Post Ai7PcbP300TjuGhXP6 by ajroach42@retro.social
(DIR) More posts by ajroach42@retro.social
(DIR) Post #Ai5pbEBk2AeS6tYxd2 by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:06:50Z
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Guess what? There's a big ol' hole in the ceiling at the bookstore. Guess why? A goddamn rat.
(DIR) Post #Ai5pfXsWliWUKudOt6 by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:07:37Z
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We get occasional rats in the building because we're in a city, and because there's a restaurant across the street, and an abandoned building next door. They get under the floor, and then climb the inside of the walls. They rarely make it out of the walls, and on the few occasions that they have ... well, they don't live long after that, is what I'm saying (and then we patch the hole, and they don't come in that way anymore.) We haven't seen any evidence of rodents in the kitchen, we haven't seen any evidence of rodents in the bookstore. We haven't really seen any evidence of rodents anywhere in ages. But today I walked in to the ceiling dripping water.
(DIR) Post #Ai5pk0y6YSZZiQNGXQ by poiseunderchaos@sonomu.club
2024-05-20T20:08:22Z
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@ajroach42 !
(DIR) Post #Ai5pmUOI8NQhXwnq64 by brothersoul@mstdn.social
2024-05-20T20:08:20Z
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@ajroach42 :ratstand: :cate:
(DIR) Post #Ai5poYWtiWMwxhoWHY by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:09:13Z
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Why was the ceiling dripping water? Well, because it was wet. There have been a lot of bad storms recently. Could have been from the storms, right? Except yesterday was mostly clear! And there's no evidence of water in the apartment above the store. So ... ? Maybe it's the roof leaking in to the wall and then ... ? Why is it pooling in this particular location? It doesn't make sense.
(DIR) Post #Ai5pwppPHkzSvfQ2r2 by brothersoul@mstdn.social
2024-05-20T20:10:03Z
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@ajroach42 I'd be freaking the hell out. Hope you get it sorted Andrew. brother
(DIR) Post #Ai5q34xFxSDZa54HJo by GeoWend@kosmos.social
2024-05-20T20:11:52Z
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@ajroach42 check the gutters...We had one time a backup that made itself manifest AFTER a big rain. It pooled, and that is what allowed it to soak through a point that normally, it would have just run over and been gone.
(DIR) Post #Ai5q7R2vlRBbFrnceG by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:12:36Z
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So I cut the ceiling open. And I felt water on my head.And I smelled damp. And I saw mold. And I heard dripping.And, for a second, I tasted blood. I think I imagined that last part. I traced the stream on my head back to a piece of pex piping. It had a tiny little puncture in it, and a pinhole of water was shooting out of it. Apparently it's the supply line for the upstairs sink. And how long has it been slowly leaking a pinhole of water? We have no idea! Weeks? Months? Long enough that *two* walls are completely saturated and molding.
(DIR) Post #Ai5qHyLGpGrDPqOzOS by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:14:34Z
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So I turned the water off and I got a better look at the pex pipe. It has gnaw marks all over it. No obvious signs of a recent visitor (again, who knows how long it's been like this! ) So, at this point, we called in some experts. There's a man removing the walls right now. He'll be doing mold remediation as well. Tomorrow, a plumber will come and replumb the supply line for the sink. In a few days we'll find out if the insurance is going to cover this, or if we're going to have to go out of pocket.
(DIR) Post #Ai5qrJiPLwDdq54u92 by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:20:56Z
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As a result, there's a hole in the ceiling and the drywall is missing off of two walls. We've stopped the problem from getting any worse. We're working on making it better. We'll find out how much it's going to cost soon. But a lot, probably. We're also replacing an A/C unit at the makerspace right now, which is likely to cost more than $8k. So uhhh
(DIR) Post #Ai5rPHDj8R1dwmv8i0 by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:27:02Z
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Hi! My name is Andrew. I run a bookstore ( https://hemlockbazaar.com ) and we, very unexpectedly, need to replace two walls and part of our ceiling, probably out of pocket. I do a lot of other things. You can learn about some of them at https://andrewroach.net but that's out of date, because life keeps happening. You can also learn about some of them at https://impractical.computer which is significantly less out of date, because it's brand new. One of the other things I do is run a Makerspace ( https://ellijaymakerspace.org ) which needs a new A/C unit to survive the summer heat. If you'd like to help us afford to repair our walls and ceiling or replace our A/C unit you can: - Buy a book, movie or record from us: https://hemlockbazaar.com/shop- Buy some of the coffee we roast https://gamountaincoffee.com - Buy one of the albums we release: https://analogrevolution.bandcamp.com - Check out our TV network https://newellijay.tv We support a community of about 20 people here in our small mountain town, and these are two of the latest in a series of large unexpected expenses that have plagued us all year.
