Camping Is Not Protesting!

If this is protesting, then I am a full-time protester (no, just a camper).

There has been a lot of misunderstanding about recent protests at college campuses.  Some "media" outlets linked to Hamas are portraying brave protesters being assaulted by the Police for no reason at all.  Even "mainstream" media outlets are lying-by-omission by implying the protesters are being arrested for protesting.

They are not.  They are being arrested for camping out on private property.  Camping is not protesting!

We saw this almost two decades ago with the "Occupy Wall Street" crowd, who set up a drug-fueled orgy campsite in Manhattan.  People were assaulted, not by the cops, but by fellow "protesters" - many of whom were just there for the party or in fact, homeless drug-addicts.  The same effect happened in Seattle and Portland, when protesters declared "cop-free zones" and people were killed, beaten up, and raped, not by the Police, but by fellow protesters.

Similar tactics have been engaged by self-proclaimed climate protesters who chain themselves to roadways or glue their hands to the pavement.  They are more than just protesting, they are blocking the highway for other people to use.

That is not protesting, it is just trespassing.

It has long been held by the Supreme Court that the first amendment is not absolute.  The government can control the time and place of protests, require permits, security, and so on.  The first amendment does not apply to private spaces, such as a college campus (whether or not a State University is "public" space is a good question, however).  Occupying the Dean's Office was all the rage in the 1960's and 1970's, but it was, in fact, illegal trespassing.

And what colleges learned since then - or should have learned - is that if you allow people to "camp out" as part of their protest, things will get severely out of hand, very quickly.  I wrote before how Cornell, in the heart of ultra-liberal Ithaca, New York ("10 square miles surrounded by reality" - according to bumper stickers that liberals put on their Subarus) had major protests in the 1960s, where Black Panthers occupied the Dean's Office, demanding a "separate but equal" black dorm. Irony much?

Anyway, fast-forward to the 2000's and the school wants to bulldoze a forest to built a parking lot.  Students chain themselves to trees, and one even climbs up and lives in a tree for weeks.  The school curtly informs them that unless they leave, the will not get their diplomas, or even transcripts if they want to transfer to another school.  The protest collapsed and today, the forest is a parking lot.

At Syracuse, one of the Deans told me, "We learned something since the 1960's - students graduate every four years!  We can wait them out!"  So often they put up with these protests - up to a point - knowing that the students are a four-year blip on an institution that is over 100 years old.  They can play the long game.

Like I said, up to a point.  When tents start going up and people from off-campus start loitering around, hoping for some tender co-ed pussy or a bong hit, well, it is time to shut things down. The party can quickly get out of control.

This happened to my brother, whose politically correct puppet extravaganza started attracting dead-heads to their commune every summer.  Nearby farmers were happy to rent out space for the drug-fueled orgy and it quickly got out of hand with traffic jams, drug overdoses, assaults, and eventually, a murder.  These sort of encampments are not self-policing and what little self-policing there is, tends to sweep crimes under the rug - as we saw after rapes at "Occupy Wall Street."

The reality of these arrests is that the protesters are not being arrested for protesting, but for trespassing.  You are free to hold a sign and hand out flyers and even chant your slogans (sans megaphone, please!) on the public sidewalk, provided you are not blocking it or harassing pedestrians.

You are NOT free to protest on private property or pitch a tent on public property.  And THAT is what these "protesters" are being arrested for.

Sadly, I think a lot of these protesters are what they used to call, "useful idiots" as many of them are chanting slogans calling for "Death to Israel" or in support of Hamas, which is a terrorist group.  They make any legitimate protest look ridiculous, and no doubt the Republicans are eating this up - and using these protest on Fox Fear News to get the oldsters in The Villages to vote GOP (like they wouldn't already).  Vote for Trump or next they will be pitching tents in front of the Applebees!  Right where all the prime golf cart parking is!

The first casualty in war is the truth.  Most Americans discovered, only years after the Vietnam war ended, that we were propping up an unpopular dictatorship in South Vietnam - so unpopular that people were willing to gamble with Communism instead.  Today, many Americans still don't get it - and argue "we coulda won" if only we dropped even more bombs - after dropping more bombs in Vietnam than we did in all of World War II.

In Ukraine, it is hard for the average American to see what is going on. We see videos of Russian tanks being blow sky-high and assume Ukraine is winning.  I am sure Russians are seeing videos of Ukrainian tanks being blown up, instead.  Propaganda is always suspect.

