Minor things that bother you

[Scott5114]

I wish there was a way to hug KWin for not putting me through...whatever the hell explorer.exe is trying to accomplish these days.

[vdeane]

Firefox.  I was going to switch to it as a result of my Chromium/Google/YouTube problems affecting Vivaldi, but that quickly collapsed.  First, it seems to consume more RAM than Vivaldi does.  It nearly locked up my computer after a couple hours streaming Paramount+ last night (to the point where I needed to unplug both Ethernet and my HDMI cable to the TV to regain control).  This in and of itself wasn't a showstopper, as I was running Vivaldi at the time as well and figured that having both open contributed.  However, my further difficulties that night quickly changed that assessment.

Due to this, I decided to accelerate my plans for switching, as I didn't want the same thing to happen when I watch Doctor Who tomorrow.  I installed FBPurity (which needs to be sideloaded for some reason, not sure why), imported my bookmarks, turned on cloud storage for uBlock, set up a Firefox account with sync, and installed the app on my phone.  This is when a few Firefox issues that I hadn't previously noted, or hadn't been able to previously evaluate, became apparent.  First, sync wasn't quite as capable as I had hoped; it was janky getting things to my laptop and settings didn't transfer to my phone.  Getting my new tab page set up how I want it was a nightmare too; Vivaldi lets people fully customize it with "start page shortcuts" that function just like bookmarks.  Firefox is more like Chrome, populating it with frequent pages from history, although it does allow items to be pinned and edited (manually adding things, alas, isn't possible; the workaround is to edit an existing one into what you want to add).  This also doesn't sync.

Search engines can't be added as easily on Android, which is especially an issues as setting don't sync; getting Startpage added was a nightmare, especially as Android didn't want to copy text from Vivaldi to Firefox (what's especially interesting is that the way search engines need to be added on Android isn't even allowed on desktop; granted, the desktop way is one of the things Firefox does well, allowing search engines to be added with a click on supported sites, eliminating the need to type URLs with query placeholders).

Then we get to the lack of a reading list.  When Chrome introduced it, it quickly became a part of how a browse, even moreso when I switched to Vivaldi and the UI became even better (in fact, Chrome burying the reading list into an otherwise useless and rather imposing sidebar was one of the reasons why I dumped it in the first place!).  Supposedly Pocket is supposed to function in this capacity.  It does not.  I tried.  I really did.  But Pocket fundamentally serves a different niche than how I was using it.  Pocket is more about "here's an interesting story that I might want to read later" and using analytics to suggest other stories.  Things like keeping up with fanfiction or online serials, and passing links between devices, or storing temporary bookmarks (like I did for a Montreal weather forecast and Quebec 511)?  Not so much.  It doesn't even work in private windows.  I posted a question to the community support forum on whether any extensions have the functionality I require.  24 hours later, I still have received no response.  I'd probably give it time, but then we come to the final dealbreaker...

To make matters even worse, it turns out that Firefox always opens bookmarks and links from the new tab page by switching to that tab, even when you middle click.  There appears to be no way to have middle click open tabs in the background, which is the whole point of opening a bookmark that way in the first place.  Epic fail, totally breaks how I browse the web, at this point I gave up and just installed uBlock Origin on Vivaldi.  This is, alas, only a temporary solution before Google forces Manifest v3 on everyone (and until it the deprecated context menu UI that I'm using through a Vivaldi option gets removed), at which point I don't know what I'll do.  But I do know that I can't make Firefox work for me.  It's fundamentally incompatible with how I browse.


In non-browser related stuff, my apartment's maintenance.  I called to report mildew on my bedroom ceiling shortly after the eclipse (unbeknownst to me, my upstairs neighbor got a mysterious leak near his sink around the same time).  They didn't bother to do anything until two weeks ago, after I reported that it worsened, and all they did was slap a new coat of paint on it (getting paint dust on all my furniture in the process).  Needless to say, this did not fix the problem.  In fact, it made things worse.  I came back from Montréal to find water dripping from the ceiling in that spot, completely soaking the carpet.  By this point, the leak was also affecting my downstairs neighbor as well.  They ripped out part of the ceiling that day, and I had my bucket collecting the water that night.  They next day they came in, and after a whole day, had finally located and fixed the leak, which was coming from a pipe that collects stormwater from the roof (next to the sink drain for my upstairs neighbor).  Thankfully, my furniture was covered this time, especially as I found out later that this fix involved maintenance flooding the apartment of my upstairs neighbor (and only getting towels after my neighbor yelled at them to do so).