(DIR) Post #Ai5rUhENr7CE47oPNg by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:27:46Z
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If you'd like to help us afford to repair our walls and ceiling or replace our A/C unit you can: - Buy a book, movie or record from us: https://hemlockbazaar.com/shop- Buy some of the coffee we roast https://gamountaincoffee.com - Buy one of the albums we release: https://analogrevolution.bandcamp.com - Check out our TV network https://newellijay.tv We support a community of about 20 people here in our small mountain town, and these are two of the latest in a series of large unexpected expenses that have plagued us all year.
(DIR) Post #Ai5rgFVqjmbNZdUT0i by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:30:08Z
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There are people who are much more in need. We're not desperate, yet. Things are just a lot tighter than I'd prefer. Business has been slower than average. The season has been full of unexpected expenses totaling in the tens of thousands already. A few extra sales online would kick the can until we have the local foot traffic to catch back up.
(DIR) Post #Ai5rrPuER5HOzeDi5Y by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T20:32:07Z
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@Kye Like I said, they don't last long when they make it out of the walls. Unfortunately, the folks doing construction next door and the restaurant across the street more or less keep them in a steady supply of food. There's nothing for them to eat in here, and they don't really try. They just chew on the occasional wire or pipe.
(DIR) Post #Ai5vNsYxj1T505RTxA by epicdemiologist@wandering.shop
2024-05-20T21:11:36Z
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@ajroach42 So sorry to hear about your troubles. Do you offer gift certificates? We have some family birthdays coming up...
(DIR) Post #Ai5x7yfPSkpvCs0GTQ by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T21:31:12Z
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@epicdemiologist In store or online?
(DIR) Post #Ai5xFQ0GE2Qw12IvTc by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T21:32:33Z
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@epicdemiologist We do physical store gift cards, but I don't have a way to accept those as payment online. I believe I can enable a virtual gift card for the webstore, but I wouldn't have a way to accept those at the brick and mortar.
(DIR) Post #Ai61FGDL1L6PTKbLCC by epicdemiologist@wandering.shop
2024-05-20T22:17:19Z
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@ajroach42 Online, for my purposes (we live in Athens).
(DIR) Post #Ai627jKsxkh5Qf6YIy by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T22:27:06Z
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@pre yeah. We were maybe a month away from being caught up and stable again. And now we're looking at an additional 9 weeks or more depending on how much this costs and how many days we're closed as a result.
(DIR) Post #Ai62QfW9NpH75ZP7r6 by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T22:30:35Z
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@epicdemiologist I'll find a way to do it before the end of the day.
(DIR) Post #Ai6375CaHOK8uUTdUe by epicdemiologist@wandering.shop
2024-05-20T22:38:14Z
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@ajroach42 Fantastic, thank you! We have a local bookstore that's also struggling, esp. with high credit card charges. I order from them online a lot, so this time I bought myself a fairly large gift card so I can do online orders without costing them that extra $. Trying to find more ways to help small local businesses.
(DIR) Post #Ai638x0th9tu5ptwNk by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-20T22:38:17Z
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There is more ceiling in the next room that is also going to need to be removed. The next room is the kitchen, which means we have to close the kitchen at least two days in the next week, including tomorrow. I don't know how much this is going to cost in dollars spent, but it's looking like at least 2k in missed revenue.
(DIR) Post #Ai6MdesB5cxjwAB94S by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-21T02:17:03Z
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Thank you to everyone who has given us a little extra support in this time of need. I'll start shipping tomorrow.
(DIR) Post #Ai76oBZWxum48hPlUO by manu@paquita.masto.host
2024-05-21T10:54:22Z
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@ajroach42 Just to be sure, you don't ship outside US, right?
