I'm currently outfitting a workshop in a garage space. I'm installing a dust collection system. The system will consist of steel ductwork and will be powered by a large dust collector. This collector is a beast of a machine, one of Oneida's dust gorilla models. It runs on a dedicated 230V 30A circuit and will be collecting dust from all the machines in the shop.

So far I've just been working on building out the gorilla itself. Most of the pieces were easy enough, not too heavy and easy enough to bolt together. However, the motor was another story. This thing weighs as much as I do and it needed to be lifted up eight feet in the air, over two feet, and back down a foot or so. It's a large awkward object and there are space constraints due to existing ducting and piping in the area.

This is the motor here:

The gorilla before construction of the frame. (Note the water heater for scale.)

Now, I suppose I could have done this just by rounding up four strong guys and getting a few ladders for everyone to stand on. But I really wanted to be able to place and remove the motor by myself. In case I need to service it or unclog a backup, I wanted to be able to raise or lower the motor again myself. My husband's back is recovering from a sporting injury, so I had to figure out a way to lift this motor single-handedly.

So, I decided to build a large hoisting frame around the thing. My plan was to hang an electric hoist at ceiling height. Use the hoist to raise the motor up. Use a sled on rails to slide the motor over the top of the gorilla, and then use ropes to lower it down.

I spent several days building out this lifting frame from the ground up. At the top are a set of rails allowing a sled to move horizontally along them. The sled has a hole in it to accommodate the impeller motor which sticks out several inches belong the motor housing. The geometry of all of this had to be planned for. The hoist is just a cheap ceiling hoist from Harbor Freight.

Finally, once everything was built, it was time to lift. I built a lifting bar and rigged up the motor.

I stood back, let the winch do its thing, and the whole plan worked brilliantly!

I lifted the motor to the top of the tower using the hoist. I then lowered it onto a sled. I then slid it over top of the gorilla. I did have to modify the sled to remove the front of it, but it worked out just as well.

Finally, I rigged ropes around the motor, raised it up enough to get the sled out, and then carefully, inch by inch, one rope at a time lowered the motor on to the top of the gorilla.

Finally, after several days work, it's done.

It's been a lot of work getting this all together. And I'm sure there may are probably quicker and easier methods of getting a motor up there. But again, I wanted a permanent solution that allowed me to disassemble the system in the future if I need to. But it's been really enjoyable. Also, I now have a giant hoist if I ever need anything hoisted!

Next step is the duct work build out!

She says it's too dogmatic.

I for one would find it hilarious to see the headline, "Sam Altman indicted on charges of witchcraft."

There is much speculation on whether President Trump will simply refuse to comply with judicial orders. There's the famous line of Andrew Jackson, "The court has made their ruling, let them enforce it." JD Vance recently tweeted that he does not believe Musk's rogue DOGE agency should be subject to judicial review. The writer behind a lot of the philosophy of Trump and Vance, Curtis Yarvin, advocates that the president should simply ignore court orders and do what he wills. Many have lamented that if this were the case, that there is nothing the Supreme Court could do. That they would simply be powerless, and that the only hope would be that the military would step in.

But I can think of an option for such a scenario that I haven't heard discussed anywhere. If a president openly defies a direct order by a Supreme Court, could the court then call upon the ancient common law tradition of a Writ of Outlawry?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaw

In common parlance, we use the term "outlaw" to refer to someone that is simply a criminal or on the run from the law. But traditionally it was something a lot more specific. Back in ancient days where it was much more difficult to track down fugitives, courts would declare those who refused to subject themselves to the court's process as "outlaws." They literally were declared as outside the protection from the law. It was then legal for literally anyone to do whatever they wanted to that person, and they would face no legal penalties whatsoever. An outlaw could literally be killed, and their killer would face no penalties. The philosophy was that if someone was going to refuse to subject themselves to the law, then they did not deserve the protection of the law.

Could this be the answer to Jackson's quip? Ultimately the Supreme Court determines the working of the justice system. If a court rules that no lower court can hold someone accountable for crimes against someone, then anyone could harm that person with impunity.

Could this be a final and ultimate option for the Supreme Court to hold a rogue president accountable? Give the president plenty of chances and fair warning. But if the president simply refuses to abide by the court's rulings, then the court could activate this ancient tradition and declare them an outlaw. It would then be completely legal for anyone to do whatever they wanted to the president, including the Secret Service agents that surround him at all times. Could the Supreme Court rein in a lawless president by simply declaring that president outside of the law's protection?