The hole in the roof didn't get filled until Monday, at which point my bedroom became a construction zone for a whole week, making access to it and especially my dresser very difficult.  They only just finished repainting today, hopefully with furniture covered, but I'm not really sure.  There's small drops of paint on my dresser which I can't remove, although that may be from their first repair attempt, as my lamp has them as well (it was moved after the leak appeared as it was directly under it).  To make matters worse, maintenance attempted to clean my dresser and my bed table, leaving a nasty goop on them in the process.  I have not been able to remove said goop; it did not come off with a wet paper towel, and it did not come off with a magic eraser.  I am out of ideas, so between that and the paint drops, the surface of both is completely ruined and I will need to replace them.  Priceless furniture, inherited from my grandmother, ruined by a careless and incompetent maintenance person (I also lost two light bulbs due to him handling a couple lamps roughly, but those at least can be replaced the next time I go to the store, though I'm not liking the 3 phase CFL that's in one temporarily; looks like my bedroom is getting LEDs sooner than I thought it would).  I wish he had left well enough alone, as I'm cleaning everything with my swiffer dusters tomorrow anyways.  They would have taken care of the paint dust without ruining my furniture.    

I wish there was a way to hug KWin for not putting me through...whatever the hell explorer.exe is trying to accomplish these days.

97.7 & 98.3?

https://www.kwin.com

[Rothman]

Yeesh, vdeane.  That's horrible.

[1995hoo]

vdeane, could you hire someone to refinish the furniture? I know there are people who can do that sort of work. Our dining room table has some nicks in the surface where a piece of our chandelier fell off and bounced off the table. We looked into getting it repaired and found some local places that came highly recommended for that sort of thing, but we haven't done it because we haven't wanted to spend the money and because when we have people over for dinner, we use a tablecloth, so they don't see the spot. But if it were something with sentimental value inherited from either of our parents, we'd probably get it done. I would not even consider attempting it myself for a whole host of reasons.

[ZLoth]

Firefox.  I was going to switch to it as a result of my Chromium/Google/YouTube problems affecting Vivaldi, but that quickly collapsed.  First, it seems to consume more RAM than Vivaldi does.  It nearly locked up my computer after a couple hours streaming Paramount+ last night (to the point where I needed to unplug both Ethernet and my HDMI cable to the TV to regain control).  This in and of itself wasn't a showstopper, as I was running Vivaldi at the time as well and figured that having both open contributed.  However, my further difficulties that night quickly changed that assessment.

The technician in me is having me ask the following questions just to better understand your issue:

• How old is that computer?
• What operating system is that computer running?
• What processor is it running?
• How much memory (not storage space) does that computer have?

If you don't know the specifics, you can use CPU-Z to find that information out if you are using Windows. Although I can emphasize that as time goes on, software adds more and more features which in turn requires more memory and faster processors. Insert standard joke about having having 64GB of ram and now you can open up more than ten tabs under Chrome.

While I do have a computer hooked up to my television (it's a secondary computer), I'm kinda wondering... why not a dedicated TV stick such as a Fire TV stick, Roku stick, or a Onn TV box? In searching Amazon, the price of these devices are $20-$35, and a little lower if refurbished.

In non-browser related stuff, my apartment's maintenance.  I called to report mildew on my bedroom ceiling shortly after the eclipse (unbeknownst to me, my upstairs neighbor got a mysterious leak near his sink around the same time).  They didn't bother to do anything until two weeks ago, after I reported that it worsened, and all they did was slap a new coat of paint on it (getting paint dust on all my furniture in the process).  Needless to say, this did not fix the problem.

