Something From Nothing Log

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
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Sclass
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Sclass »

heyhey wrote:I guess they would have cancelled those tickets. s!
Oops, I didn't know one could do this. I'm the pigeon who would buy that ticket in a parking lot and get turned away at the gate. :?

Why would anybody in their right mind buy a ticket from a scalper in the lot?

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

The Ducks season ticket ambassador called me back yesterday.

Duck: I called Mr. XXXX and he said he didn't want the tickets.
Ego: He what?
Duck: He said he doesn't need them.
Ego: But.... but... that can't be! I looked online. They cost $1100 each.
Duck: Oh, no, you don't understand. He prints his tickets online so he doesn't need the originals.
Ego: Ahhhhhh. I didn't know that was possible. I thought you actually need a physical ticket to get into a game.
Duck: Ah, well, ah, no, you can just, ah, print them....
Ego: So what should I do with these?
Duck: You can just throw them away.

I'll be rooting for the ducks this season. If they have a good season I'll sell the complete unused set along with the bag and lapel pins as souvenirs. Otherwise they'll go in the trash.
Sclass wrote: The other trend that jumps out is how thoughtlessly people throw away their wealth. It takes a lot of human energy to generate the means to procure all this stuff. Then people toss it. The Henkels knives are over the top though. But clearly people don't value their human capital or its flows.
Mrs. Ego often laughs at me because I have this.... affliction. My mind has this strange quirk where I automatically calculate the resale price I could get for things I own. That is immediately followed by a second calculation. I figure out how much in dollars I value the item myself. When (resale price) > ((my value) + (pain in the ass to sell it cost) + (transaction costs and taxes)) I sell without hesitation. At that point I am incapable of keeping the thing.

I can physically feel the waste. It took me a long time to realize that others don't feel waste the way I do.

If I were to put myself in the head of the young woman who I believe threw out the Henkels, the only thing I can figure is that she no longer had the rest of the knives that came with the set and didn't want to keep an incomplete set. Who knows.

The seniors at the last place we managed very rarely threw out anything of value other than newspapers. This place is full of young people. My hope is that the phenomenon is not generational (millennials being more wasteful than silents) but simply a function of age. As you get older you get wiser with money.

Regardless, for now I will ride their unwise wave of waste.

bryan
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by bryan »

Sclass wrote: Oops, I didn't know one could do this. I'm the pigeon who would buy that ticket in a parking lot and get turned away at the gate. :?

Why would anybody in their right mind buy a ticket from a scalper in the lot?
Supply and demand, of course.

I think ticketmaster allows transferring tickets (any printed tickets would become invalid), but unfortunately they halt exchanging a few minutes before kickoff.

I suspect something like 99% of re-sold tickets are valid? Maybe avoid printed tickets and only prefer the legit looking ones (doesn't stop an evil Ego with legit looking tickets). Do your best to assess whether you can trust the person you are buying from, I guess. Tough luck if you get scammed.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

When I was involved in the bike crash, I somehow became separated from the tire/tube/tool pouch I was carrying in my back pocket. A few weeks ago I found a replacement at the swap meet for 25 cents. Anyone recognize it?

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Last week I learned that the police had picked it up when they responded to the call. They had me go down to the station to retrieve it. Evidence bag was cut open. The lady read out the contents and counted $8.75 for the cameras to see. Sign here. You are now free to go. I felt like I was in a bad prison movie.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

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I just found a granite topped rolling kitchen cart next to the trash. Listed it on craigslist for $60. With it was an Ikea Kallax 4X4. I need more storage in the cave for my inventory so I'll be keeping that one. ETA: Just went back out and found this Lasko tower fan air filter. I'll probably get about $25 or $30 for it. It needs to be cleaned.

Image Image Image

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Sclass
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

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Ego wrote:When I was involved in the bike crash, I somehow became separated from the tire/tube/tool pouch I was carrying in my back pocket. A few weeks ago I found a replacement at the swap meet for 25 cents. Anyone recognize it?
You mean the TI calculator case? The HP ones are worth a lot more than $0.25. C

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

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Found a Dell with a fried hard drive in the trash. Listed on CL for $30.
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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

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Ego wrote:I just found a granite topped rolling kitchen cart next to the trash. Listed it on craigslist for $60.

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Sold the kitchen cart for $55 and two of the knives for $63.

On Friday I found a complete set of Henckels knives at the swap meet for $15. I'm glad you guys told me what they are worth because I probably would have looked right past them. The set is perfect except for one of the little steak knives, which is not the correct one for the set. Mrs. Ego says we are keeping them until we leave.

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I was searching around for a solution to a problem I have mounting a kickstand on a bike and found a guy who modeled and 3D printed a stainless steel solution using Shapeways. http://www.shapeways.com/

Here is his kickstand solution http://www.shapeways.com/product/5WWS5E ... ecr-part-1

I found a reddit post about the company and realized it might be a very good automated income solution for those who have the design skills and knowledge of unusual problems.