In the current conflict in Gaza, Hamas has used the media to good effect.  They are touting casualty numbers that are not really backed up by hard data.  The UN blindly agrees to these numbers, but the people touting this are clearly biased.  The UN is hardly value-neutral.  Stories of atrocities abound, but I doubt we will know what really took place until years from now.

What is really going on?  Well, it is a proxy war between Iran (Shi'ite) and Saudi Arabia (Sunni) over control of the middle-east.  We lost in Iraq and the Iranians are expanding their influence there.  They are arming the Houthi rebels with anti-ship missiles.  The Iranian "Navy" is even kidnapping ships and holding them for ransom.  And of course, those thousands of missiles that Hamas has fired at Israel over the years were smuggled in from Iran (No, the Palestinians didn't make them out of old water pipes!).  This is just another bloody chapter in middle-east politics and citizens on both sides of the conflict are caught in the middle.

That is the messy, dirty reality that no one wants to confront.  Israel wants to wipe out Hamas, but to do so means wiping out a portion of the population of Gaza.  Iran hoped to rally the rest of the Arab world against Israel in this latest war, but like Russia in the Ukraine, they have found themselves in a bit of a pickle - perhaps over-extending themselves too far.  The rest of the Arab world seems uninterested in helping Gazans, or even allowing refugees into their country.  Maybe there is a reason for this.

If you can't win on the battlefield, win in the arena of public opinion.  Russia hoped to do this with their trolling wars about Ukraine and Hunter Biden - a "scandal" that even Republicans, after years of "investigations" and even impeachment hearings, have conceded were made-up stories planted by Russian agents.  They did manage to get their hooks into one Presidential Candidate, though.  Wonder what they have on him, other than financial blackmail?

The current protests are, I believed, part and parcel of this sort of public opinion campaign.  Useful idiots are out protesting for a terrorist organization that would kill every last one of them, given the opportunity.  You have to remember the people of Gaza overwhelmingly voted for Hamas.  It is akin to feeling sorry for Germans who were killed in American bombing raids during World War II.  Innocent civilians?  When they voted for Hitler, put the Nazi flag on their house, sent husbands and sons to war, and worked in war industries?

I noted before this is a tough question, and modern insurgent warfare is based on the idea that there are no "innocent civilians."  Terrorists set off bombs or gun down people in restaurants, discos, theaters, railroad stations, airports, airplanes, and even cruise ships.  Some sympathizers will even excuse these murders as "acts of war."  But military retaliation?  That's out of bounds, buddy!

The asymmetrical response is what the terrorists are hoping for, so they can be the victims on the world stage.

Yea, I get it. Some small child crushed in the rubble of Gaza City or Dresden or Hiroshima is an innocent who was blameless in those conflicts.  On the other hand, calls for "cease-fire" are little more than calls for surrender.  And quite frankly, Hamas does not desire any cease-fire, as each dead baby is money in the bank for them.  They know the value of good propaganda, and Israel is charging up their bank account quite nicely.

That's the problem with war - the people running it, on either side, really don't give a damn about the real victims of war.  And in a way, they can't.  A General who worries about casualties - military or civilian - cannot achieve military objectives.

Some clever wanker posted today that Napoleon spent two decades at war, but never suffered from PTSD.  Well, duh, he was a General, ordering others to their death, not his own.

But getting back to "encampments" - no, we cannot allow that.  It it not protest, it is trespassing and intimidation.  We have learned over the last two decades that allowing people to camp out as part of a protest, never ends well.  These folks are not being "terrorized by the police" but arrested for trespassing.  The first amendment doesn't apply here.

Camping is not protesting!

"bOth PArTiEs aRE THe SaMe!" No, They're Not.

Young people are being trolled into believing that change isn't possible - at the same time change is happening.

If you read online, which is bad for your mental health, you will see postings from supposed young leftists who chime, "Biden is no better than Trump!  Might as well not bother voting!"  But of course, this nonsense isn't from Americans, but our friends in Russia, who are hoping to elect Trump, so they can win the war in Ukraine.  Right there is a good reason not to vote for Trump.  America should not be a puppet state for a failed Communist country.

Granted, there are some on the far, far left who really believe this nonsense.  Unless student loans are forgiven right away and we have nationalize health care right now, there is no point in engaging in the system - just overthrow it!

But the history of revolutions is spotty.  The Russian revolution was supposed to liberate the serfs and make everyone equal.  Tens of millions of the "liberated" people either starved to death or were lined up against a wall and shot.We are still dealing with the fallout from that "revolution" today. No, revolutions never quite work out the way you think they will. Even Robespierre had his turn at the Guillotine.

