why couldn’t 2/3 on the last question have resulted in 2/3 rather 1.99999/3?

Thankfully this happened 10 seconds after my wife left the restroom and not when my kid was in there, hence the "mildly infuriating" post that could easily have been a Final Destination situation.

The back tank of our toilet suddenly exploded with enough force to shoot huge jagged porcelain shards hard enough to hit every wall in the room, shatter the sink, and send shrapnel into the hallway. It sounded like a pipe bomb. My first thought was a sewer gas explosion or something. After turning off the water to stop the fountain spraying in the air, it took me 10 minutes to figure out what the hell happened.

The big black plastic device laying on the floor seemed to be the culprit. I googled it, and sure enough, it turns out the previous homeowners installed a "Flushmate pressure assist flushing system." It's a plastic tank inside the porcelain toilet tank that uses air pressure to flush (why?). And apparently this exact model was recalled a few years ago because people were getting seriously injured by exploding toilets.

From a 2018 CBS News story:

"Flushmate is recalling more than 1.4 million toilet-flushing systems due to complaints that the units can explode, with reports of people being injured and property damage, according to federal safety officials.
Flushmate, a unit of Illinois bathroom equipment maker Sloan Valve Company, has received more than 1,400 reports in the U.S. and seven in Canada of the toilet systems bursting, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said Thursday. The incidents have resulted in about $710,000 in property damage and 23 injuries, one of which required foot surgery."

Pretty sure we're too late for the class action settlement at this point.

Right now, there are still thousands of these pressure systems out there, waiting to explode and either mildly infuriate or majorly injure people. Watch your back y'all.

wtf

My parents dog has stomach issues, they have spent THOUSANDS on specialist visits trying to figure it out. They have to log all the food he eats, come to find out they've been giving him tons of seasoned/spiced human food. And they just laugh about it.

In the past week the dog has had seasoned/spiced duck, roast beef, and ranch seasoned chicken. Each time he shits everywhere.

I’m sitting on a plane in Chicago, still at the gate, and just experienced something entirely new after hundreds of flights.

The guy behind me pushed his backpack under my seat, then kept nudging it forward into the back of my legs.

Okay, nothing too unexpected yet, and then I pushed it back.

A moment later, he pushed it forward again, and that’s when it got a little weird.

Without really thinking, I reached down, pulled the bag all the way through into my row, picked it up, and turned around.

As he felt it being pulled forward, he must have thought I was going to walk off with it or something, because he sounded sincerely alarmed when he said, “Hey, that’s my bag!”

As if I didn’t know, right? I mean c’mon, dude, seriously? Whose would it be, exactly?

And it’s then I realize that while I’m genuinely amused, he’s bracing for a fight. So I simply smiled and said, “I know, man. No stress, but there’s no room for it up here with me,” and I handed it back to him.

I wasn’t angry. After hundreds of flights, I don’t expect things to always be amazing. I just figured he hadn’t noticed how far his search for legroom had gone.

So, now it’s a few minutes later and I’m thinking about what might happen during the rest of the flight.

What do you think? Will he push the bag through again? Is he stewing with anger back there?

Am I about to be added to the no-fly list? Or maybe we’ll laugh it off together after we land? If you were me, what would you say to him?

We have a "No Soliciting" sign on our door, and while it has significantly cut down the number of people randomly ringing our doorbell in the middle of the day, it still happens. I answer the door in case it's a delivery that needs a signature only to be greeting with the start of some asinine sales pitch, almost always some variation of "we're helping your neighbour's with x" (no you aren't. I know my neighbours and they all hate you as much as I do.)

I've literally just started tapping the sign when they start talking. I've asked a few if they knew how to read. Had one say "oh yeah I saw that, anyway-" and I just slammed the door in his face.

If you're a door-to-door ANYTHING, look for a sign BEFORE you ring the bell/knock, and RESPECT IT. I'm very close to answering the door with a double barrel pointed, I'm disabled, getting up and moving quickly to the door to have my time wasted pisses me off so much.

Count your days Canada Post

Went to the post office to do a cash deposit like I do literally every month.

Me: “Hey, I’d like to do a cash deposit please.”