Ugggg... being a renter (whether be an apartment or a home) can be a blessing or a curse. Depending on the availability of rentals, affordability of apartments, and/or the rent control situation, the landlord, property manager, and/or property management company can be an absolute tightwad about maintenance (because it involves spending money), and may be hoping that you move out because they have several people who would be more than willing to take that same rental unit at a higher rate despite the conditions.

Having said that, I hope that you have taken photographs and documented everything including phone calls and emails exchanged. You might be able to bring that issue up to building inspection.

[kkt]

Yes, Zloth... indifferent contractors who don't care about your stuff or your opinion is the curse of renting.  And why should they?  The tenants don't pay their bills.

[ZLoth]

Yes, Zloth... indifferent contractors who don't care about your stuff or your opinion is the curse of renting.  And why should they?  The tenants don't pay their bills.

I was placing the blame squarely on the landlord/property manager/property management company. They are the ones who are hiring the contractor, not the renter vdeane, and probably the cheapest-possible contractor using the cheapest on-sale materials to perform the repairs with no input from the renter vdeane. From my experience, the cheapest route in the short term ends up being more expensive in the long run because the durability is terrible. You get what you pay for,

[J N Winkler]

vdeane, could you hire someone to refinish the furniture? I know there are people who can do that sort of work. Our dining room table has some nicks in the surface where a piece of our chandelier fell off and bounced off the table. We looked into getting it repaired and found some local places that came highly recommended for that sort of thing, but we haven't done it because we haven't wanted to spend the money and because when we have people over for dinner, we use a tablecloth, so they don't see the spot. But if it were something with sentimental value inherited from either of our parents, we'd probably get it done. I would not even consider attempting it myself for a whole host of reasons.

I endorse this suggestion.  At bare minimum, a furniture restorer should be able to assess whether viable options exist for spot repair, which would save the expense and trouble of stripping, sanding, re-staining, and re-finishing.

However, I would allow a month or so to be sure the drainage problems are fixed before having someone come out to look at the furniture.  It sounds like the contractors the landlord (or management company) have on call are scrim-shankers, and it would be a shame if they did additional damage to freshly repaired heirloom pieces while working through a punchlist.

To make matters even worse, it turns out that Firefox always opens bookmarks and links from the new tab page by switching to that tab, even when you middle click.  There appears to be no way to have middle click open tabs in the background, which is the whole point of opening a bookmark that way in the first place.  Epic fail, totally breaks how I browse the web, at this point I gave up and just installed uBlock Origin on Vivaldi.

I found this part a little difficult to understand.  I know a different OS is likely involved, but in Firefox on Windows I typically open new tabs by left-clicking on links while holding down the Control key, and the focus always remains on the original tab.

[vdeane]

Fortunately, adding dish soap to the paper towel largely took care of the goop problem, though it needed multiple passes on areas I didn't notice last night (and therefore had no exposure to the magic eraser).  I'm pretty sure I have everything mostly livable now, although the hallway between the living room and bedroom could use mopping rather than just two passes with the swiffer (which I discovered today the maintenance guy had tried to use as a broom ).  No contractors involved, incidentally; just the one-site maintenance guy.  My upstairs neighbor and I are both in agreement that this could have been resolved a lot faster if they had brought in professionals rather than just having the maintenance guy bumble around (the diagnose/repair to the pipe, for example, should have just taken a couple hours, not all day).

My apartment complex used to be good, but it seems like this place has gone downhill over the years.  The previous maintenance guys were good and actually had some trade qualifications.  They guy they have now, however, is just a handyman, so they went from two people who knew what they were doing to one guy who has much less expertise.  The landlord himself steps in to help fill the gap sometimes, but his capacity to do so is limited and hardly counts as a second maintenance person.  These kind of problems feel like the horror stories of corporate landlords that own tons of properties and treat even "luxury" apartments like slums, not the management that I've had over the last decade and had previously been on top of things (although it would have been nice if the door frame at my previous apartment had been replaced a decade earlier than it had; I wonder how much longer they would have tried to drag that out if some kids hadn't damaged it during a failed break-in attempt a week before I moved to my current unit).

