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Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
Paul B
NJRC Member
I will be building a tiny bathroom in the workshop of my new house and I was ordering a toilet bowl. I found the one I want but I am a little Leary because it is not allowed for sale in these countries:
This item has been restricted from sale in the following countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Albania, Armenia, Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina-Faso, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, Bahamas, Bhutan, Bouvet Islands, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Cocos Islands, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Congo, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Cook Islands, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Curacao, Christmas Island, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Algeria, Ecuador, Estonia, Egypt, Western Sahara, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, Fiji, Falkland Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Faroe Islands, France, Gabon, United Kingdom, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greenland, Gambia, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, S. George & S. Sandwich Islands, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hong Kong, Heard and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Isle of Man, India, British Indian Ocean Territory, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Bailiwick of Jersey, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kirghizia, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, St. Kitts and Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Cayman Islands, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St. Lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldavia, Republic of Montenegro, Saint Martin, Madagascar, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Macedonia, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Macau, Northern Mariana Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Montserrat, Malta, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niger, Norfolk Islands, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Nauru, Niue Islands, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Peru, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Pitcairn Islands, Palestinian Territory, Portugal, Paraguay, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Singapore, Saint Helena, Slovenia, Svalbard, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, Republic of South Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, El Salvador, Country of Sint Maarten, Syria, Swaziland, Turks and Caicos Islands, Chad, French Southern Territories, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tokelau Islands, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, American Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, British Virgin Islands, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Western Samoa, Yemen, Mayotte, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Like REALLY! Is it me or does that seem like a lot of places where you can't buy this. I mean places like Futuna Islands, Mayotte, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Burkina-Faso, Djibouti. Like whats the problem in those places? Not that I ever heard of any of them.
Instead of listing all that, why don't they just say: This item is only available in Bayonne New Jersey on a Tuesday between 2:00 and 2:15
This item has been restricted from sale in the following countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Albania, Armenia, Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina-Faso, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, Bahamas, Bhutan, Bouvet Islands, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Cocos Islands, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Congo, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Cook Islands, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Curacao, Christmas Island, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Algeria, Ecuador, Estonia, Egypt, Western Sahara, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, Fiji, Falkland Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Faroe Islands, France, Gabon, United Kingdom, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greenland, Gambia, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, S. George & S. Sandwich Islands, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hong Kong, Heard and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Isle of Man, India, British Indian Ocean Territory, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Bailiwick of Jersey, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kirghizia, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, St. Kitts and Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Cayman Islands, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St. Lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldavia, Republic of Montenegro, Saint Martin, Madagascar, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Macedonia, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Macau, Northern Mariana Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Montserrat, Malta, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niger, Norfolk Islands, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Nauru, Niue Islands, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Peru, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Pitcairn Islands, Palestinian Territory, Portugal, Paraguay, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Singapore, Saint Helena, Slovenia, Svalbard, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, Republic of South Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, El Salvador, Country of Sint Maarten, Syria, Swaziland, Turks and Caicos Islands, Chad, French Southern Territories, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tokelau Islands, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, American Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, British Virgin Islands, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Western Samoa, Yemen, Mayotte, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Like REALLY! Is it me or does that seem like a lot of places where you can't buy this. I mean places like Futuna Islands, Mayotte, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Burkina-Faso, Djibouti. Like whats the problem in those places? Not that I ever heard of any of them.
Instead of listing all that, why don't they just say: This item is only available in Bayonne New Jersey on a Tuesday between 2:00 and 2:15
Paul B
NJRC Member
Tonight I am making my wife one of these because she hasn't been feeling very good. I myself don't like lobsters because my family had a sea food business and I used to have to eat the lobsters that died in the store so I am sick of them. (you can't sell dead lobsters) My Mother made them every way possible. Peanut butter and lobster sandwiches, Ham and lobster, lobster with Cheerios, Deviled lobster, Grilled cheese and lobster, and my favorite chocolate chip ice cream with lobster sauce.
I am making myself grilled cod steaks.
So we went shopping this morning at the Supermarket. In Supermarkets I get that "Supermarket look" where I am in a trance and counting the seconds to when we get out. I probably also have my eyes rolled back in my head.
Supermarkets are not Man places but my wife needs some help so I go with her.
My wife has to go down every aisle even if she just needs milk. Us Men shop differently. If I need to pop in to a store (which rarely happens unless it is a chain saw or cro bar store) For something quick like that black paint bald people put on their heads to make it look like they have hair, and in my case the roller to apply it. I just go to that section without looking at anything else except for the free tiny pieces of cheese on toothpicks that they sometimes give out as samples. I pick that paint up and find the quickest way to the cashier, and if there is a line, I put it back and leave as I don't do lines.
