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I was today years old when I found out that that red-pink residue buildup in the the bathtub/shower/sink is actually a bacteria called Serratia marcescens. And It causes all kinds of nasty-ness!

Needless to say I will be scrubbing the hell of these places daily from now on. Not that I wasn't cleaning them but they were on a weekly cycle waiting until Saturday before they got deep cleaned.

tanker27 wrote:

I was today years old when I found out that that red-pink residue buildup in the the bathtub/shower/sink is actually a bacteria called Serratia marcescens. And It causes all kinds of nasty-ness!

Needless to say I will be scrubbing the hell of these places daily from now on. Not that I wasn't cleaning them but they were on a weekly cycle waiting until Saturday before they got deep cleaned.

Huh. Disturbing. Time to hit the shower with a spray bottle of bleach water, I guess.

Wikipedia calls it a facultative anaerobe meaning it can create energy from oxygen if it's present, but also switch over to anaerobic fermentation if it's not. Sneaky little bugger.

Redocbew wrote:

Wikipedia calls it a facultative anaerobe meaning it can create energy from oxygen if it's present, but also switch over to anaerobic fermentation if it's not. Sneaky little bugger.

Yup, yeast behaves similarly. In presence of oxygen it will respire and reproduce; in the absence of oxygen it will switch to fermentation. This is why properly handled beer and wine don't quickly turn into vinegar - the yeast consumes or drives off (via CO2 production) all of the oxygen, making it impossible for acetobacter (a bacterium which produces acetic acid from ethanol in the presence of oxygen) to gain a foothold. This also explains why spilled, stale beer smells sour - since it is exposed to oxygen, acetobacter takes over.

I also have a mild-to-moderate problem with that same pink bacteria. It seems to like the showerhead quite a bit, which isn't good, because a bit of reading says that it can opportunistically infect nearly anywhere in humans, from the eyes, random cuts, to as far as meningitis. Spraying it directly onto my face/head/body probably isn't the best. I also recently dealt with some mold issues in the bathroom as well, and found that bombing-out the place with a standard spray can of Lysol is quite effective.

The problem with all of these is that if you miss a small area somewhere (which of course you will), they'll eventually recolonize. Guess I'll just make the Lysol a regular thing, and maybe remove the showerhead and soak it with bleach.

Oh crap.............I haven't even bothered to look at the shower head ............yet

I bet it's lurking there to! Time for a bleach bath and soak for them!

tanker27 wrote:

Oh crap.............I haven't even bothered to look at the shower head ............yet

I bet it's lurking there to! Time for a bleach bath and soak for them!

It might be better if you guys just add a bleach additive directly to the houses water supply. Better safe than sorry.

Oh the joys of inconsistent naming conventions. Perhaps not as toxic sneaky bacteria, but at the moment I'd say it's pretty close.

I've become so fed up with scammers, I've decided to go about it in a different way. I'm going on the offensive. I've started calling them back incessantly and getting them angry. It's fun. And then... I made a public post on facebook... and then, I created a craigslist ad!

So... if you're up for a little fun, feel free to do the same.

"Hey EVERYBODY!
Are YOU tired of scammers? I know I am! So let's play a game!

Every time we get a new scam call, we should publicly post their call-back number!

Let's start with this one!
1-601-490-7088

They claim to be the Social Security Administration!

Go ahead! Have some fun! I've been doing it all morning and have REALLY started getting under their skin!

And yes, this post is public! So let's share it everywhere!"

I get your thinking but it doesn't work to well. When you answer or call back they'll sell your number to other scammers and you'll just end up in every new list available. They also use weird tactics like conferencing prank callers together so they yell at each other.

Their are a few professional scam baiters though. I watch kitboga on twitch. The longest time he's kept one set of scammers on the phone trying to get money from him is over 25 hours non consecutive. At any rate he reports the accounts of banks and tools they use and it doesn't do anything. You're pretty much stuck waiting until someone gets around to arresting them which does happen and they often get years in jail.

Anyway the most productive thing to do is make sure potentially vulnerable people like elders understand these things happen.

Whenever they get through at work, I like to give them a little bit of hope for reaching their target person, and then put them on hold indefinitely. No cursing or messing around, just waste their time like they waste mine.

On my personal phone I do alot of number blocking. If it’s a spoofed number (matching areacode and prefix) I just let it go. Not much you can do with those.

That publicly posting phone numbers thing does NOT work at all, because more often than not those are caller ID spoofs. You're posting phone numbers of (sometimes) real people, and almost certainly doing nothing to lead anybody to an actual scammer.

derFunkenstein wrote:

That publicly posting phone numbers thing does NOT work at all, because more often than not those are caller ID spoofs. You're posting phone numbers of (sometimes) real people, and almost certainly doing nothing to lead anybody to an actual scammer.

^ This. At least some of them are getting angry at you because you're actually calling some random person who has been victimized by having their phone number spoofed by a spammer.