The technician in me is having me ask the following questions just to better understand your issue:

• How old is that computer?
• What operating system is that computer running?
• What processor is it running?
• How much memory (not storage space) does that computer have?

[/list]

If you don't know the specifics, you can use CPU-Z to find that information out if you are using Windows. Although I can emphasize that as time goes on, software adds more and more features which in turn requires more memory and faster processors. Insert standard joke about having having 64GB of ram and now you can open up more than ten tabs under Chrome.

While I do have a computer hooked up to my television (it's a secondary computer), I'm kinda wondering... why not a dedicated TV stick such as a Fire TV stick, Roku stick, or a Onn TV box? In searching Amazon, the price of these devices are $20-$35, and a little lower if refurbished.

According to my email records, I purchased my desktop in 2016 (has it been that long already?).  It currently runs Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon (Cinnamon version 6.0.4, kernel version 5.15.0-107-generic).  The processor is an Intel Core i5-6500 @ 3.20GHz x 4 and I have 8 GB of RAM (not sure if it's worth mentioning, but I also have a NVIDIA GM206 [GeForce GTX 950] graphics card with 2 GB of video RAM).  Linux is less prone to memory usage bloat than Windows and (ironically) Android are, so I haven't otherwise had any hardware pressure to upgrade (although I do wish I had gotten 8 GB RAM for my travel laptop instead of 4 GB; that's been a bit of a pinch point).  I have been considering whether to replace the desktop with a laptop, but haven't given it huge thought yet, and it doesn't help that the company that I got my desktop and laptop from is no longer in business.  Not many places that will sell a laptop that will not only be guaranteed to work with Linux but will ship it OS-free so I can install the OS myself (not really a fan of the "get something with Windows and then blow Windows away" approach).

As for why the HDMI cable?  It was an easy option, considering that I've had a combined living room/office for the past decade.  I can stream things like YouTube on the TV without signing in to the app and dealing with ads and the like.  I don't have to find a place for a third remote, or deal with the microphones in my devices (well, except for my phone where I disabled the voice assistant and which lives in my purse where it probably can't hear anything clearly anyways).  Ethernet connectivity is more reliable than wifi (I tried to run the TV over wifi when I first got it; it was a nightmare and I don't think I ever got the wifi to work with both the TV and my Chromebook at the same time).  Plus I've found that pretty much everything that isn't pure Linux has a "planned obsolescence" factor that makes it pretty much impossible to keep beyond 3-5 years; even the Smart Hub functions of my TV no longer work.  That said, I'll probably have to get something if I move somewhere with more space where it will no longer make sense to have a combined living room/office (hence the desire to replace my desktop with a laptop; if I ever do do this, I can then preserve my ability to watch TV while working at the computer).

I found this part a little difficult to understand.  I know a different OS is likely involved, but in Firefox on Windows I typically open new tabs by right-clicking on links while holding down the Control key, and the focus always remains on the original tab.

I have a tendency to open bookmarks in the background by middle clicking them with the mouse (ie, the scroll wheel).  That's also how I do links.  When I do that with bookmarks on Firefox, it switches to the new tab opened instead of opening it in the background.

Incidentally, I just opened it today when responding to this, and all the links I had pinned to the new tab page all went away.  What's the point if it just gets rid of them immediately?  I hope I never get forced off Vivaldi like I fear I might be once Manifest v3 becomes the only game in town for extensions...

[ZLoth]

The technician in me is having me ask the following questions just to better understand your issue:

• How old is that computer?
• What operating system is that computer running?
• What processor is it running?
• How much memory (not storage space) does that computer have?

According to my email records, I purchased my desktop in 2016 (has it been that long already?).  It currently runs Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon (Cinnamon version 6.0.4, kernel version 5.15.0-107-generic).  The processor is an Intel Core i5-6500 @ 3.20GHz x 4 and I have 8 GB of RAM (not sure if it's worth mentioning, but I also have a NVIDIA GM206 [GeForce GTX 950] graphics card with 2 GB of video RAM).  Linux is less prone to memory usage bloat than Windows and (ironically) Android are, so I haven't otherwise had any hardware pressure to upgrade (although I do wish I had gotten 8 GB RAM for my travel laptop instead of 4 GB; that's been a bit of a pinch point).