Our own revolution promised freedom for white male landowners - and no one else.  It took another 250 years of incremental change to get us to where we are today.  And Republicans want to reverse a lot of these changes, too!  Meanwhile, Democrats keep chipping away at things, slowly bringing about change in a manner that most don't notice. Young people, not having lived as long, don't see the dramatic changes of just the last few decades.  To them, things are as they always have been - and not changing fast enough!

But we are making progress, in dribs and drabs - and this is far superior to revolutions or Trumpism, either of which would destroy our country.

President Biden is said to have a low approval rating and isn't getting anything done in Washington. But most of his agenda so far has been slowing down and reversing the "changes" enacted during the Trump administration - hampered in part by the judiciary which has been stacked with far-right judges with questionable legal credentials.

But a lot of important changes are taking place.

Just last week, the "net neutrality" regulations were reinstated - ensuring that your internet service provider won't slow down streaming services from competing networks - forcing you to watch their drivel instead.  A big deal?  Maybe not, but it is one of those incremental changes, undoing a small piece of evil that Republicans fought for.

Similarly, the FTC banned "non-compete" agreements for ordinary employees. Again, Republicans wanted to enslave workers, preventing them from taking a better job at better pay (or just getting away from an abusive boss).  Unless you changed careers or moved far away, such agreements could lock you into one job for life.  For an ordinary employee, such agreements make no sense - but some employers tried to use them to keep hourly employees captive. It just isn't right and the Biden administration fixed that.

If  you've been reading my blog, you will know that I am ambivalent about student loan forgiveness.  So much is left unsaid. Would we forgive loans going forward as well?  What about those who struggled to pay their loans back?  Is it right to bail out specific groups, whether they are students or banks?  Maybe forgiving loans is attacking the symptom of the problem of higher education, and not the underlying cause - the staggering increase in the price of college in the last 20 years.

All that being said, you can't blame young people for feeling put upon by staggering student loan debt, which they want forgiven now.  Biden tried, but the Supreme Court - stacked with Trump nominees, shot him down.  But every month, it seems, Biden has found a way to wipe out the debts of more and more borrowers.  Yes, it is an incremental approach, but it is yielding results - just not as fast as some people would like.

Bear in mind the alternative is no results.

The list goes on and on.  A few regulations here, a scant few new laws there (that were not shot down by Republicans, even if they agreed with them!) and change occurs, gradually.  Being older, I can see how these cumulative effects result in major changes.  Legalized marijuana?  I never thought I would see that in my lifetime!  Gay marriage?  Try explaining that to me back in 1990, and I would have laughed in your face.  In America?  Right, Buddy!

National health care isn't a thing just yet, but during the eight years of the Obama administration (which Republicans call "failed") Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act was created. Perfect? Hardly. But it was a start - chipping away. Trump promised - and still promises - to abolish it and replace it with nothing. He was even petty enough to narrow the enrollment window to make it harder to sign up. The guy just hates ordinary people, it seems.

Attempts to fix the flaws in Obamacare have been stymied at every turn by Republicans, who will vote down a bill they like just so Democrats can't score a "win."  In the mail today is a postcard from a far-right Congressman seeking re-election, claiming Biden has "done nothing" to stem the "invasion" at our border (even though border crossings are far lower today than under Trump).  Not mentioned in his screed is why this Congressman voted down the border bill.  The reason is, so he can claim Biden "did nothing."  Meanwhile he takes credit for infrastructure improvements and new semiconductor plants that are the result of the Infrastructure Bill and the CHIP act - both of which he voted against.

Biden is getting things done, and when he does, Republicans take credit for it.

Apparently, Republican voters are just too damn stupid to figure this out - their candidates flatly lie to them - lies that are easily checked, too - and they just believe the lies, anyway.  I guess you can expect that - from Seniors in The Villages who are halfway into dementia and spend all day forwarding memes from facebook.  Or the redneck in the trailer park, putting straight pipes on his Harley and his RAM truck, mumbling about his "free-dum" as he polishes his AR-15 and pines for civil war.

But young people?  People who claim to be liberals or even leftists?  They are willing to see a fascist get elected, even though they themselves profess to be "Antifa" or anti-fascist? The cognitive dissonance of the far left is the same as the far-right - which is often why, I guess, people say if you go far enough in one direction, you end up on the other side.