I have, thus far, been very diligent about making sure I am getting the same people that call me. I would not post the number if I didn't perform my due diligence, first. But, thank you for your concern. I agree some of these scammers can be quite sophisticated in their approach. I can sniff them out almost instantly, as well, so I do play into their game for as long as they let me, just so I know I'm wasting enough of their time, and potentially saving someone else from the scam.

I'd like to call my venture today, a success. The number is now, no longer in service. I can only hope it was in some small part, my doing!

krazyredboy wrote:

I'd like to call my venture today, a success. The number is now, no longer in service. I can only hope it was in some small part, my doing!

Probably not, they change numbers frequently. Often times they use burner phones with time cards for the initial calls, then switch to ip phones later.

A must-post given the holiday:

https://youtu.be/lf3mgmEdfwg

Captain Ned wrote:

A must-post given the holiday:

The rest of the episode is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DgQvgRd-AU

Our not-quite-6mo daughter has reached the phase where she hangs out her tongue for long spells which, combined with the usual infant congestion, results in a lot of panting.

Just another exciting way that infants and toddlers are a lot like housepets.

https://youtu.be/V4swbeD4Fhg
https://youtu.be/RQChHXp-8ug

Entertaining, no?

It's been discussed before but I have to voice it again. I am sick and tired of all the bloatware on so called "Smart TVs". Just give me a damn TV without all that software junk. If I want apps I'll add a Roku/firestick/some other device.

For the most part I agree. They tend to get abandoned and the apps eventually stop working. Such is also the case with the Sony Blu-Ray player my daughter got for Christmas last year. It lost access to both Hulu and Netflix in August, which is part of why she wanted it. At least discs still work.

OTOH, I've had a 4K Roku TV from TCL for two years now and it's getting constant updates still, and the apps work just as well as a Roku Premier 4K box. Roku software doesn't seem to be going anywhere, so that's nice. I just wish Visio, Samsung, etc. would adopt it, too.

Fortunately, I haven't run into that yet. Last TV we bought was ~2012, before a lot of the "Smarts" kicked off. And we use video game consoles for apps, blu-ray, and games, so there isn't much need for "baked in" functionality.

I am a little surprised that they keep on with this, though. You'd think that adding in functionality to the base design probably increases the cost without really driving sales. Building a Roku-type add-on module (with a nice markup) is probably cheaper, AND they get to sell a high-margin accessory.

tanker27 wrote:

It's been discussed before but I have to voice it again. I am sick and tired of all the bloatware on so called "Smart TVs". Just give me a damn TV without all that software junk. If I want apps I'll add a Roku/firestick/some other device.

Or all smart TV's should just adopt Linux as a standard OS.

TCL seems to be the only exception to my gripe. I've been eyeing their 6 series for some time now, and while prices have fallen, it still doesnt justify replacing my last gen Samsung Plasma. Which is trucking along just fine. My gripe is on Sony and Samsung current offerings.

Igor_Kavinski wrote:

Or all smart TV's should just adopt Linux as a standard OS.

No. Don't need it.

superjawes wrote:

I am a little surprised that they keep on with this, though. You'd think that adding in functionality to the base design probably increases the cost without really driving sales. Building a Roku-type add-on module (with a nice markup) is probably cheaper, AND they get to sell a high-margin accessory.

Average Joe doesn't know what Roku is. But they know youtube, netflix etc. So if the TV doesn't have apps for those, they will likely not buy that.

Igor_Kavinski wrote:

superjawes wrote:

I am a little surprised that they keep on with this, though. You'd think that adding in functionality to the base design probably increases the cost without really driving sales. Building a Roku-type add-on module (with a nice markup) is probably cheaper, AND they get to sell a high-margin accessory.

Average Joe doesn't know what Roku is. But they know youtube, netflix etc. So if the TV doesn't have apps for those, they will likely not buy that.

"Hey! You're buying a new TV. Why not add on a sound bar for better audio! While you're at it, add this whatzawhozit to get access to Netflix, Youtube, and more! Plus, it mounts on the back of the display!"

Easiest sale in the world...

tanker27 wrote:

TCL seems to be the only exception to my gripe. I've been eyeing their 6 series for some time now, and while prices have fallen, it still doesnt justify replacing my last gen Samsung Plasma. Which is trucking along just fine. My gripe is on Sony and Samsung current offerings.

TCL Q825 is pretty awesome.

superjawes wrote:

"Hey! You're buying a new TV. Why not add on a sound bar for better audio! While you're at it, add this whatzawhozit to get access to Netflix, Youtube, and more! Plus, it mounts on the back of the display!"

Easiest sale in the world...

YUP! In fact if you dont have a receiver and unwilling to get one then I'd call a sound bar a must have!

Igor_Kavinski wrote:

TCL Q825 is pretty awesome.

Yup been eyeing 6,7,8 series. But again my last gen Plasma is trucking along just fine. Maybe next year at this time. But I think really the best time to buy a TV is March/April thats when the new models hit and everyone needs room for them. (CES usually occurs in JAN)