Linux Mint? A quick Google search shows that the program CPU-X is the Linux equivalent of CPU-Z and will bring up the CPU and memory information you need, including make and model of the memory in your computer as well as the make and model of the motherboard. Having said that.... you are using a Intel® Core™ i5-6500 Processor which uses either DDR4-1866/2133 or DDR3L-1333/1600 memory. The biggest pain point is the amount of memory on your system... 8 GB is simply too little in 2024. At a minimum, you should have at least 16GB of memory, and 32GB is nice to have. While both Windows and Linux will run under 8 GB, there is probably a ton of memory being swapped to your storage device (either hard drive or SSD) which is harming performance.

In checking memory prices:

• DDR3-1600 16GB (2×8GB) - $20 (if you have four slots, you can get two kits)
• DDR4-2133 16GB (2×8GB) - $33
• DDR4-2133 32GB (2×8GB) - $58

The prices will vary based upon the brand. It's very important to know if you are using DDR3 or DDR4, and if you are using regular DIMMs or SODIMMs. CPU-X should tell you that, and memory should be easy to install and remove on a desktop. Laptop may be slighty challenging.

Also, if you are still using a hard disk drive in your computer, I would highly encourage you to swap it out to a SSD. They are very cheap now compared to 2016, and very fast. Again, in checking Amazon, the prices range from $32 to $60 for a 500GB SSD drive.

I see no compelling reason to replace your computer. If you are, in addition to a laptop, I would check out some of the mini-PCs that are sold (unless you are a gamer). I purchased higher-end miniPC for my mother last January after her laptop gave her trouble and upgraded the memory from the included 8 GB to a higher level. The graphics processor that is included as part of the processor is more than capable for the graphics needs of my mother (video viewing, web browsing, playing casino and card games),

[SSOWorld]

Have you ever tried throwing the computer in the garbage?  

[ZLoth]

Time to vent...

Right now, the phrase "Hard work never killed anyone" is on my list of irritable phrases. It's up there with "the customer is always right". I know it's a phrase that parents like to give their kids when they don't do their chores, but unfortunately, it can lead to short-term decisions that are needed to "survive", like grabbing a "quick" dinner in between your full-time job and the college courses you are taking part time. And, the current economy reality means that "work-life balance" is shot to pieces if you want to retain your position.

[CtrlAltDel]

Right now, the phrase "Hard work never killed anyone" is on my list of irritable phrases. It's up there with "the customer is always right".

It bothers me as well since it's not true. Hard work has killed a great many people.

[SEWIGuy]

The New York Times, on its regular X-er feed, occasionally posts in Spanish.

https://x.com/nytimes/status/1794013045737336889

Even though they have a dedicated Spanish account.

https://x.com/nytimeses

[ZLoth]

After five years, and yet, when I see a map like this...

https://twitter.com/nadocast/status/1794109447939260909

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm in the Red area or the Green area. It would help if there were county lines on those maps, as I can easily locate from that point. As it is, I'm trying to figure out if I'm in the light green or red zone.

[Scott5114]

After five years, and yet, when I see a map like this...

https://twitter.com/nadocast/status/1794109447939260909

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm in the Red area or the Green area. It would help if there were county lines on those maps, as I can easily locate from that point. As it is, I'm trying to figure out if I'm in the light green or red zone.

Though we've gotten prediction of mesoscale systems down to a science, there are a lot of moving parts to these types of storms. A front, air mass, or dry line parking itself even ten miles away from its predicted location can be enough to radically alter the day's forecast. And if weak "crapvection" storms fire off early in the day, they can dampen the atmosphere's energy enough that the whole forecast ends up being a bust. So even if you did have the granularity you want, chances are it wouldn't actually be useful.

If you're not sure which risk level you're at, it's always better to assume you're in the worse risk category and prepare accordingly.

