Best products from r/Connecticut

Thank you so much!

I used a relatively affordable Panasonic G7 mirrorless camera. It's not the most high end tool, but I tend to put a premium on size over other features, since I mostly do travel and street photography. This camera it tiny, so I can just throw it in my cupholder, when I'm in the car, and it doesn't attract too much attention when I'm in public. But it also has a very comfortable grip, which is a big deal for me, because I have pretty large hands.

I used an Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm lens, which I've had for about eleven, maybe 12 years, at this point. For my purposes, it's easily the best lens I've ever used. It gives me the option of shooting with a fairly wide angle or shooting at "standard" length, meaning it's approximately the same perspective as our eyes have. At wide angles, it has incredible optical quality. At standard length, it's got a decently wide aperture, which lets me keep backgrounds blurred and take really nice portraits.

The lens is quite old and designed for an obsolete lens mount. So I use it with a really affordable adapter. Other adapters like this one cost well upwards of $100.

I then worked on the photo in Photoshop. I did pretty standard stuff for the most part - made the shadows a little bit more blue, light spots a little bit more yellow/orange, added some more saturation to the greens, reds, pinks, and blues of the lights. Then, I went ahead and also darkened the background on the right side of the frame - there were some distracting streetlights and reflective road signs visible. Then, finally, I viewed the photo on my phone and decided to crop it to a 5:4 vertical format, since this is the longest vertical format that Instagram accepts (originally, this was a horizontal shot with 3:4 proportions). Personally, I think it would look a little better if it was vertical but, like I said, I was really optimizing towards Instagram.

I would have to do a scan, but I have this antenna and love it.

https://www.amazon.com/Element-Bowtie-Indoor-Outdoor-Antenna/dp/B00C4XVOOC/

Its about as powerful of an antenna as you can get and the real nice thing is that the 2 elements can be rotated at different towers. For example I am up near springfield so basically without going to an omnidirectional antenna I needed something that could pick up almost 180* and was finding that especially in the rain this was not working with the other antennas that I tried.

With this one however I have had great luck picking up over 60 channels. I havent bothered mapping them all as many of them are duplicates, but I am quiet impressed with the signal strength and quality.

Its not specifically tuned for VHF, but it will typically pick them up.

http://forums.solidsignal.com/showthread.php/4336-Hands-on-with-the-Antennas-Direct-DB8e-part-2-Testing

If need be, they sell a $15 VFH upgrade kit for it as well.

https://www.antennasdirect.com/store/VHF-Antenna-Kit.html

I lose power quite a bit, tho not as bad since CLP/Eversource did the massive trimming campaign. You all remember the fall hurricane and then the snowstorm in a few years ago in October? I was sans power for 2 weeks, tossed my 'fridge/freezer twice, no water (well) sucked. Here are my tips:

• fill bathtubs with water prior to the storm, use for flushing, pets, a quick splash on your face
  
• get 2 of those 7 gal blue water containers, they come with great spouts, fill them prior to the storm, keep one by your kitchen sink for drinking and domestic use
  
• always have on hand a few cases of bottled water
  
• get a small camping stove that runs on small bottled propane, they're about the size of a brief case, know how to use it, make sure your bottle is full for your gas grill too
  
• in addition to flashlites, get a LED lantern, cheap and great to use at nite while reading, gather the fam around
  
• candles - use extreme care! Tapers are the best for light, find an old hurricane-style holder for them at tag sales
  
• jack the heat in your house if you anticipate power loss, it'll take longer to cool down
  
• keep a few water filled 2 liter bottles in you freezer for thermal mass to help keep temps down
  
• your fridge is pretty good cooler, don't fret, but plan your openings wisely and quickly. Depending on efficiency, start being suspicious of ultra spoilables after 12 hours. Use the weather (if cold) to your advantage
  
• eat your way thru your perishables first
  
• hygiene - get a 5 gal bucket, drill and screw in a hose fitting, instant shower. Warm the water on your grill or stove for added luxury. Use outside, or setup in your shower: hillbilly shower
  
• hygiene - hand sanitizer in all bathrooms (if no water)
  