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/com ... g_designs/

Every so often we need unique replacement parts for our 110 year old elevator. I thought this might be a fun project where I get to learn at someone else's expense.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Columbus Day is hopping!
Ego wrote:Got another 90s Specialized Stumpjumper this morning for $20 and two Gregory backpacks for $30 each.
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Sold one of the Gregory pack for $150.
Ego wrote:Found a Dell with a fried hard drive in the trash. Listed on CL for $30.
Image
.... and the computer for $30.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Technological Disobedience
https://youtu.be/v-XS4aueDUg


Tenant left an Ikea bed frame. I listed it for $55

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Ego wrote: Tenant left an Ikea bed frame. I listed it for $55
Painters are coming tomorrow so I lowered the price for the bed to $25 and sold it.

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I've had a saved search on Ebay for Surly Trolls and finally after nearly a year of waiting someone listed a good one at auction. The bike store owner who listed it started the bidding very low, assuming a bidding frenzy would happen. The bike has never been ridden. It has been on the rack in his store since 2012. I was very surprised no bidding frenzy materialized. The only reason I can figure is that he listed it at the beginning of the month and people didn't have money. I don't know.

Long story short, I used some of my Something From Nothing Funds to buy it. $635 plus $100 shipping, no tax. The price for a new 2016 troll is $1649 plus tax. I've got a whole string of rationalizations for this purchase, (ie. I am going to sell my Bike Friday for 2.5 times the price) if you want to hear them.

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The bike arrived today, I put it together and took it on a long test ride. So far, so good.

Big adventures on the horizon.

saving-10-years
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by saving-10-years »

Congratulations. Every ride on this bike will be REALLY something from nothing.

Brilliant stories and love the recycling of unexpected finds from tenants. Will there be even more booty after Christmas when they 'retire' things that have been upgraded by Santa?

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

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@saving-10-years, thanks! Judging from the number of amazon boxes in the trash I see no signs that they'll be letting up over the holidays. In the next few weeks I've got a few more turnovers so I expect more goodies.

enigmaT120
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by enigmaT120 »

Nice deal! I do wish Surly (and Salsa) didn't have their dislike for kick stands. I saw an ebay ad for a kit to add a Pletcher 2 leg stand like I have on my Fargo to a Long Haul Trucker but more elegantly and I'm going to adapt the idea for my bike.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

enigmaT120 wrote:Nice deal! I do wish Surly (and Salsa) didn't have their dislike for kick stands. I saw an ebay ad for a kit to add a Pletcher 2 leg stand like I have on my Fargo to a Long Haul Trucker but more elegantly and I'm going to adapt the idea for my bike.
Thanks for this! I've already installed the Pletscher 2s on both of our bikes. I am going to have to create the plates to more evenly distribute the pressure over the entire surface. He does a good job of showing it on his site...
http://longhaultruckerbuild.com/kickstand-install/

enigmaT120
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by enigmaT120 »

I have the materials, and bought a hand-held band saw (sigh, yes I could do it with a hack saw) to shape the plastic that I'm going to use for the sandwich filler. The difficult part is that my rear derailer cable runs through that area. I already have cut a notch out of my top plate that I have holding the stand on now, but it shifts sometimes from use and the cable rubs against it. That can't be good.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Jeez... what a strange design. I found a set of hard rubber furniture wheels today in the junk pile at the swap meet. I am going to try to use those to cushion the bottom of the connection point (the fragile point). Fortunately they did not run a cable through on ours.

I really like the two legged kickstand since it allows me to get the rear wheel off the ground to work on the bike.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Dehydrator left near the trash area....

Image

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

An guy in his early 70s came today to buy a backpack I had listed on craigslist. The pack has stow-away straps allowing it to become a carry-on bag. He was preparing to spend several weeks in Istanbul and said he tries to go ultra-minimalist. We had a lot to talk about. After paying for the pack he mentioned offhandedly that he had converted a Ford Transit Connect into a basic camper. I asked him if I could see it and he was happy to give me a tour.

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I like his design for the flip-up table/stove. He said it is important to be able to sit up fully on the bed so be careful not to make the storage too tall. The bed blocks the sliding door. He thought it may have made sense to put the bed on the other side so he could open the sliding door on the curb side rather than the street side. Otherwise he was happy with the design.

He had a few free-camping tips. Rather than covering his front windows, he created a roll-down piece of thick cloth that falls behind the drivers and passengers seats. He said it was easier to remain incognito if he did not cover the windows.

After talking about his camper we got to talking about his life. He keeps a small inexpensive storage unit in the desert and when he comes back to town he rents a room with a shared bath at a small hotel for $800 per month. He spends a lot of time in Baja, a place he really loves. There he can camp on the beach for free in one of the many groups of campers that congregate in the winter.

RealPerson
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by RealPerson »

Ego wrote:
..There he can camp on the beach for free in one of the many groups of campers that congregate in the winter.
I like Baja but don't know about the camper groups. Where do they go, do they have facilities and showers, and how is the safety of sleeping in a camper in Mexico? When I read your book (!), I was under the impression that you always stayed in patrolled hotel parking lots etc. I have had some security-related challenges in Latin America, so I take that issue seriously.

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