The Story of Lori

[Lori Dee]

My neighbors all know that I am moving soon. Some have even been recipients of some of the furniture that I don't want to move. Some of my neighbors were in the Community Room working on a jigsaw puzzle. One of them lives in the apartment above me and she said she had something for me. A little while ago, she came to my apartment and presented me with a "going away" present.

She is a Native American (Lakota) and a very sweet person. She said she has been working on this for two days and wanted me to have it. I think it is so beautiful, I just had to share it. The picture doesn't do it justice.



I forgot to ask, but I will have her sign it, then get a frame for it to protect it.

[davina61]

That is so beautiful and a lot of hard work.

[ChrissyRyan]

Nice.

Chrissy

[Pema]

Two days? That's incredible!

Lori, it's gorgeous. You are blessed to have received this gift - especially the love that it represents. You clearly are appreciated by your neighbors.

[Lori Dee]

Two days? That's incredible!

Lori, it's gorgeous. You are blessed to have received this gift - especially the love that it represents. You clearly are appreciated by your neighbors.

There are some who will be happy to see me go due to their own bigotry. But most have said they will miss me. Even ones that I barely know have told me this. We have some very nice and accepting people here. And some ... not so much.

[Lori Dee]

Today was "interesting" but is turning out well.

I had an old 55" flat screen TV that died last November. It is too big and illegal to just put in the dumpster. I knew that the local college had electronic waste collection events, but no idea when the next would be announced. A quick internet search brought me to our local landfill website, which says that Best Buy will take electronic waste.

I called Best Buy, and they seemed very confused and had to put me on hold to get an answer. The woman came back and said they do offer that "service" for $100. I laughed (loudly) at her and said I'll take it to the dump myself.

Went back to the landfill website and there is a notice that they have FREE drop off locations that are open 24/7. One is just a short distance from here, so I will go drop it off, then swing back this way and pick up some groceries on my way home.

I head to the drop-off location, which is on the other side of Highway 190. The bridge across the highway is closed for construction. The detour takes me several miles in a roundabout fashion through town to get to the other side of the highway. I arrive at the location and it is just a large section of pavement with large dumpsters for yard waste and two other enclosed receptacles for recyclables (glass, plastic, and metal).

The openings in the receptacles are too small to fit a 55" TV, and none are labeled for "electronic waste". I thought I could just leave the TV there, but no. A large sign states, "Absolutely No Dumping On The Ground". I get on my phone, browse back to the landfill web page. They have a search box where you can search for where to dump your crap. I enter "Flat Screen TV". The results state that there is no place to dispose of flat screen TVs in Rapid City.  With a population of just under 83,000 people? Really? It also states that you MUST take it to the landfill.

A dump is a dump, but our dump is classy and has rules. If you have a utility bill showing residential garbage collection, you are allowed one carload (up to 150 lbs) once per month at no charge. My garbage is included in my rent, so I don't have a bill. Therefore, the charge is $5.00.

I get to the dump and there is a long line of cars trying to get in. They close at noon today, so everyone is racing to unload their crap. You drive in on a scale and they weigh your vehicle. You drop off your stuff, then they weigh your vehicle on your way out and present you with a bill.

As I was leaving, the gal looked very confused, since my vehicle weight was the same. I told her I just dropped off one flat screen TV and did not pick up anything. $5.31 later, and I was out and heading back into the city so I could get my groceries. I think people would be more inclined to dispose of refuse properly if it weren't such a pain to follow the rules.

I get my groceries and unload the Jeep. In my mailbox was a box of prescriptions and a letter from the State of Pennsylvania, Department of Vital Statistics. My birth certificate! 

All of the information is correct, and nowhere on the certificate is there any indication that it was "amended" or "corrected". According to the official records on file, Lori Dee was born FEMALE back in 1957. That's right, Orange Man. Prove that I wasn't.    Today is a great day. I now have all of my documents changed, except my military records. The VA has the correct information, so I may not bother changing a decades-old personnel file. Unless things get really stupid and I need to.

