The Derek

@sarahoftherings Wishing he made some other kid fatherless is not healthy

account locked for a week for having a healthy grieving process

@SaltyMommaC @washghost1 Yeah that pillar had a lot of lumber in it, but could have just been to make drywall hanging easier.

I haven't needed an architect (yet). My family (including me) were contractors through our lives, many still are. Torn out a few walls in my 1920 build, but those were clearly "false" walls. If something might be questionable to me, I have one of my brothers or sons come look at it. That "pillar" she tore out was the *cringe*. I was waiting for the ceiling to drop on her head! Never take a Sawzall to a wall if you don't know what is hiding behind the drywall/plaster.

Ma’am that is a load bearing wall

@Jordan_W_Taylor It’s interesting that Britain blames immigrants for its economic shrink but the US credits immigrants for its economic growth.

There's been a lot of discussion this week about comically low salaries in Britain, and much cope and sour grapes as Brits try to save face in front of the yanks. The UK is poorer than all fifty US states on paper, so it’s a valid discussion. Let's have it! Firstly it's true, so let's not pretend it isn't. By averages, medians or the great state of Mississippi, the Americans get paid more. I work in US multinationals in Ireland so I get to see first hand the difference in cost rates and it's real, there's no point stressing about it: Either get a work visa or don't. I'm British, so I've seen both sides of the divide and know that comparing ourselves to America is silly, because it's on a completely different planet. But Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, among many others, also do more with what they have than us, so what gives? Firstly, let's shoot down the obvious nonsense: British people aren't lacking in spirit or vigour, or animal instincts or innovation. It's not a nation of losers or a giant crab bucket of bitter malcontents… no more than anywhere else, anyway. There's probably an extra frisson of class-based snobbishness, but people are people everywhere and Brits are more of the same, so the country's underperformance isn't some kind of divine judgement on our character. Secondly let's stop thinking about Britain as a monolith, because in reality it's two economies, not one. This island has other islands inside it, which outperform much of the world: London, Cambridge, Oxford and half a dozen others casually take in globally-leading research, finance, engineering and practically all of Formula 1. Then there's oil, jet engines, pharmaceuticals, fusion and AI. There's stuff going on in the UK that flies vanguard for the entire world. But then there's the other Britain, which I was born into. This is the vast hinterland that spreads outside the islands of wealth and sees echoes of itself in the dingy flats and drawn faces of Britain's very successful, and deeply depressing, soap operas. Thirdly, it's not all bad and it's not all about the money. Manchester is a lot poorer than similarly-sized Dublin or Minneapolis but it's also a lot more vibrant and fun. There are a hundred reasons a Brit might want to stay put instead of shipping out to Boston: Culture, community, football or just not wanting your kids to get weird accents. All good reasons, but we're still not doing as well as we should be. What gives? We need to face reality, fellow Brits. We're not the richest kids on the block or anywhere close to it: Our woodwork is decaying, our lawn is ragged, our car is old and we're keeping up appearances with fresh coats of paint. Nevermind comparing ourselves to the USA, because Poland will probably overtake us soon. There's no point coping about it online, pretending that 'Our NHS' makes up for it or lambasting immigrants, because that won't help either. What will? Britain's already good at flashy stuff. It grows more unicorns than anywhere else in Europe, it has cutting edge science and technology, a gigantic financial centre and is getting more proficient at linking University R&D into the commercial sphere. It's got the stable rule of law and all the tricky bits sorted, but struggles with the basic stuff… Britain doesn't build. Decades of not building infrastructure or housing doesn't kill you immediately, but over the decades it paralyses a country, and that's what we're seeing. A discretionary over-centralised planning system whose prime commandment is “Thou Shalt Not!” paralyses private building just as much as endless legal challenges hamstring new national infrastructure. So the moral of this story? We've got the hard bits right, but the basics wrong. That's not the worst position to be in, because it means it's fixable. On the one hand, the only thing standing in our way is ourselves. But on the other hand, we've only got ourselves to blame.

@SaltyMommaC @washghost1 In the second half I don’t see any diagonal bracing so that would make me think non load bearing. But I’d always hire a contractor or architect to be sure.

@washghost1 OMG! Step 1: Remove all the drywall, shiplap, plaster, whatever Step 2: Look at the studs before you remove a single one. PS: Know what load bearing looks like. I sat here squinting at this waiting for the ceiling to fall.

@jamesonhaslam Garmin Fenix

if you’ve never owned a watch and want to buy an expensive watch (only one) What do you get?