Anyway.
As we were going down one aisle my wife was busy reading the ingredients on something boring because she needs to know the salt, carbs, calories, fat and just about everything else and in my stupor this middle aged woman comes up to me and starts talking. At first I thought she knew me but she didn't look familiar. That doesn't mean too much to me because I have a lousy memory for faces, names, places or numbers so she could have been my sister, but I don't have one. She continued talking to me but I didn't quite know what she was talking about and her sentences didn't seem to go together, so I smiled and said something like, "Oh, thats too bad or OMG thats great". I don't remember. But she was looking right at me and saying things that didn't seem to have anything to do with me or anything familiar. Then she walked right past me like I wasn't even there and continued talking. I assumed she was nuts until I realized that she had one of those stupid bluetooth things in her ear and was talking to someone else. Probably her Psychiatrist. I mean aren't people embarrassed to walk around in public speaking out loud so everyone can hear them! That drives me nuts, especially when they are looking right at you.
I am making myself grilled cod steaks.
So we went shopping this morning at the Supermarket. In Supermarkets I get that "Supermarket look" where I am in a trance and counting the seconds to when we get out. I probably also have my eyes rolled back in my head.
Supermarkets are not Man places but my wife needs some help so I go with her.
My wife has to go down every aisle even if she just needs milk. Us Men shop differently. If I need to pop in to a store (which rarely happens unless it is a chain saw or cro bar store) For something quick like that black paint bald people put on their heads to make it look like they have hair, and in my case the roller to apply it. I just go to that section without looking at anything else except for the free tiny pieces of cheese on toothpicks that they sometimes give out as samples. I pick that paint up and find the quickest way to the cashier, and if there is a line, I put it back and leave as I don't do lines.
Anyway.
As we were going down one aisle my wife was busy reading the ingredients on something boring because she needs to know the salt, carbs, calories, fat and just about everything else and in my stupor this middle aged woman comes up to me and starts talking. At first I thought she knew me but she didn't look familiar. That doesn't mean too much to me because I have a lousy memory for faces, names, places or numbers so she could have been my sister, but I don't have one. She continued talking to me but I didn't quite know what she was talking about and her sentences didn't seem to go together, so I smiled and said something like, "Oh, thats too bad or OMG thats great". I don't remember. But she was looking right at me and saying things that didn't seem to have anything to do with me or anything familiar. Then she walked right past me like I wasn't even there and continued talking. I assumed she was nuts until I realized that she had one of those stupid bluetooth things in her ear and was talking to someone else. Probably her Psychiatrist. I mean aren't people embarrassed to walk around in public speaking out loud so everyone can hear them! That drives me nuts, especially when they are looking right at you.
You crack me up. I have done the same thing as you...answering someone who was next to me. Not knowing she was on a call with a bluetooth device in her ear. She said "Do you know what aisle the evaporated milk is?" I answered her. People need to disconnect the phone when in public. I don't know how they would have function back when there were no cell phones.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I think those lobsters taste like snot. I used to SCUBA for about 20 years here in NY and I had a lobster license so we used to dive for lobsters. You are allowed 6 lobsters a day which is 6 too many for me but my wife was in heaven. You ever get bitten by one of those? They can take your hand off and not even smile as they are doing it.
But like I said they should have Men stores. I know I mentioned it a few times in this thread but every time I go to a store I think about it.
Women stores need a lot of aisles with shelves going up to the ceiling stocked with all sorts of things of different colors most of which no one needs. Like those silly little "cozy"s" that they sell to put lemons in so when you squeeze them, the pits stay in it. I mean, really! does anyone need that. But people buy it so I guess it has a purpose. I also think my wife, and I assume all Ladies like to look through the aisles, especially if it's a clothes store.
I may buy clothes every 7 or 8 years and I still have some bell bottoms from the 70s. But they don't fit, I keep them for nostalgia.
A Mans store would have one aisle. The Man goes in (and shows his Man card at the door) then asks the person at the door where the chain saws, drills, plungers or demolition hammers are and the person at the door says something like, go down here to where the floor turns blue and they are right there. The man goes there and the price is written on the thing clearly with magic marker including the tax and anything else they want to charge you for rounded off to the nearest dollar.
The Man then grabs the thing and walks to the door where there is a bucket for you to throw in the money. The Man rounds it off to the nearest ten and walks out. Sometimes he puts in a little more and sometimes a little less as it will work out at the end of the year.
The Mans store needs very few employees except once or twice a year someone needs to walk through and sweep the floor.
No lines, no returns, no receipts and no change. If I buy something and it doesn't work, I throw it away because I know if I bring it back, I will have to wait in line and I don't do that well.