[Northern Star Girl]

Dear Lori:
I read with interest your UPDATES here on your Blog Thread.

The high points were the beautiful gift
from your apartment neighbor lady  {Native American (Lakota)} 
  and also
your official updated Birth Certificate.

Then of course, the low point was dealing with your local garbage dump and figuring
out the confusion with Electronics Recycling that apparently did not exist in the
way that it was advertised.

Thank you for sharing... it is always interesting to read other members trials,
tribulations, disappointments, and their successes as they navigate their life journey.
This helps me realize that I am not alone with the ups and downs in my own life.

As always, I wish your happiness and success.
HUGS, Danielle[Northern Star Girl]

[Lori Dee]

Dear Lori:
I read with interest your UPDATES here on your Blog Thread.

The high points were the beautiful gift
from your apartment neighbor lady  {Native American (Lakota)} 
  and also
your official updated Birth Certificate.

Then of course, the low point was dealing with your local garbage dump and figuring
out the confusion with Electronics Recycling that apparently did not exist in the
way that it was advertised.

Thank you for sharing... it is always interesting to read other members trials,
tribulations, disappointments, and their successes as they navigate their life journey.
This helps me realize that I am not alone with the ups and downs in my own life.

As always, I wish your happiness and success.
HUGS, Danielle[Northern Star Girl]

Thanks, Danielle.

I think the mind of an accountant can help with balance. With every low, there must be an equal high. It all works out, like the laws of physics with actions ---> reactions. That gives us hope when things are bad, looking forward to better times. And when things are good, to prepare for the inevitable changes so their impact is less devastating. 

[Sephirah]

I think people would be more inclined to dispose of refuse properly if it weren't such a pain to follow the rules.

You're right about that, Lori. Used to be that people would pay you for scrap, because they could make money on it. Now you have to pay them. Where I live we still have trucks that come round, and take stuff they think they can make money salvaging. Think Steptoe & Son. Rag & Bone men, they were called. They still exist. They have the old "Any old iron", cockney tune blaring through a loudspeaker. It's quaint... but useful. You just leave stuff in front of your house and they take it away.

I get my groceries and unload the Jeep. In my mailbox was a box of prescriptions and a letter from the State of Pennsylvania, Department of Vital Statistics. My birth certificate! 

All of the information is correct, and nowhere on the certificate is there any indication that it was "amended" or "corrected". According to the official records on file, Lori Dee was born FEMALE back in 1957. That's right, Orange Man. Prove that I wasn't.    Today is a great day. I now have all of my documents changed, except my military records. The VA has the correct information, so I may not bother changing a decades-old personnel file. Unless things get really stupid and I need to.

Today IS a great day! That's awesome, Lori. And yes, you were born female. No matter what anyone says. <3

[Lori Dee]

I have lived in neighborhoods (in the US and Germany) where they had "Junk Night". Trash pickup was on Thursday, so on Wednesday, you put out your junk. People would drive around, as you said, collecting old furniture to refurbish, scrap to sell, etc.

I did that for a long time, collecting electronics. Old computers, printers, and cell phones. I would strip them down and extract the gold. People would bring me old circuit boards and TVs and my garage runneth over. I spent one winter cleaning it out. Stripped everything down, extracted the gold, and was very disappointed at how much I got. Too much work for so little pay. But it was fun learning how to do it.

[Sephirah]

I have lived in neighborhoods (in the US and Germany) where they had "Junk Night". Trash pickup was on Thursday, so on Wednesday, you put out your junk. People would drive around, as you said, collecting old furniture to refurbish, scrap to sell, etc.

I did that for a long time, collecting electronics. Old computers, printers, and cell phones. I would strip them down and extract the gold. People would bring me old circuit boards and TVs and my garage runneth over. I spent one winter cleaning it out. Stripped everything down, extracted the gold, and was very disappointed at how much I got. Too much work for so little pay. But it was fun learning how to do it.

Is there much gold in stuff like that, Lori? I know the McLaren F1 supercar had its whole engine bay lined with gold, because something to do with being a good conductor of heat? Probably why it cost so much at the time.

