jly

> Refrigerator only needs a GFI if it is within a certain distance of a sink.

Not anymore. NEC 2023 requires GFCI for every 120 or 240V outlets in the kitchen, regardless of their location or proximity to the sink. This was a big change.

I'm not sure where you are getting this.

According to the CPSC, who analyzed some 10s of thousands of fires, something like 50% of them were caused by wire arcing that could be prevented with AFCI breakers. This is the exact reason why the NFPA is moving the NEC towards eventually requiring AFCI on every circuit in the house.

This is mine, too.

I'm in my 40s now but I didn't get serious about saving and managing money until my mid-30s. Lived a very fun but expensive lifestyle downtown in a major city for many years while single.

I'd be a lot closer to some of my financial goals if I had been more focused on saving through my 20s and 30s. While my family is doing fine compared to many others, it feels like I'm always trying to catch up. This really starts to hit home when you add kids.

The wirecutter DIY test used a filter with a rating of FPR 9. Since FPR isn't standardized like MERV or HEPA, it's hard to tell what this means, but likely to be < MERV 13. The OP used a HEPA filter on their testing which is > MERV 16.

This is exactly the way I feel.

After working at home for ~13 months now, it will be very hard for me to go back to the office. I have young kids at home and getting to spend extra time with them every day is a huge gift, on top of having no commute. There are some negatives, but I feel just as productive and more engaged.

The problem with low humidity in winter isn't forced air heating, it's air leakage. But since most houses have poor thermal envelopes, your statement turns out to be mostly true.

Winter temperatures in the US midwest and northeast with average daily temps far below zero (C), combined with leaky old houses. The stack effect draws in cold, extremely dry air at a rapid rate.

Typical CO alarms only go off when there is a level of gas that is an imminent danger. A lower level of gas could be present and go totally undetected, but present an ongoing health risk. There are special CO monitors that are capable of detecting and alerting down to 5ppm but they are rarely installed in homes.

I think you meant to say honey bees, Apis, comprising only a handful of species, are not native to the Americas.

There are around 4000 known species of bee (Anthophila) native just to North America.

I think you need to move further back. Civilization accounted for a sharp decline in life expectancy due to disease and other factors like extreme agricultural labor. Humans have only gained back what was lost since the industrial and technological revolutions.

Extant hunter gatherers, living without access to modern medicine, have been studied to show life expectancy closer to 70.

The transportation mode is critical for a commute. The time spent commuting can be mitigated somewhat if you are active in the process.

As an example, I live relatively close to my office in the suburbs, and most days I walk ~50 minutes each way for my commute. I could drive it in 10-15, but my family has reduced from 2 to 1 cars this way (owning a car is expensive and a massive headache). I also spend far less time at the gym because I walk many miles per day just commuting, plus I feel fresher when I get to work. I can definitely say I am much more satisfied with this arrangement than if I was driving for the same duration. The major negative is less time at home with the family, which I admit is a challenge but one I've been willing to put up with for the other advantages.

It sounds like you don't like the bitterness of Campari and you're not alone in that. I guess it just takes time to develop the taste.

There are many delicious Negroni riffs, but the standard and classic is always equal parts gin/Campari/vermouth. I use a good London Dry gin (personal preference for Beefeater) and Carpano.

I think there is absolutely something to this. I have mild tinnitus and my hearing is fairly poor after too many years of loud headphone use. However, I rarely notice a bothersome perception of noise unless I focus on it.

Other similar phenomenon exist. For example, some people are strongly bothered by floaters in the eyes while others seem to take it more easily in stride, as the brain will naturally compensate the vision. It wouldn't surprise me at all if individual tolerance varies wildly to these issues.

Modern agricultural systems are built on the mass usage of systemic insecticide treatments (whether necessary or not). Neonicotinoids are almost certainly better than what came before them, although they have a limited useful life as insects inevitably develop resistance.

Phasing these chemicals out requires a new sustainable approach to pest management - more buy-in from farmers for IPM approaches that don't involve routine use of toxic chemicals. Assistance and training programs need to be put in place to achieve this before regulatory restrictions should be applied.

> a -40C day is usually much more enjoyable than a +40C day

I can't believe I just read this :)

With an appropriately-sized and designed HVAC system, home, and fans, 40C is completely comfortable indoors. If your home is designed well, you probably don't even need a whole lot of energy to achieve this.

The difference is, in 40C you can also be outside at any part of the day, for any duration (especially in the shade). I haven't spent a great deal of time at -40C, but I can tell you my experience is that it was pretty miserable to be outside in, even bundled up.