(DIR) Post #Ai7EV4lYqRajA7RMfY by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-21T12:20:35Z
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@manu not at the moment. International shipping is tricky and can be expensive in surprising ways.
(DIR) Post #Ai7PcbP300TjuGhXP6 by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-21T14:23:50Z
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We're packing everyone's orders now. We're still about $6k shorter than we need to be.
(DIR) Post #Ai7RVC1b9k4D4wKNzU by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-21T14:46:11Z
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@shapr ill include some stickers and zines.
(DIR) Post #Ai7lRQ2n5ajUU2Mayu by ddlyh@topspicy.social
2024-05-21T18:29:38Z
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@ajroach42I went to see what physical media you had on sale, but I presume international shipping will be too much?BTW, You'll want to change the text on the movies page, I presume...
(DIR) Post #Ai7mAcOI1ypTo7yKVU by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-21T18:37:50Z
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@ddlyh we don't have international shipping enabled at this time. I hope to be able to find an affordable way to do it in the future, but it hasn't happened yet.
(DIR) Post #Ai7snrktRHmUTjdu6q by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-21T19:52:06Z
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I'm not sure where I pulled that $6k number from this morning. It's wrong. I've run the numbers, and we're way further behind than that. We should be able to make it up, but it's more than $6k, and it's going to take a while to climb out. The extra traffic and sales we've gotten from the good people of the fediverse has been a huge help! If nothing else goes wrong, we should be fine!
(DIR) Post #AiA7lTL98ASpnzpu5I by ddlyh@topspicy.social
2024-05-22T21:49:13Z
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@ajroach42Does that apply to cassettes-for-me too?
(DIR) Post #AiACRpp2KgqZVmGxyi by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-22T22:41:44Z
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@ddlyh for physical, yeah. Not for digital, of course.
(DIR) Post #AiAPRQBIxnhNOMozvk by sconlan@metalhead.club
2024-05-23T01:07:18Z
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@ajroach42 People are going to be so mad when they find out I just bought the last Hedorah! Most underrated monster to throw down with Godzilla
(DIR) Post #AiAPoC2bhdj8CHbzPM by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-23T01:11:26Z
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@sconlan I'll get it packed up first thing in the morning. Thanks!
(DIR) Post #AiC4pCJYSjzMc562ZU by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-23T20:25:40Z
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In the time since I posted this, a man drove his dump truck in to the corner of our antique mall. Damage is minimal, but it's there. He or his insurance will be paying for it, but it's still construction, possible closure, potential structural damage, etc. In the meantime, our drink cooler malfunctioned (we were able to repair it) and my friend took our van to pick up some equipment, it broke down at a gas station 2 hours from here. (He was able to repair it, it was a minor repair, but it was a stressful few hours.) and then today the first big tourist event of the year was cancelled due to potentially hazardous weather, meaning we're going to miss another of what is usually our highest revenue weekends of the year. Now, the last hazardous weather brought 4 tornadoes to town, destroyed a bunch of roads, and left Sundog with weeks of hard labor clearing the trees from around his house.
(DIR) Post #AiCCYEFYoQ0vKJeDjs by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-23T21:52:15Z
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@lordbowlich the list of who I haven't might be shorter, but as a general rule we don't speak the lady's name.
(DIR) Post #AiDVmgRKtMrR66ineC by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-24T13:02:31Z
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The inspector came out to verify that the damage from the dump truck wasn't structural. It appears to have been mostly superficial. The only real damage is falling stones from loose mortar in the facade. So we're re-mortaring the facade, and that'll be that. Easy peasy.
(DIR) Post #AiDVrjTz0TxPyxMpjE by djsundog@toot-lab.reclaim.technology
2024-05-24T13:03:23Z
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@ajroach42 hell yeah hell yeah
(DIR) Post #AiDW2daPGmlMsdZVaq by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-24T13:05:24Z
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The storms that are washing through town haven't been bad yet. They might get bad tonight or tomorrow, which could still heavily impact traffic this weekend, but ... People are still coming in to town. The roads are choked with Florida tags who don't know how to drive on dirt roads. Most of them probably left home before the festival was cancelled. If the weather turns bad, or places lose power... There's like a 50/50 chance we'll be overrun with more people than we can serve, because there's nowhere else to go. If the weather doesn't turn bad, there's an even better chance we'll be overrun with more people than we can serve, because the event that was supposed to occupy their attention won't be happening.