[Lori Dee]

Is there much gold in stuff like that, Lori? I know the McLaren F1 supercar had its whole engine bay lined with gold, because something to do with being a good conductor of heat? Probably why it cost so much at the time.

There is very little gold in them. If you have seen a circuit board, like the ones inside a computer, the very fine traces, "wires," are very thin gold. There is also a thin coating of gold on electrical connector pins and in PCI slots on the motherboard. My thinking was that if I could collect enough of it at no charge, I would have free gold. Pro Tip: It is easier to dig it out of the ground. 

Gold is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. The only better conductor is aluminum. Gold does not corrode, so it makes excellent connectors for electrical signal plugs (like on a computer). Gold also has great reflectivity, especially in the infrared spectrum. It is so malleable, it can be pounded so thin it becomes transparent. NASA uses thin gold on the helmet visors for astronauts.

I also went after the platinum found in hard drives. The discs of the hard drive are coated with a very thin coating of platinum. I learned that the coating is so thin, as in molecules, that recovery without using acids is nearly impossible and certainly not worth the effort. 

[Sephirah]

NASA uses thin gold on the helmet visors for astronauts.

Like in the movie "Sunshine" where the whole exo-suit was gold plated? Makes sense. Is ironic to me that the universe is literally bathed in stuff that is very precious here on Earth. In another life, you'd be a cosmic miner, Lori. Drilling comets for their bounties.

I also went after the platinum found in hard drives. The discs of the hard drive are coated with a very thin coating of platinum. I learned that the coating is so thin, as in molecules, that recovery without using acids is nearly impossible and certainly not worth the effort. 

I guess all this stuff is so expensive to use commercially that anything other than wafting something in front of an exotic metal is prohibitively expensive?

[Lori Dee]

Is ironic to me that the universe is literally bathed in stuff that is very precious here on Earth. In another life, you'd be a cosmic miner, Lori. Drilling comets for their bounties.

"The planet, which is officially known as 55 Cancri e, was discovered in 2004 and is located around 40 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Cancer. It orbits very close to its star, completing one orbit in just 18 hours, which means that its surface temperature is incredibly hot, reaching up to 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit (2,150 degrees Celsius).

However, what makes 55 Cancri e truly unique is its composition. Scientists believe that the planet is made up of mostly carbon, which has been compressed to form diamond. In fact, it's estimated that the planet could contain as much as three times the amount of diamond that has ever been mined on Earth."

I need to get better tools. And many more of them. 

[Sephirah]

I need to get better tools. And many more of them. 

And a big ass space ship.

[Lori Dee]

It looks like I will be shutting down early tonight.

We have a big thunderstorm moving through the area and I'm about to get hit. Custer State Park is reporting hail but I don't know what size. My modem has reset twice since dinner due to the power flickering.

Have a good night, all.

@Northern Star Girl
@Sarah B

[Lori Dee]

The worst part missed me.

The storm is moving east and stayed south of my place. It looks like it may have intensified once it got out into the flatlands. Red lines of storms on the radar map mean tornadoes could spawn. Hupely, it will fizzle out.

[TanyaG]

I only know the Dakotas from watching the Fargo series on Apple TV, if I'm right about them being filmed there? If so, the programmes didn't make out ND and SD as being the most tolerant places in America. The figures you're quoting sound right in that context, Lori!

[ChrissyRyan]

The worst part missed me.

The storm is moving east and stayed south of my place. It looks like it may have intensified once it got out into the flatlands. Red lines of storms on the radar map mean tornadoes could spawn. Hupely, it will fizzle out.

I am glad you did not have the worst of it!

Chrissy

[Lori Dee]

I am glad you did not have the worst of it!

Chrissy

Me too. But I got a report that my mining site got snow last night.

During drought years, which happen often, I can be out mining in late March. In non-drought years, we can get snow in early June. That means it takes longer for the Spring floods to subside, so it is safe to get into the water. There have been years that I missed an entire season waiting for the runoff to decrease, just in time for the next snowfall.