We saw this last time around, with "Bernie Bros" turning into Trumpers, because they thought it was "edgy"or something.  This time around, though, it isn't funny.  Republicans are flat-out saying that if you elect Trump this fall, you'll never have to worry about voting again as they will install a dictatorship and start assassinating anyone who opposes them.  This is not far-fetched rhetoric, it is exactly what they are saying.  Believe them!

They already tried to overturn a fair election - once through deception and illegal acts, and once again by brute force.  Fortunately, calmer heads - among them, traditional Republicans - prevailed.  Most of those calmer heads have been voted out of office or have retired.  What happens next time around?

The reason "not much gets done" is that people don't vote, particularly in local elections and in off-year contests.  Many people only vote once every four years, if that, during Presidential campaigns.  But who is elected to your State legislature and Governor's mansion is as important - if not moreso - than who is in the White House.  State legislatures determined districts - by gerrymandering - which insures that Republicans, who are a minority party have a majority in the House of Representatives.  The Electoral College gives more Presidential races to Republicans than the popular vote would have allowed.

And once in power, they can stuff the courts to insure their policies will remain unchanged, even when out of office.  Remember how Mitch McConnell denied Obama a chance to nominate a Supreme Court Justice, perversely citing the "Biden Rule" (which never existed).  That is outright subversion of Democracy.  Too late, McConnell is having second thoughts about the monster he was partially responsible for creating.  Frankenstein's monster has left the building.

Change is occurring - and in fact, it is what is fueling the fires of discontent on the far-right.  And by far-right, I don't mean political parties or politicians.  One problem we are facing are people who are scared by the thought that a woman is more than a baby-maker or sex-toy.  The idea that a woman should be paid as well as a man - and have similar opportunities - scares them to death.  What's next? Equal rights for minorities?

We are seeing a push-back by people who subscribe to "red pill" thinking, or "second amendment rights" or whatever.  People who are leaning into violence, racism, sexism, and a whole host of dark thinking.  Sadly, these folks are openly calling for civil war and the armed overthrow of the government.  And who's to say they might actually do it.

People talk about going back in time and smothering baby Hitler in the crib - or somehow turning the tide of public opinion in Germany long before 1939.  "If only..." they say, "history would be different!"  Well, here's a chance to make a difference - change the world, avert disaster, and smother baby Hitler in the crib.

And yet, some folks say that it makes no difference.  Why bother?  Trump isn't all that bad!  Biden isn't any better, they claim.  Similar things were said in Germany back in the 1930s.  Hitler will solve the crime problem and put those commies in jail!  The end result, a decade later, was utter ruin of their country and millions wiped out.

We can stop that from happening again - if we choose to.

Again, I suspect a lot of these "people" posting these messages that "bOth PArTiEs aRE THe SaMe!" are Russian trolls or even bots.  But as we have seen in recent years, a lot of people are influenced by influencers online.  I am not sure why people believe every word of some dork staring into their phone and blathering on about how vaccines are fake or whatever, but they do believe it.  I have to keep an eye on Mr. See as he watches YouTube videos which are little more than plugs for commercial products (and pretty obvious ones at that).  We are all susceptible to influence.

So it is likely - certain - that at least a few people out there are buying into the "both sides the same" argument and are not thinking of the real differences in the parties and the changes that have occurred over the years.  More change will come, if the right people are elected.  If the wrong people are elected, well, the change we have seen will be undone.

And you don't have to believe me about this - they flat-out have promised to do this.

Don't Engage!

You are never going to "change someone's mind" by arguing with them!

I was reading a rant online from a young woman who was upset that her boomer grandpa keeps sending her offensive facebook forwards about "politics."  They really aren't about politics per se, they are just insulting diatribes about how "young people" are deluded and "no one wants to work anymore!" - you know the trope.

One in particular went on for pages about a young college-age woman who comes home from school with her head all full of crazy ideas.  It is sort of a parody, almost, as it is so over the top.  One semester of college and she's gone full commie!  But then gentle, wise, grandfather explains to her the folly of communism and she sees the light!  "Thanks, Grandpa!" she says.  And no doubt the next day she drops out of college, marries her "High School Sweetheart"  (who never went to college but has a "real job") and becomes a "tradwife" and has five kids.  And they all lived happily ever after.  The End.