(DIR) Post #AiDW4TkymoxOyROYts by poiseunderchaos@sonomu.club
2024-05-24T13:05:43Z
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@ajroach42 Glad to hear.
(DIR) Post #AiDW64JQMKjudeGSC8 by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-24T13:05:52Z
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I was really hoping for a normal busy weekend, not a 50/50 shot at flood or drought, but I'll take a flood.
(DIR) Post #AiDWISvafHbKSQ1mJE by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-24T13:08:14Z
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I found a neighbor with some video footage of the dump truck hitting the building. It's hard to tell exactly what happened. Either the side of his truck scraped down the corner of the building, or the hinge on his talgate clipped the corner. Either way, he was driving on the sidewalk when it happened.
(DIR) Post #AiDWLz17oXYmqiIHCa by djsundog@toot-lab.reclaim.technology
2024-05-24T13:08:12Z
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@ajroach42 one flood, coming up!
(DIR) Post #AiDWkq627Q7aQBRSIS by angiebaby@mas.to
2024-05-24T13:10:26Z
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@djsundog @ajroach42 I noticed the audio link has the album art - was this uploaded as a a video file, or an audio file with embedded art? (Sorry for the nerd question, but I'm intrigued.)
(DIR) Post #AiDWkrFHqV7LzAmMMK by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-24T13:13:23Z
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@angiebaby @djsundog Here's an mp3 with embedded art. Let's see what happens.
(DIR) Post #AiDWnLtKsMenbyhWAC by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-24T13:13:53Z
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@angiebaby @djsundog Looks like Sundog's was a video.
(DIR) Post #AiDWs3t5F3xNDkpRJI by dentangle@chaos.social
2024-05-24T13:14:37Z
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@ajroach42 Drunk/drugs?
(DIR) Post #AiDWuSHJWpHHRlIscq by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-24T13:15:08Z
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@dentangle Possibly. Possibly just tired. Possibly just in a hurry. It's a tight corner, and he was in a big vehicle.
(DIR) Post #AiDX0klxgDWYXkdrXc by angiebaby@mas.to
2024-05-24T13:16:12Z
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@ajroach42 @djsundog It does pull the image from id3 though, I see. That's interesting!
(DIR) Post #AiEejOLanTiarRV4im by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-25T02:17:29Z
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The water damage repairs will happen next week. There is no mold and residual moisture is back within acceptable parameters. We had a brief scare earlier with a new spot of water, which I worried was a fresh leak but it turned out to be condensation from an A/C unit. (It's not draining properly. Hopefully it's a cheap fix.)
(DIR) Post #AiEf9jAjzcL0yfyy1Y by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-25T02:22:14Z
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On the plus side, I think I sold our game in progress to the local tourism board, so that should be enough money to pay for the labor to finish it. And I'm going to learn to use the cnc machine tomorrow.
(DIR) Post #AiEfGd8kon3iISLQLg by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-25T02:23:28Z
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We still don't know how much the water damage repairs will cost. Could be thousands, could be only what we've spent so far. Entirely depends on the insurance company.
(DIR) Post #AiFVkc3OcKJHEOSM08 by baturkey@flumph.masto.host
2024-05-25T12:11:29Z
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@ajroach42 nice, would be interested in game design diaries
(DIR) Post #AiFWQwhAGNFvPbFAI4 by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-25T12:19:14Z
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@baturkey check @djsundog he's done a couple of explanatory theory and philosophy threads.
(DIR) Post #AiFWfmi1foaomgiqMS by djsundog@toot-lab.reclaim.technology
2024-05-25T12:21:32Z
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@ajroach42 @baturkey here's the overview thread I posted a couple weeks ago: https://toot-lab.reclaim.technology/@djsundog/112440762384701530I'll get a proper blog post out at the beginning of the week - thanks for being interested!
(DIR) Post #AiFaXTfMzRc9Dwm3we by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-05-25T13:05:13Z
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Storms rolled in early this morning. No damage yet, south western part of the county lost a power pole, but it's pretty sparsely populated compared to the rest of town, and crews are already in place to repair. Air is thick with water, a bit of fog here and there, basically no one in town.