[ZLoth]

Though we've gotten prediction of mesoscale systems down to a science, there are a lot of moving parts to these types of storms. A front, air mass, or dry line parking itself even ten miles away from its predicted location can be enough to radically alter the day's forecast. And if weak "crapvection" storms fire off early in the day, they can dampen the atmosphere's energy enough that the whole forecast ends up being a bust. So even if you did have the granularity you want, chances are it wouldn't actually be useful.

If you're not sure which risk level you're at, it's always better to assume you're in the worse risk category and prepare accordingly.

I'm one of those weird people who believe that if you are prepared for disaster, then probably nothing happens while if you are completely unprepared, you are a disaster magnet. And during inclement weather, the best thing I can do is STAY HOME. Thus, when the following warnings come out:

• Severe Thunderstorm Watch - Pay closer to the weather data
• Severe Thunderstorm Warning - Check the shelter room where I have extra water, hard hats, and flashlights. Make sure that the tablet and phones are charging.
• Tornado Watch - Make sure blankets and shoes are in the shelter room. Make sure the bug-out bag is prepared including USB power packs, pet and human food, and other needed items.
• Tornado Warning - Bug out to the shelter room and hope I did everything right.

Of course, I have a dedicated UPS on my Internet modem and Wifi gateway which should last around 450 minutes (9 hours) without external power, plus UPS on other critical pieces of equipment. And a SAME radio was one of the first purchases I made when I moved here.

Having said that, I'm more worried about large-sized hail than tornadoes in my area. 

[mgk920]

Though we've gotten prediction of mesoscale systems down to a science, there are a lot of moving parts to these types of storms. A front, air mass, or dry line parking itself even ten miles away from its predicted location can be enough to radically alter the day's forecast. And if weak "crapvection" storms fire off early in the day, they can dampen the atmosphere's energy enough that the whole forecast ends up being a bust. So even if you did have the granularity you want, chances are it wouldn't actually be useful.

If you're not sure which risk level you're at, it's always better to assume you're in the worse risk category and prepare accordingly.

I'm one of those weird people who believe that if you are prepared for disaster, then probably nothing happens while if you are completely unprepared, you are a disaster magnet. And during inclement weather, the best thing I can do is STAY HOME. Thus, when the following warnings come out:

• Severe Thunderstorm Watch - Pay closer to the weather data
• Severe Thunderstorm Warning - Check the shelter room where I have extra water, hard hats, and flashlights. Make sure that the tablet and phones are charging.
• Tornado Watch - Make sure blankets and shoes are in the shelter room. Make sure the bug-out bag is prepared including USB power packs, pet and human food, and other needed items.
• Tornado Warning - Bug out to the shelter room and hope I did everything right.

Of course, I have a dedicated UPS on my Internet modem and Wifi gateway which should last around 450 minutes (9 hours) without external power, plus UPS on other critical pieces of equipment. And a SAME radio was one of the first purchases I made when I moved here.

Having said that, I'm more worried about large-sized hail than tornadoes in my area. 

- Tornado Emergency' - Be in your storm cellar and start making plans to rebuild your city when you emerge.

Mike

[Scott5114]

Though we've gotten prediction of mesoscale systems down to a science, there are a lot of moving parts to these types of storms. A front, air mass, or dry line parking itself even ten miles away from its predicted location can be enough to radically alter the day's forecast. And if weak "crapvection" storms fire off early in the day, they can dampen the atmosphere's energy enough that the whole forecast ends up being a bust. So even if you did have the granularity you want, chances are it wouldn't actually be useful.

If you're not sure which risk level you're at, it's always better to assume you're in the worse risk category and prepare accordingly.

I'm one of those weird people who believe that if you are prepared for disaster, then probably nothing happens while if you are completely unprepared, you are a disaster magnet. And during inclement weather, the best thing I can do is STAY HOME. Thus, when the following warnings come out:

• Severe Thunderstorm Watch - Pay closer to the weather data
• Severe Thunderstorm Warning - Check the shelter room where I have extra water, hard hats, and flashlights. Make sure that the tablet and phones are charging.
• Tornado Watch - Make sure blankets and shoes are in the shelter room. Make sure the bug-out bag is prepared including USB power packs, pet and human food, and other needed items.
• Tornado Warning - Bug out to the shelter room and hope I did everything right.