With all the chaos in Washington right now, I'm low key worried about Musk and his goons managing to fuck up the FDIC. If that happens, we're looking at simultaneous bank runs on every bank in the country.

Is it possible for a US citizen, without actually traveling to a foreign country, to open up a bank account in Canada or Europe somewhere and transfer some funds there? I'm not quite at the point of "liquidate everything and get it out of the country." But having a hedge in the form of an emergency fund in a Canadian or European bank account is very tempting right now.

Is this sort of thing possible? Can you open up a foreign bank account remotely? Or is this the kind of thing you can only do by physically traveling to a foreign country, walking into a bank branch, and opening an account there? And can you open up a bank account in a country without having any citizenship or residency there?

Basically, is it possible for a US citizen, whose only nationality or immigration status is American, to open up an account in Canada or Europe without physically leaving the borders of the US?

Sorry if this is a silly or stupid question. I don't have a lot of experience with international banking.

Let's change the law to bring back the old Germanic tradition of judicial trial by combat. But make it specific to consumer and labor rights disputes. Got a beef with a company? Forget binding arbitration. You can now challenge the CEO to a one-on-one sword fight. The battle will be decided....by the blade! Legally speaking, we'll just assume the fight is in God's hands, and whatever the consumer rights or labor dispute in question, the side that survives is the automatic winner.

And yes, I realize that by proposing this, I'll probably be the first one voted into the Sea. That's fine. I'm willing to take one for the team.

Why are we'all in such a rush, anyway? If you need to talk to someone right away, we got video conferencing. If you, in an emergency, really need to move somewhere fast, there's helicopters. I say we just consign the whole 'car' idea to the dustbin of history, and just convert everything over to canals. If some insist on speed, we can consider adding a train system. But the only means of private mechanized transport must be by watercraft! That should be enough.

Let's make elections TRULY interesting. Our current system strictly prevents any vote totals from being released until the last polls have closed at the end of election day. I say we do the exact opposite. Let's publish vote totals for every election LIVE!

When you vote early or send in an absentee ballot, it may be counted early, but currently those results are held secret until the last polls close on election day. Instead, let's have states and counties publish online live running totals of votes as they come in! Also we can invest in more rapid ballot-counting equipment so that election day results can be published minute-by-minute. Election day will be a mad dash with both sides competing live against each other, against a ticking clock with live vote totals that anyone can see. In close races, both sides will be running around with their hair on fire trying to find a few more votes. You might even see elaborate vote strategies; for example one side might deliberately reserve a chunk of voters until the 11th hour, just to make their opponents overconfident.

Elections are far too boring. Let's publish live running vote totals and turn them into a spectator sport! Embrace the madness. Embrace the beautiful chaos. Turn election day into something people can watch like a sporting event. Let's publish election results as they come in!

The Planet of the Apes film franchise has single-handedly shaped entire fields of biological research. As long as it remains in the public consciousness, no biologist or geneticist will ever experiment with trying to engineer chimps and other apes to be more intelligent. Any research proposal remotely related to the topic will be immediately shot down by someone simply stating, "do you want Planet of the Apes? Because this is how you get Planet of the Apes!"

Forget grand corruption. I want to see some small-time thievery from our presidents. If we're going to have a criminal president, I want them to be less "mobster," and more "meth addict."

Become president. Procede to start a four-year personal petty crime wave. Break into people's homes to just to steal their televisions. Break into construction sites to steal copper wiring. Habitually steal catalytic converters from cars parked in the Pentagon parking lot. Offer the proceeds of your crimes to a local charity, in cash, just to break into their office at night and steal it back.

Oh, and after each crime, issue a formal pardon to yourself, completely absolving yourself of criminal liability. Also, don't forget the best part. As you embark on this wave of petty crime, you'll have Secret Service protection! So even if someone does catch you, in broad daylight, laying on a dolly under their truck, stealing their cat with a sawzall, they won't be able to even get near you! The Secret Service will prevent anyone from being able to physically stop you! Hell, you can break into people's houses at night, just to rough up the place!

We'll cover all our bases and hire people of all faiths. We'll have tens of thousands of people praying to boost our science output. It's sure to work!