: Vizio 32″ LCD HDTV box, Samsung VCR/DVD player box listed as “HDTV Compatible”, a brand new looking Panasonic VCR/DVD player combo.

I checked in the Samsung box for the remote for the Panasonic device, but it (unfortunately) wasn’t there. I imagine the sort of folks who would just throw something like this out probably tossed the remote in a normal trash bag, amongst some rotted chicken or whatnot.

cyclingfound thingsmoved from livejournal

Clogged Bathroom Drain Pipe

January 3, 2008

I was going to post a photo with this, but being unable to pick the best one (and being worried about squicking a few people) I figured I’d just link to them all:

HERE (photo gallery retired)

Before and after spelunking for tonsillolith (and not finding any) I washed my hands and was reminded of how slowly the drain in my bathroom is draining. Finding it a bit clogged didn’t surprise me (it was slow and all), but the way in which it was clogged did.

For some reason, the pipe was at least 1/3 full of mold for its entire length, with the end near the the trap looking like grey, slimy female genitalia. Even more interesting to me is how the mold has strata, with what appears to be an original layer of thin black mildew, then a rich grey/white layer, and then a smooth, tough top beige layer.

Once removed from the pipe, the resulting pile of mold felt like soft unagi, and reminds me of canned fish.

I guess that’s what a bit over seven years of hand washings, teeth brushings, sink cleanings, and whatever else do to a pipe. I didn’t see any buildup in the pipe in the wall, although I imagine this is because the part before the wall was a slight uphill section before the wall, so there was likely standing water in the trap and this section of pipe for a while, allowing it to deposit all sorts of stuff over time.

Also, it did not have a smell. I intentionally, and repeatedly, smelled the mold. I couldn’t detect anything.

Anyway, to see the rest of the photos, they are here: Mold Clogging Bathroom Drain Pipe (photo gallery retired)

around the housemoved from livejournal

Tonsillolith

January 3, 2008

I have just learned about a medical condition which affects me: Tonsillolith. Well, not so much as a condition, but something which can affect you.

And here I was thinking this was just “a bit of food that got stuck in the back of my throat”.

Interesting.

No, I don’t normally have bad breath, but every once in a while I’ll have a feeling like there is something caught in my throat, and removing a bit of what I thought was just food sorts it out.

Huh. Wow.

Also known as: Tonsil Stones

See Also:

http://www.actaitalica.it/issues/2004/5-04/mesolella2.pdf
http://ask.metafilter.com/39213/Small-stinky-whitish-balls-coming-out-of-my-throat

healthmoved from livejournal

Bike Stuff and Shipping

January 3, 2008

After talking to some friends, reading a bunch online, and asking this quite useful AskMeFi question, I ended up ordering the following bike stuff(s):

· Two Forté Fast City ST/K MTB Tires for times when I’ll only be riding on smooth pavement.
· One spare tube for my current tires, and a total of three tubes for the new tires. Unfortunately the three for the new tires were accidentally ordered with Presta valves. Whoops.
· Crank Brothers multi-17 Tool and Speed Lever
· Tube Patching Kit
· Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance
· Blackburn Shorty Mountain Bike Pump
· Mirrycle Incredibell Original Bicycle Bell (Black)
· Cateye CC-RD300W Strada Wireless Bicycle Computer
· SKS Airworx Floor Pump

I still need some gloves and a bag and lights. After all this stuff is here, then I can see what size bag I actually need, maybe fit a light to the bag, and possibly get some Scotchlite tape to make the bike a bit more visible as it gets near dusk.

I’ll probably also grab a second bottle and cage, just in case. After all, I really like water.

The forecast for this weekend is in the 40s – 50s, so hopefully I’ll be able to go ride around a bit.

Oh, and the problem with the order? The Amazon stuff is coming via USPS and DHL. The Performance Bike stuff is coming via UPS (I think). Some other stuff is coming via FedEx and FedEx ground. It’s a bit much to track, especially with the four Amazon items being delivered via three shipments. Guh.

acquired thingscyclingmoved from livejournal

Best of Bootie 2007: Fixed

January 2, 2008

It seems that I sort of screwed up the zip file for the Best of Bootie 2007 comp mentioned here. Basically, the very last file was missing about two minutes of audio. I think that bootieusa.com was starting to have problems as I downloaded it.

Anyway, the zip file is fixed. If you’ve already downloaded it, grab bob2007_2-10.mp3 and use it to replace Disc 2, Track 10 (the very last track), listed as 2:09 in length, and everything will be better.

Or, you’re welcome to just grab the whole package again.

found thingsmoved from livejournalmusic

Best of Bootie 2007

January 2, 2008

So, those Bootie comps that I rather like? Well, the Best of Bootie 2007 one is out too.

For your (and my) convenience, I have put all the normal and bonus tracks together, applied the artwork to them all, cleaned up the artist/album/track number/whatever stuff on the bonus bits, made the bonus stuff disc 2, and uploaded it all.

Want this version with the more useful metadata? Grab it here: Best_of_Bootie_2007_iTunes_Bonus.zip

It’s all ready to drop into iTunes and sync over to an iPod or whatnot.

UPDATE: Sorry, I had to pull this as it was consuming too much bandwidth.

computersmoved from livejournalmusic

Wrong Shipping

December 31, 2007

Wrongly shipped item...Not a handlebar mount.

Arraugh. Right after getting my bike I hit Buy-It-Now on this eBay auction; a bike handlebar mount for my Garmin eTrex Legend GPS.

I figured it wouldn’t take very long to get the package and it didn’t, but it contains the wrong thing: a carrying case instead of a handlebar mount.

I was hoping to use this soon, too. Bah. Hopefully it won’t take too long to sort out.

Time for NYE celebrating. :D

acquired thingscyclingmoved from livejournal