@AniseNot Go with the Apple Watch that has cellular

Immediately ordered a kid GPS/talk/text watch for him 😬

@Momsplaining101 @Architectolder It will being in more light. One tip - not every window needs to be operable; for those you might just want fixed windows.

Am I crazy for wanting to add windows on either side of my stove range? Something kinda like this (this is not my style although it’s close, just a visual of what I’m thinking). @Architectolder what say you?

@SaltyMommaC @KittyCowSC It’s a basic math equation, but the most significant variable is hard to know: what year you’ll die. If that’s 70, then take the money early. If it’s 80+ then take the money later

Wrestling with this myself. Depending on the job you still have (I plan to keep mine until my brain is less reliable!), but this is a 50% "tax" if you are under 67 and earning over about $25k. Think long and hard (considering your own situation) before you blow your potential future income (SS at FRA). While risk of no SS left exists, it is officially a crap shoot decision. But I am right in the weeds with you! --> For 2026, the Social Security earnings limit for those under full retirement age (FRA) is $24,480, with $1 in benefits withheld for every $2 earned above this limit. In the year you reach FRA, the limit rises to $65,160 before your birthday month, with $1 withheld for every $3 over. No limit applies upon reaching FRA.

Had a good chat with my folks about this and now I'm curious what y'all think: When's the best time to start Social Security? Take it early and invest the money? Or hold out for the bigger monthly check at full retirement age or even 70? I've got some time left and want to get this right. What's your take or experience? #SocialSecurity #RetirementPlanning

@TKopelman Years ago, my grandfather bought his house in San Marino, CA (avg home $2.67MM) for all cash; said it was the worst financial move he ever did, should have taken a mortgage and invested it instead. But he grew up in the recession.

It’s funny seeing so many people have such strong takes here Sure… investing it in the long term is probably more optimally But…every decision isn’t about what’s most optimal If it was, you’d: - buy the smallest house possible in the worst area - drive the oldest car - work 100% of the time - move and live in the area with the lowest taxes He made a decision that helped financially It improved his situation… even if it’s not the most most likely long term

The median American home is 2.3 times the size of the median British home. (How much furniture does that represent?). The median American household owns two cars. That’s one in the UK. The median American spends less time commuting (that one actually surprises me a bit). Americans eat out of the house 2.25 times more often than Brits. The idea the average British person is more prosperous than the average American is just crazy. The average British person seems to have more money in their savings account simply because it’s too expensive to do anything with it. Literally every young British person I personally know is trying to leave the country because of the lack of economic opportunity.

@AniseNot The one that shits the least all over your lawn

I want to pull up the sad tree in my front yard, put in a flagstone path to the sidewalk with an arch & some hoa compliant decorative low fencing with some pink & yellow muhly grass, probably some ground orchids. Then I want to plant an identical flowering tree on either side of the yard Which tree should I plant? 1. Mimosa tree 2. Jacaranda 3. Tabebuia tree 4. Hong Kong orchid

@i2cjak One of my CMs uses their pick & place machine for reballing BGAs, they said it works well.

There are extremely based rework engineers out there. If a BGA gets its balls removed (kek) it's possible to clean the chip, buy a jar of balls (kek) and a stencil and REBALL the BGA one by one. Just reheat a tiny bit after they've been placed on the chip to reflow.

BREAKING: Taiwan’s stock market cap soars to $4.14 trillion, officially surpassing the UK.

@allie__voss How sad. It’s like a Smartphone induced dead bedroom, but these folks don’t even have anyone to share the bed with.

@Derek2137 We have a million artificial forms. Women can get attention from dating apps and men can get gratification from their incognito browser

Men and women used to marry because they needed each other for survival Then because they wanted each other for love, lust, etc Now they don’t need each other and many see no reason to want each other, either, so there’s not much gravity left to pull them together

@i2cjak Use a dedicated IC like TI LP5860, it makes it easier. I’ve used them in a few medical and robotics products.

need to drive a bunch of seven segment displays? You can literally TIME multiplex them at a fast enough frame rate and use way fewer pins. You just turn them on in sequence! That's it! It's just 7+n pins instead of 7*n.

@visegrad24 What a poorly tailored suit!

Albanian PM Edi Rama is meeting with Meloni in Rome. He gave her another one-knee greeting

@MrsCMFrancis Trad wife maxxing

Just casually walking around the grocery store with my dish towel still flung over my shoulder

@Catholic_George Basically the entire American wardrobe 😀

@cljack Just ask first gen immigrants to the US. They’re always like “I love US, you can be anything here.” Heck, the richest man in the world is an American immigrant from S. Africa.