But like I said they should have Men stores. I know I mentioned it a few times in this thread but every time I go to a store I think about it.
Women stores need a lot of aisles with shelves going up to the ceiling stocked with all sorts of things of different colors most of which no one needs. Like those silly little "cozy"s" that they sell to put lemons in so when you squeeze them, the pits stay in it. I mean, really! does anyone need that. But people buy it so I guess it has a purpose. I also think my wife, and I assume all Ladies like to look through the aisles, especially if it's a clothes store.
I may buy clothes every 7 or 8 years and I still have some bell bottoms from the 70s. But they don't fit, I keep them for nostalgia.
A Mans store would have one aisle. The Man goes in (and shows his Man card at the door) then asks the person at the door where the chain saws, drills, plungers or demolition hammers are and the person at the door says something like, go down here to where the floor turns blue and they are right there. The man goes there and the price is written on the thing clearly with magic marker including the tax and anything else they want to charge you for rounded off to the nearest dollar.
The Man then grabs the thing and walks to the door where there is a bucket for you to throw in the money. The Man rounds it off to the nearest ten and walks out. Sometimes he puts in a little more and sometimes a little less as it will work out at the end of the year.
The Mans store needs very few employees except once or twice a year someone needs to walk through and sweep the floor.
No lines, no returns, no receipts and no change. If I buy something and it doesn't work, I throw it away because I know if I bring it back, I will have to wait in line and I don't do that well.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I think it's going to be hard to move all the sponges I have growing in my tank as there are more sponges than anything else. The blue one is about 18" across even though I keep trimming it and there are white sponges 8 or 9" long in the caves. I think the sponges are the best filters and I am sure all my water goes through a sponge a few times a day. My water stays crystal clear even though I add clams which are loaded with juice almost every day which is probably why the sponges grow so well.
My 4 pipefish are doing very well and the bluestripes are still spawning even though they are well past their supposed age which is only a few years old. I don't remember how old they are. My Janss and dragon face are also real good and after I move I would like to get mates for them, if they don't croak in transit that is.
My 4 pipefish are doing very well and the bluestripes are still spawning even though they are well past their supposed age which is only a few years old. I don't remember how old they are. My Janss and dragon face are also real good and after I move I would like to get mates for them, if they don't croak in transit that is.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I am getting some red algae and some cyano, no problem but with the move I have really been neglecting the tank and overfeeding. I really should change some water. My nitrate reading is way off the chart so I can't tell what it is. All the livestock is very healthy but even a very low maintenance tank needs some maintenance. I will have to stir the substrate soon but I was hoping to get away with it until I move. I am not sure it can wait. 
Paul B
NJRC Member
We went to my Daughters other house in Vermont for Thanksgiving mostly because I really like driving six hours for a turkey. The trip was uneventful anf the holiday was great, not so much for the turkey though.
My Son n Law has those ATVs and plenty of acres so we went out on those and got stuck. WE went over a huge log which lifted the wheels off the ground and it was very muddy so I had to get a tree to pry the thing up so my Son n Law could put some rocks under he wheels. No problem.
Anyway I had my tank sitter watch my tank and I make her individual frozen cups of food so all she has to do is put one in my automatic feeder which thaws it and distributes it through the tank. That has worked fine for years but now I have 4 pipefish which really like new born brine shrimp and I don't ask her to hatch them for me. I do add some frozen new born brine shrimp but my pipefish have discriminating taste so I lost my dragon faced pipefish which I kind of knew I would lose without the proper food. I do have a lot of pods but with so many pod eaters I guess he couldn't find enough. Poor thing probably figured I put him on Jenny Craig.
I do have an automatic brine shrimp hatchery and feeder but I didn't put it in the tank this time as I figured he would find enough pods and eat the frozen ones, but he spited me by croaking. Look whose sad now!.
I am still here.
On our way home we stopped for the night at a B&B in Lenox Mass, where the Normal Rockwell museum is. WE go there almost every year on our way home to break up the trip. This B&B was the home of Westinghouse. Also Roosevelt used to stay there.
Another thing that happened is that our electricity went off probably just for a few minutes but my skimmer stopped. That is not a big problem in itself, but the skimmer also feeds this 5' trough sitting above my tank which is filled with encrusting corals, pods, amphipods and plenty of bristleworms. The trough dried out and everything in it died causing a small pollution issue. I re started the skimmer and it overflowed for hours.
I hope everyone had a Great Thanksgiving.
My Son n Law has those ATVs and plenty of acres so we went out on those and got stuck. WE went over a huge log which lifted the wheels off the ground and it was very muddy so I had to get a tree to pry the thing up so my Son n Law could put some rocks under he wheels. No problem.