It is a typical boomer facebook fantasy - telling those kids "what for" by beating them over the head with facebook memes.  Facebook memes like that are not intended to "educate" young people, but are designed to amuse older boomers, who read them and say "right on!" as they commiserate about how awful "young people" are today.  Why just today I was at Denny's and the young waitress with the tattoos and piercings was giving me lip! Well, I told her off!  And she cowered in defeat.  And then everyone stood up and clapped.

Of course, that shit never happened.  It is just a fantasy devised by a bored troll at the Russian Internet Research Agency, designed to divide us as a nation - old against the young, left against right, black against white, women against men, and so on and so forth.  Divide and conquer is the oldest and most effective play in the book.

But old people gotta old, so there is no point in expecting Grandpa, who is halfway into dementia - or all the way, perhaps - into "changing his mind" about these things or having him stop forwarding this nonsense to you.  Just hit the "delete" key and move on with life.  He'll be dead soon, anyway.  Worse comes to worse, you can always "block sender."

Instead, this young lady wasted a lot of emotional energy and her precious time trying to argue with Grandpa via e-mail and then sending him a 16-page letter (single-spaced, no doubt!) going through his facebook "meme" line-by-line and trying to debunk it, as well as arguing why these straw-man arguments are so offensive.  Needless to say, Grandpa didn't read any of it but rather shook his head and said "kids these days, taking offense at every little thing!"

Arguing with nonsense is pointless and that is the point of propaganda.  We've had a few years or even decades under our belt dealing with online trolls, who have gone pro.  They make nonsense arguments knowing they are nonsense, unsupported by any facts.  If you try to logically address them, they ask you for citations to authority. "Do your research!" they say, while doing none of their own, other than to parrot things they read online.  By the time you respond to their first nonsense argument, they have already piled-on with ten more, in a technique known as "gish-gallop."

“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”

― Jean-Paul Sartre

To an observer, it looks as though the trolls have "won" the argument, as they are spouting all sorts of "facts" and issues, while you are fumbling to cite to authority to rebut their first ridiculous proposition.  This is why "fact-checking" doesn't work, as the other side doesn't bother to read your fact-checking or, in fact, care.

I was at the Dentist's office yesterday and they had an actual local newspaper (all six pages of it) with a comic section.  The author of the "Mallard Filmore" comic has gone off the MAGA deep-end and was doing "fact checking" in a comic.  It must be true because he said so!  I think I trust Alley-Oop or Mary Worth more for fact-checking.  But it illustrates how fact-checking has failed - the other side can say bullshit and call it "fact-checking" which sounds much better than "alternative facts."  It is, in a way, how the far-right tried to co-opt "Fake News" (once used to describe things like Breitbart or OAN) and applied it to the "mainstream media" - a term that they managed to turn into an epithet.

You have to fight fire with fire, and as unseemly as it seems, you are better off insulting your opponent than trying to argue with them.  If she just sent back a one-sentence reply along the lines of, "Oh, Grandpa, you and your silly facebook memes!" maybe he would get the message.  If you make it appear that only stupid people believe such arguments than maybe they will be shamed into reconsidering.  But if you send a 16-page letter with point-by-point rebuttals, well, you have legitimized their argument and they will simply retreat into their belief system.

I think we are perhaps turning a corner on this.  The newly unleashed "Dark Brandon" is a step in the right direction.  The name itself is taking a page from the far-right playbook, co-opting their "Let's Go Brandon!" meme and turning it on its head.  Dark Brandon doesn't try to react to right-wing nonsense arguments with point-by-point rebuttals that no one reads (and rightists never believe anyway) but instead gets down to their level of snarky insults - usually backed up with one simple, easy-to-digest, fact.

And it works, too.  Suddenly, it is no longer "cool" (if it ever was) to profess support for Trump, who is caricatured as an obese, smelly old man who farts a lot and shits his pants.  In the match-up for who is hip and who is not, it is an easy win for Biden, even if he is five years older than Trump.  Trump comes across as the angry boomer forwarding tired facebook tropes.  Biden is the hip grandpa you always wish you had.  You know, the one who doesn't want to cut your Social Security or outlaw abortion or take over the government by force.

For the policy geeks, the facts speak for themselves.  But for the hoi polloi, facts are like garlic to a vampire.  You lose an audience with facts, early on.

And lest you think this is some sign of the decline of American politics, bear in mind that the history of our country - and indeed the world - has fallen along similar lines.  Name-calling and cat-calling opponents has a long and tortured history.  Our "Founding Fathers" had a nasty habit of distributing anonymous pamphlets which spread all sorts of nasty rumors and falsehoods and also engaged in name-calling.  Go overseas and you see more of the same - even worse!  Ever watched the "proceedings" in the UK Parliament?  They just shout over one another.