Of course, I have a dedicated UPS on my Internet modem and Wifi gateway which should last around 450 minutes (9 hours) without external power, plus UPS on other critical pieces of equipment. And a SAME radio was one of the first purchases I made when I moved here.

Having said that, I'm more worried about large-sized hail than tornadoes in my area. 

Responsible, though I expect in another decade or so you'll probably start to get to where you can tell which storms are and aren't so big of a threat and loosen up a bit.

Case in point, in my time in Norman, I had probably a dozen tornado warnings I was included in but only used the underground shelter once. Since I had a copy of the excellent GRLevel3 to pull data straight from NWS, and a reasonable idea of how to use it from Oklahoma City weather coverage (which appears to skew quite a bit more technical than other markets in Tornado Alley do; it's worth looking up archive footage of on YouTube to see how they do it there), I was able to ascertain where the actual funnel was and its likely trajectory. That meant that I could avoid having herd the cats, wife, dog, etc. into the shelter unless it was an actual imminent threat.

It doesn't help that the bar for tornado warnings has been lowered over the years. When I was a kid they would only issue them if a tornado was confirmed to be on the ground. Nowadays, you get a lot of warnings based on "radar-indicated rotation". Well, there's lots of storms that spin a bit but don't drop tornadoes. I guess they figure this saves lives, but I'm a little worried about the boy who cried wolf effect.

I mentioned in a Discord server that I considered being under a severe thunderstorm warning to be ideal sleeping weather. Apparently that's not a thing outside Oklahoma!

[roadman65]

Bruce Willis is dead according to Facebook.

Where is Fact Check?

They only seem to be around scrutinizing when it's about political comments. Not anything else.

Willis is alive. Maybe not well health wise, but alive.

[SSOWorld]

The posts above regarding severe weather - I really am annoyed by the local channel weather team breaking the normal feed to continuous analysis of the storm when a tornado warning is in effect within the channel's zone --- and the fact that every channel is doing this.  It's calm outside, why break my watching regiment to talk about a warning half-way across the ****ing state????

Good thing they don't invade the streaming apps (at least not yet)

That said - I understand the reasoning behind doing this and the reason for discouraging people from ignoring warnings.  but hey, it was in Janesville, I'm not.

[ZLoth]

Responsible, though I expect in another decade or so you'll probably start to get to where you can tell which storms are and aren't so big of a threat and loosen up a bit.

Text Deleted

I mentioned in a Discord server that I considered being under a severe thunderstorm warning to be ideal sleeping weather. Apparently that's not a thing outside Oklahoma!

In addition to being a wanna-be road geek, I'm also a wanna-be weather geek. One advantage that you have noted in the Internet age is the access to the weather data through our web browsers so that I don't have to rely on the local news to review the relevancy. (See https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=34793.msg2922247 )

Last night was an interesting night where I panicked a little bit. Conisder the following:

• 10:46 PM Central Tornado Watch - Update 4 is when my county was included
• 11:00 PM Central - Tornado Warning #1
• 11:37 PM Central - Tornado Warning #2
• 12:11 AM Central - Tornado Warning #3

As you can see from the radar images, this was a nasty-looking that ended up moving from west to east, and was mainly hitting northern Collin county and southern Grayson county from 11 PM until midnight. I was quite surprised when the tornado watch was activated as I live in southern Collin county, and it was as calm as can be, but there was the possibility of the storm headed south.

How nasty was this tornado? Here is footage of what used to be a Shell station in Valley View, Texas on Interstate 35 at W Lone Oak Road near mile marker 483:

I just checked, and the NWS Fort Worth posted this:
https://twitter.com/NWSFortWorth/status/1794866432268030152

[bm7]

Responsible, though I expect in another decade or so you'll probably start to get to where you can tell which storms are and aren't so big of a threat and loosen up a bit.

