Dr. Bob

Most drain cleaners are not acids but bases - same basic idea but the other end of the pH scale. Bleach is an example of a corrosive base you’re probably familiar with. Bases were used because they were more compatible with the solder that connected copper pipes in older homes. For non-corrosive cleaners they fall into a couple classes:

Fizzy things. These loosen clogs by bubbling them apart. They are typically made by mixing a weak acid with a base - hello vinegar and baking soda! The acid may help a bit with dissolving some clogs. These can take a while

Enzyme based cleaners. An active enzyme will digest some of the bonds in hair and other components of the clog. These can take hours to be effective so don’t be in a rush.

Temperature based. Fats often make up a big component of clogs. Something as simple as boiling water can do a lot to loosen up a clog. There are fancier mixtures that will warm up the pipe to try to get things flowing.

It never would have been charged if he wasn’t the President’s son. He paid everything and a penalty in top of it so there was no reason to seek a conviction.

This really about a definition of “working class”. What’s always interesting to me in these arguments is that it’s a Britishism originally tied to class consciousness more than economic circumstances.

Vicars, writers and such were examples of “genteel poverty” who were very well educated but still lived a hand-to-mouth existence. They were not considered part of the working class even though they very much had to work, and were often poorer than many tradespeople. Because of education and contact with the well-to-do, those workers had an expanded world view and thus not considered part of the “working class” who were focused on tawdry gossip, when they were going down to the pub, and what was for lunch.

Stout.

Put 10% of your net pay into a low fee index fund.

Brayden, Brittany. Anything from Game of Thrones.

I have a Blackberry Playbook on my desk that I am trying to figure out how to crack. I also keep my Sharp EL-50 scientific calculator around. We had to buy that specific model because it didn’t have a persistent memory. We could turn it off and on in front of the invigilator and they would know there was nothing stored in it.

Shoes are sized for socks.

A tablet is a pad of paper that’s glued on one edge. You can flip the sheets or tear them out. The full name for a binder is a “loose leaf binder”. Because it’s designed to bind…loose sheets!

Fantastic avatar!

I’d be interested in this too. I’m a bit away from the next vehicle but I was already considering going vintage for physical controls, an honest to god non-electronic mirror, and no surveillance.

I am struggling with “fair” here. I’m pretty well paid for the public sector, but the private sector would offer a 50%+ increase with a noticable loss of stability. So I don’t know. I do think they should have promoted me years ago though .

It’s voter suppression. By limiting the number of voting locations and understanding them you make long lines where people will wait for hours to vote. By not allowing food or water to be handed out they hope people will get discouraged and leave the line. The official reason is that it could be construed as a bribe to vote a certain way.

It makes it difficult to make within group comparisons due to the shifting baselines. They are fine for “gee whiz” global impression but simply not appropriate for detailed analysis. And yes, I greatly despise them.

This isn’t beautiful, it’s borderline unreadable. A stack like this is a very poor choice to show changes in relative proportion over time. A simple XY plot with dots would be better.

I have always identified with Lawrence “Crash” Davis in Bull Durham.

I was entranced by the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brien. Sailing ships, adventure, and a little romance.

It may helpful to think of this in terms of human rights; some rights apply to individuals so even though there may a group of them we’d refer to them as persons e.g. displaced persons. Some rights are held collectively and we would refer to them as a people e.g. Indigenous People of the Amazon.

eta: “Those people” and “you people” are both seen as racist dogwhistles. Your sister was probably laughing because you didn’t intend or get the subtext of your phrasing.

This is true for every regulated profession. It’s not exceptional.

Dude. Seriously?