I am not saying one has to stoop to the level of lying to respond to lies, only that trying to debunk lies is something that only the faithful will actually believe, and they've already come to that conclusion independently.  To reach the average smooth-brained voter, you need something more catchy.  The guy who buys into Trump's name-calling routines isn't going to be persuaded by some long-winded fact-check.  All that does is rally the troops already on your side.

Democrats, it seems, are finally figuring this out, and it shows in the polls.  Independent voters are starting to turn on Trump.

Getting back to our young woman, her long-winded 16-page letter isn't going to "convert" Grandpa or suddenly get him to "see the light."  A better solution is to simply ignore him, as there is little to be gained in getting him to "change his mind."  Disengagement is the best approach (and requires the least effort).  His road-to-Damascus experience is something he has to come to on his own - if he ever does.  Arguments won't persuade someone whose idea of "clever" is a forwarded facebook meme.

But failing that, just make fun of his memes.  Maybe he'll get the point.

Yet More Home Appliance Follies! (Microwave Edition)

This time, it is microwaves!

I noted before that our house was remodeled 18 years ago before we bought it, so all the appliances are about 18 years old.  So far we have replaced:

• Ice Machine
• HVAC System
• Washing Machine
• Dryer
• Garage Door Opener

That leaves the kitchen appliances (I repaired the refrigerator with a used control panel, so it might go a few more years), and the hot water heater.

The kitchen microwave died about three months ago at least.  Mark is not a microwave cook and we use it mostly to heat water or reheat beverages.  So it was not missed much when it died.  We thought (briefly) of replacing all the kitchen appliances at once, but the cost was pretty staggering and, oddly enough, the stores seemed less-than-interested in selling them to us (some sort of reverse psychology gag, no doubt).  So we took a pass.

A recently widowed friend of ours lamented that his microwave was broken as well.  So we decided to go to Home Depot and buy two of the cheapest microwaves possible (GE, $198) and install them in both houses.  We got a stainless steel one for his house, a white one for ours.

An older "associate" in the appliance department told us at first that nothing was in stock and we would have to have them delivered (??).  And all the guys working in the appliance department were old - older than I am, and I'm 64!  What's up with that?  Why pushing for home delivery?  He didn't want to take them down from the racks?  They want to sell installation services?  What?

I pointed out that they have them in the racks and they were a "cash and carry" item and he demurred, roping in a second and third senior citizen to work the vertical lift to get them down.  The second fellow was quite knowledgeable about appliances, I'll give him that!  We were talking about the trend toward stainless-steel appliances (and how white is now a "special order" color!).  The irony is, kitchen appliances were once referred to (and still are, in some circles) as "white goods" because of their color, but obviously that ship has sailed.

"Stainless" steel appliances today are made with low-grade stainless steel that would rust like a Tesla if not for the clearcoat paint applied to them.  That is how they get away with using cheap steel, but also how they can claim the appliances are "fingerprint" proof.  The original, high-quality bare stainless appliances would leave fingerprints (much like a DeLorean) which you would constantly have to remove with Windex.  The fellow warned that if you scrub a "stainless" appliance with any kind of abrasive cleaner or scrubbie, it would remove the clearcoat and the thing will look like hell and start to rust.

Maybe Mr. Musk should have spent some time at the Home Depot appliance department before they came out with the childishly named "cybertruck."  Of course, clearcoat does yellow over time, particularly in the sun.

Anyway, he got the two boxes down, and $400 later we are out the door.  Prices on under-cabinet microwaves are all over the place.  In 1992 or thereabouts, we paid the staggering sum of $500 for one (special order!) as they were a "new" thing at the time and expensive. That would be over $1100 in today's money.  The least we paid was $99 when remodeling the condo - it was cheaper than an old-fashioned vent hood (you know, the kind with scalloped edges!) which was a staggering $139.  So we've installed a few over the years.  And given inflation, $198 is pretty reasonable.

At the lake house, the previous owners had a microwave shelf installed in the cabinets, and an inexpensive $79 tabletop microwave sat there.  That really is the cheapest way to go, and if it dies, well, with $79 and ten minutes of your time, you are back in business.  We never saw a need to change it, either.  In fact, an under-cabinet job there would have required we replace the cabinet over the stove, as it would have left less than 10" of cooking height.  Sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone and kitchen remodeling returns only 50 cents on the dollar - if that - in terms of immediate resale value (after a few years, this drops to zero).