A few years ago at my work we were under a tornado warning but were just barely within the warning polygon. I looked at the velocity on the radar and the actual circulation was going past us over 10 miles away, so while everyone else was sheltering in a safe place, I decided to take my lunch break to sit out in my car and watch the storm go by. Afterwards everyone told me I was crazy, which probably isn't wrong...

I mentioned in a Discord server that I considered being under a severe thunderstorm warning to be ideal sleeping weather. Apparently that's not a thing outside Oklahoma!

Storms are great sleeping weather for me, although I like seeing the wind and lightning too much to choose to sleep through them if it's a particularly strong storm.

[SEWIGuy]

Though we've gotten prediction of mesoscale systems down to a science, there are a lot of moving parts to these types of storms. A front, air mass, or dry line parking itself even ten miles away from its predicted location can be enough to radically alter the day's forecast. And if weak "crapvection" storms fire off early in the day, they can dampen the atmosphere's energy enough that the whole forecast ends up being a bust. So even if you did have the granularity you want, chances are it wouldn't actually be useful.

If you're not sure which risk level you're at, it's always better to assume you're in the worse risk category and prepare accordingly.

I'm one of those weird people who believe that if you are prepared for disaster, then probably nothing happens while if you are completely unprepared, you are a disaster magnet. And during inclement weather, the best thing I can do is STAY HOME. Thus, when the following warnings come out:

• Severe Thunderstorm Watch - Pay closer to the weather data
• Severe Thunderstorm Warning - Check the shelter room where I have extra water, hard hats, and flashlights. Make sure that the tablet and phones are charging.
• Tornado Watch - Make sure blankets and shoes are in the shelter room. Make sure the bug-out bag is prepared including USB power packs, pet and human food, and other needed items.
• Tornado Warning - Bug out to the shelter room and hope I did everything right.

Of course, I have a dedicated UPS on my Internet modem and Wifi gateway which should last around 450 minutes (9 hours) without external power, plus UPS on other critical pieces of equipment. And a SAME radio was one of the first purchases I made when I moved here.

Having said that, I'm more worried about large-sized hail than tornadoes in my area. 

Responsible, though I expect in another decade or so you'll probably start to get to where you can tell which storms are and aren't so big of a threat and loosen up a bit.

Case in point, in my time in Norman, I had probably a dozen tornado warnings I was included in but only used the underground shelter once. Since I had a copy of the excellent GRLevel3 to pull data straight from NWS, and a reasonable idea of how to use it from Oklahoma City weather coverage (which appears to skew quite a bit more technical than other markets in Tornado Alley do; it's worth looking up archive footage of on YouTube to see how they do it there), I was able to ascertain where the actual funnel was and its likely trajectory. That meant that I could avoid having herd the cats, wife, dog, etc. into the shelter unless it was an actual imminent threat.

It doesn't help that the bar for tornado warnings has been lowered over the years. When I was a kid they would only issue them if a tornado was confirmed to be on the ground. Nowadays, you get a lot of warnings based on "radar-indicated rotation". Well, there's lots of storms that spin a bit but don't drop tornadoes. I guess they figure this saves lives, but I'm a little worried about the boy who cried wolf effect.

I mentioned in a Discord server that I considered being under a severe thunderstorm warning to be ideal sleeping weather. Apparently that's not a thing outside Oklahoma!

Case in point...I was walking my dogs the other day when the storm sirens were going off. There was a supposed tornado on the far opposite side of the county (15 miles away) but was obviously not headed in my direction by a simple look at the weather radar.

And I have lived my entire life in the midwest and have never had any sort of plan outside of "go to the basement." I don't have water or power set aside. If a tornado completely destroys my house, I don't think I will have to worry about either frankly.

[formulanone]

Bruce Willis is dead according to Facebook.

Welcome to 2009: Facebook is a reliable source of finding out information about people you actually know (that is, have met in-the-flesh), from related people you also actually know. That's really all it was ever supposed to be used for in the first place.

Every other bit of information is to be treated as suspect on the grounds of ignorance, self-attention, or money-making distraction. How long have you been on the Internet?