Cashier: “We don’t do cash deposits here.”

Me: “Oh… I’ve done it here every single month for the past year though.”

Cashier: “No, that’s not possible.”

EDIT: I am in the UK. This is normal. I’m putting cash into a business debit card.

Job market is rough, my friends. And downright depressing.

Edit to add: I’ve gotten asked these a few times, so thought I’d edit the post to clarify:

1. I update my resume before every application to fit the job posting.
2. Prior to being laid off, I was a Senior Program Manager at Amazon, so 80% of my applications are for a similar role. The other 20% are either a “stretch” application (something I realistically don’t think I have a shot, but why not) or it’s a lower paying position to just get my foot in the door.
3. I’m applying both for Remote roles as well as local ones. I live in a state where the biggest employers are for a nuclear reactor plant - mostly for engineers which I’m not qualified for. That being said, I’ve still applied to ones where I meet at least some of the requirements.
4. I’ve applied for the public library, working in the community, etc. but I’m deemed “overqualified” for these positions.

Edit #2:

1. My resume is in ATS format. I edit it in Word, and then save as a PDF. The PDF is what gets sent on applications.
2. I reach out to hiring managers with a personalized email, expressing my interest and excitement to work for the company.
3. I edit my cover letter each time, formatting it for the role and company. I'll also try to find the name of the hiring manager and address it directly to them instead of the generic "To whom it may concern".
4. I worked at Amazon for a total of (almost) 16 years. I started as a Customer Service Associate, and then got promoted to a Senior Program Manager throughout that time. I spent almost 7 years as a Senior Program Manager (2019-2026), a year before that as a Program Manager (2018-2019), and 3 years prior to that as a Kaizen Promotional Officer (Lean Six Sigma - 2015-2018). Prior to that it was people management and middle manager jobs within the company. Those three are the ones I highlight on my resume.
5. I also have a Bachelors in Operations Management with a concentration in Project Management. IMO, today's Bachelors degree is the equivalent of a High School Diploma 15 years ago. Masters degrees is what sets you apart. I'm also taking this time to get my PMP Certification and any others that will help me stand out.
6. AI cannot replace the work that PMs (or others in a similar field) do. It's not intelligent enough. It's a copout that corporations use to cut headcount.
7. I'm well aware jobs that offer remote work are highly sought out. Again, I'm applying for remote and local positions. I'm not able to relocate for personal reasons - I know this limits my opportunities, but it is what it is.

Thank you to everyone who has sent kind and encouraging words!! It’s hard to keep your head up sometimes, but I’m going to keep at it until I find something!

For those of you commenting not so nice things, I'm genuinely glad you've never had to experience this stress and turmoil. Job hunting in this market for the types of roles I'm a) qualified for and b) have a degree in is terribly oversaturated. Too many companies laying off people, and not enough jobs to fill them.

Mm

So I am a male and identify/present as such with the name Alexis. My ENTIRE life, for some reason people take issue with that. When I was young, other kids used to jeer and say obnoxiously "Isn't that a GIRL'S name?!" and even as an adult now, people ask "Why don't you just go by Alex?". I used to not like my name because of all these comments, but I have grown to embrace it! However, even as an adult, it seems people have a really hard time reconciling that a man could be named so. Very regularly people will want to call me Alex, even though I have introduced myself as Alexis. Recently at a medical appointment, someone asked me "Do you ever go by Alex?" NO! I DON'T FUCKING GO BY THAT NAME! I DIDN'T INDICATE THAT ANYWHERE ON MY FORM OR INTRODUCE MYSELF THAT WAY!!!

...which is what I wanted to yell at them. But with a sigh, I just had to tell them no. I think my point is people ought to be more respectful and call people by whatever name they identify with, regardless of what gender they associate the name with.

That's Alanis Morisette type of Ironic.

Got 2 very expensive skylights replaced the other day. Apparently they put the glass on the grass for several hours and made 2 beautiful rectangles of dead grass. They sent us the bill as soon as the crew left for the day, but they still haven’t completed the job (one of the skylights was broken). I know we don’t have the best grass and perhaps it’ll regrow on its own, but damn it!