Anyway, we went to our friend's house and took out the old microwave and put in the new one, which took about two hours.  The new bottom bracket (rail) was almost identical to the old one and it wasn't too hard to find studs to screw it into.  Of course, the upper mounts (through the bottom of the cabinet) were completely different (figures) so we had to drill new holes for the plug and mounting bolts.

Speaking of which, that $500 microwave in 1992 had a totally different mounting system.  Instead of a lower rail, it had a large plate (like a split-system) and did not physically attach to the cabinet above. Instead, insanely long captive bolts extended through the microwave itself and were screwed in from the front, into the mounting plate.   The new technique, using a lower "rail" and bolts extending through the upper cabinet, is much cheaper to make, I think.  But you have to make sure your cabinets are properly attached to the wall, or the whole thing will fall down.

As we are replacing an existing installation, it was a lot easier, of course.  And once we had the lower rail installed and the upper holes drilled, it was a matter of wrestling the machine in place and then securing the two upper screws.  Pro tip: Put an old blanket or towels on your stove, lest you scratch or damage it (as one installer did, repairing our old microwave) if you rest the microwave on the stove.

Yes, over the years, our old microwave has needed service.  Within a year, under warranty, the magnatron was replaced (essentially the guts of the machine).  Later on, they replaced the control panel when it began starting the microwave by itself, which was scary.  Membrane-switch appliances!  You have to treat them gently.  Well, now it is going in the trash and I have an extra control panel (they sent two) still new-in-the-box.  Sadly, it only fits an 18-year-old microwave.  Maybe I can sell it on eBay.

I also had to repair the handle - twice - using superglue and baking soda (The Marty Matchbox Makeover Method).  So after 18 years, this microwave was ready for the trash.

Speaking of which, how do I dispose of the old machine?  We put our friend's old machine in his rolly-bin. It will be interesting to see if they garbage man takes it.  I guess we could do the same as well.  Old appliances are difficult trash to get rid of!  I guess that is why so many people prefer delivery and installation and "remove your old appliance" as well!

Coming up next: Yet another split system!  And readers said I would be bored in retirement.  I wish!

More Appliance Follies

Split-system A/C units, like toaster ovens, might get disgustingly dirty before they actually wear out.

Now that the split-system A/C unit is running in the studio, I decided to attack the one in the garage that is eight years old and recently started throwing an "E1" error code.  Documentation that came with the unit is scant - the only thing it says it to "call for service" if you get an error code.

The unit has had it share of small problems.  The display (for temperature setting) is missing a leg on the LED display, so "72" and looks like "73" sort of.  Also the small stepper motor that moves the distribution vane back and forth (and neatly closes up when shut off) died and the vane stays in one position.

The good news about that is a whole new display board is only $25 and an easy, one-screw installation.  The stepper motor is only $6.95.  So some parts are available - from Midea - and cheap, too!

But the main control boards (inside and out) are like $150 each or "NLA", along with something called a "reactor" which is NLA.  A new unit (like the one I just bought for the studio) can be had for about $700 delivered.  So it obviously isn't worth "throwing parts" at an eight-year-old unit, even if I expected a longer lifespan out of this unit.

I could  not find the exact service manual for the MCHS-12AVH1 unit, although Midea has some manuals for similar units (there are hundreds of variations, based on capacity, voltage, country of use, refrigerant, etc.).  This unit is 110V, 15A, R-410a, 12,000 BTU.  It is similar to the one I installed in Mark's studio except that unit is rated for 20A (obviously less efficient).

I find the diagnostic page for a similar unit and the process for diagnosing an E1 code is as follows:

The diagnostic involves throwing parts - expensive parts - at the unit.

As you can see, the problem is either in the wiring, or the inside and outside PCBs are faulty.  I presume the wiring is OK (although I will run a jumper wire around and see if that fixes the problem - I have plenty of control wire left over from the previous install).   But I doubt it - wires don't just decide to disconnect themselves.  The other two "solutions" are to replace the indoor or outdoor control units.  (I am not getting the +/- 25V on the signal wire).

I suspect it is the outside control board, as the inside unit seems to work OK in fan-only mode.  The outside unit made a frightening "pop" noise when I turned on the power.  The inside control board is NLA anyway.  Do I replace the outside control board and hope I didn't throw $150 away?  Or just buy anew.