Anyway I had my tank sitter watch my tank and I make her individual frozen cups of food so all she has to do is put one in my automatic feeder which thaws it and distributes it through the tank. That has worked fine for years but now I have 4 pipefish which really like new born brine shrimp and I don't ask her to hatch them for me. I do add some frozen new born brine shrimp but my pipefish have discriminating taste so I lost my dragon faced pipefish which I kind of knew I would lose without the proper food. I do have a lot of pods but with so many pod eaters I guess he couldn't find enough. Poor thing probably figured I put him on Jenny Craig.
I do have an automatic brine shrimp hatchery and feeder but I didn't put it in the tank this time as I figured he would find enough pods and eat the frozen ones, but he spited me by croaking. Look whose sad now!.
I am still here.
On our way home we stopped for the night at a B&B in Lenox Mass, where the Normal Rockwell museum is. WE go there almost every year on our way home to break up the trip. This B&B was the home of Westinghouse. Also Roosevelt used to stay there.
Another thing that happened is that our electricity went off probably just for a few minutes but my skimmer stopped. That is not a big problem in itself, but the skimmer also feeds this 5' trough sitting above my tank which is filled with encrusting corals, pods, amphipods and plenty of bristleworms. The trough dried out and everything in it died causing a small pollution issue. I re started the skimmer and it overflowed for hours.
I hope everyone had a Great Thanksgiving.
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Paul B
NJRC Member
I just finished my water change using fake water. I can't wait until I move because I will be right near the sea and I can just back my car up to the water and pump it into containers.
This mixing and lugging around ASW water is getting old as I am.
I changed about a third of my tank water or a little more which is probably the largest water change I ever did. Now when I test my nitrates it is still off the chart but it made me feel better anyway. My fish don't seem to care one way or the other.
I am real happy now for a couple of reasons. My wife seems to be getting slightly better as the days pass. She is still in pain but not as severe so maybe she won't have to get Gamma Knife "surgery" again. We are hoping so anyway because it's better to get better on your own than to have some guy who you hope at least went to high school send radiation into your brain. What if he was out the day they showed him how not to fry the patients neural network.
The other reason I am happy is because in my new house with my new "huge" workshop I need a few more tools. My router specifically. My old one croaked. (for you electronic Geeks this router is for wood working and not the thing with all the blinking LEDs on it that lets you contact your Geek friends through the cloud, the net or however you guys contact each other to talk about how much RAM and megabytes you have so you can stream Lady GaGa quotes at each other at the speed of light or watch TV in Blue Ray whatever that is)
Anyway I found an American made router. I almost did a backflip in the store. It seems that DeWalt has a line of American tools, Who knew. The only reason I never replaced any of my power tools is that I could never find an American one. I looked at Porta Cable, Bosch, Craftsman, Milwaukee, Ryobi and some names I can't pronounce but they all come from places I can't pronounce and I won't buy them.
I will also get a scroll saw but so far I can't find one made in the US so if I can, I will try to find a used American one. I have a large band saw but for fine work, it is too big.
This mixing and lugging around ASW water is getting old as I am.
I changed about a third of my tank water or a little more which is probably the largest water change I ever did. Now when I test my nitrates it is still off the chart but it made me feel better anyway. My fish don't seem to care one way or the other.
I am real happy now for a couple of reasons. My wife seems to be getting slightly better as the days pass. She is still in pain but not as severe so maybe she won't have to get Gamma Knife "surgery" again. We are hoping so anyway because it's better to get better on your own than to have some guy who you hope at least went to high school send radiation into your brain. What if he was out the day they showed him how not to fry the patients neural network.
The other reason I am happy is because in my new house with my new "huge" workshop I need a few more tools. My router specifically. My old one croaked. (for you electronic Geeks this router is for wood working and not the thing with all the blinking LEDs on it that lets you contact your Geek friends through the cloud, the net or however you guys contact each other to talk about how much RAM and megabytes you have so you can stream Lady GaGa quotes at each other at the speed of light or watch TV in Blue Ray whatever that is)
Anyway I found an American made router. I almost did a backflip in the store. It seems that DeWalt has a line of American tools, Who knew. The only reason I never replaced any of my power tools is that I could never find an American one. I looked at Porta Cable, Bosch, Craftsman, Milwaukee, Ryobi and some names I can't pronounce but they all come from places I can't pronounce and I won't buy them.
I will also get a scroll saw but so far I can't find one made in the US so if I can, I will try to find a used American one. I have a large band saw but for fine work, it is too big.
SCROLL SAWS - PS Wood Machines
Here you go!
Here you go!