I noticed there was detritus on my workbench under the unit.  It looked like mouse poop.  Were mice living in the unit?  That would explain a lot - but where would they be living?  Turns out, they weren't.  It was just eight years of debris accumulating inside the unit.  I had cleaned the filters regularly and flushed the condensate pan periodicaly with hot water and soap.  But the fan - a long cylindrical deal - was covered with what appeared to be black fur - mildew and dirt, I guess.

I tried cleaning it off with a soft brush and black dots of filth rained down on me.  I then tried a spray bottle with soap solution. with similar results.  Finally, out of frustration, I used a garden hose - after laying down some old towels to catch the water and debris..  Little black dots of filth rained down on me, yet again.

Here is a picture of the first round of black plague (I had to stop to vacuum this up, several times):

Ugh, this is worse than a toaster oven!  Little black chunks of debris everywhere!

I suspect the problem is related to the fact it is in the garage and exposed to a lot of dust and debris, as well as hot, humid air, whenever the garage door is opened.  The unit in Mark's studio, with all that clay dust and glaze, will no doubt have similar problems - the window units not only had rusted out, but their guts were filled with dried-on clay dust, which I discovered only after taking them apart.

I finally got all the detritus cleaned out of the fan, cleaned the drain pan and coils, and flushed out the condensate line.  It was pretty bad.  And do to all of this, I had to remove the vane and diffusers, as well as the entire cover (which has eight snaps and as many screws) to expose the "guts" of the unit.  It didn't solve the problem, of course, but illustrated to me that these things need to be cleaned regularly - like a toaster oven - or they get gross.  Legionnaires' disease anyone?

But speaking of toaster ovens, I took the thing apart (again) and removed the rotary switch which I then disassembled.  The main power contact wasn't making contact and had signs of being overheated.  Poor design or defective switch?  But I was able to pull a part number off it and found the same switch online - although with a different shaft (the shafts appear to be interchangeable).  It was only $13 by China Post, so we should see it by August.

If that unit can be repaired, we'd have four toaster ovens! (someone died and left us theirs - the heirs were going to throw it out it was so gross, but Dollar Tree oven cleaner to the rescue!).

Yes, it is possible to fix things, provided you (a) have the skills, (b) have the tools, and (c) have a source of inexpensive replacement parts.  Usually one or all three are deal-killers.  There is always (d) your time is not as valuable as the cost of replacing the unit.  Don't forget (e) - bothering to fix an end-of-life product.

Spending time repairing a $59 toaster oven is sort of pointless, but if I do it, it will be for the experience, not to save money.  Spending time and money repairing an air conditioner that has most of its life behind it, is probably pointless too.  But I'll check the wiring before I throw it away.  I already checked the charge level (OK) so that is not the problem.

Toaster ovens should last more than eight months, though.  Air conditioners should last longer than eight years!  Should, anyway.

FWIW.

UPDATE: I disconnected the control wiring from the outdoor unit to the indoor unit and ran a jumper wire in its place. I had so much wire left over from the previous install that I was able to run it through the doorway. The same thing happened, the E1 error occurred.

So I believe the outside control board is bad. I disassembled the outside unit and it was filled with filth and the control board looks like it's fried. I ended up just buying a new unit to replace the whole thing. I also bought the wall bracket to keep the outside unit off the ground.

A friend of mine is installing a split-system unit in his garage and asked if I would do it for him. I explained to him that it was a difficult process and he withdrew the suggestion.

His local HVAC guy wants $1,500 to do the entire install (not including the cost of the unit itself which was about $1,000) which, from my perspective, is pretty cheap given that their hourly rate is over $100 an hour and it can take the whole day to install one of these, especially if you have to drill holes through brick walls.

He plans on using a wall mount and also building a small roof over the top of the unit to keep the rain out. Of course, you have to follow the instructions in the manual to make sure the roof is far enough away from the unit to insure proper air circulation.

On our conventional air conditioning system, we put a diverter on the roof to keep the rainwater from rushing into the unit. One of the technicians also suggested putting a fine chicken wire over the top to keep the pine needles out. I noticed in Florida people have plastic covers look like garbage can lids, that are attached with a tether. When the fan turns on, it blows the cover up allowing air to go through and then when the fan shuts off the cover flops down keeping debris and dirt out of the unit.

Some people report replacing their air conditioners here by the ocean every 5 years or so which seems kind of extreme to me. I notice our unit which is 5 years old is already showing signs of rust on the fan motor. I periodically remove the top and fan and vacuum out the inside of the unit. The next time I do that I'm going to give the motor a coat of black paint.