• buy an inverter and use your car as a generator. You can charge phones, 'puters, batteries, etc. Depending on size, you may be able to cycle you fridge a few times: https://www.amazon.com/NEW-COBRA-CPI2575-2500-Inverter/dp/B01AEQXTES/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1520609275&sr=8-5&keywords=cobra+inverter+5000+watt
  
• talk about power, consider a small generator, the inverter models are the best (and most expensive). You can run lots of things on 2000 watts, just not all at once. If you want to run a well pump, you're locked into a larger unit that will put out 220
  
• power again-get one of those usb power packs, keep in your charging rotation: https://www.amazon.com/APC-M12BK-Portable-Qualcomm-12000mAh/dp/B015QLS3U6/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1520609932&sr=1-1&keywords=usb+power+pack&refinements=p_89%3AAPC
  
• got a fireplace? Be sure to have some dry wood on hand. While fireplaces aren't that efficient, you don't have much to lose when your house is 50 degrees
  
  

Get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GKC2GW/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and wrap all your windows with it. It will cut down on the draftiness. In my bedroom it made it about 3-4 degrees warmer on average.

Start thinking about another heating source, stat. We have oil for our house heat but oil is also really expensive; if left on full time we'd spend about $450 easy per month. Instead we have it set for sporadic times to turn on during the day to save money, and mostly we run our pellet stove. A decent one can be had for about $1000 and it'll run less than half the cost of using oil heat. We bought a pallet of pellets from Lowe's for $330 and we're only about halfway through the supply for this winter (but that's mainly cuz our pellet stove only heats half the house; we're getting another one installed on the other side).

In terms of costliness, it goes electric > oil > pellets/wood (but imo wood is messier, you have to stack it, keep it seasoned, and the fire needs constant feeding). Most pellet stoves have an auger/feeder which keeps the fire stoked constantly so you don't need to worry about it -- downside of that is it uses electric so if your power goes out, so does your pellet stove (wood stoves will run regardless).

Lastly, but imo most importantly -- INSULATE YOUR HOUSE. Insulate it well. It's worth paying good money to tightly seal and insulate it with the correct R value (here's a good link that tells you how much you need based on where you live: https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_insulation_table)

We bought a house last year and didn't know till we were in it that it was very poorly insulated. R15 where there should be at least 23, all over the house. Some walls with zero insulation. You'd be shocked at how common this is. Most contractors and home builders cut corners everywhere they can, and since you can't see insulation behind the walls, they don't bother doing it properly. We are re-doing pretty much every wall in this house, room by room, to correctly insulate and we already feel a difference.

Ok time to get off my soapbox, hope some of this helped.

It's a tricky subject and a lot of Very Serious People have written studies about what a boon it has been to the economy and populace of Chile, but most of those people are advocates of the neoliberal socio-economic model so they tend to see and say things that support that narrative.

I'd say if you really want to dive into this subject, you should start with the book The Pinochet File by Peter Kornbluh/the National Security Archive. It uses a wealth of declassified US intelligence and state department documents to examine the history of Pinochet's rise to power and his government around that time. While it doesn't directly address privatization of the country's social security system, it gives a great look at the political environment and conditions in which it happened and, in my opinion at least, is essential reading to parsing any sort of later analysis of the policy shift.

I like Valley Falls in Vernon. Mansfield Hollow is solid. Backpacking up at Bear Mountain in Salisbury.

In the south, I really love Westwood Reserve in Guilford.

I'd highly recommend you pick up AMC's Best Day Hikes in Connecticut, they have some great recommendations all over the state, including specific loops and what's on them.

Very common and this year seems particularly bad. They’re usually spread by field mice, not deer, so spraying will target your perimeter where they come in and out. My strategy for his year is as follows:

1. Tick Tubes that contain cotton bedding soaked in pesticide that mice will take to build their nests.
   
2. Beneficial Nematodes that will eat ticks and other pests on the soil.
   
3. Traditional Spraying that I tried to avoid this year because of the cost but since the others take time to work I might just bite the bullet and do one treatment.
   
   Tick Tubes are often used by professional sprayers as a supplement. The concept / science seems pretty legitimate and it’s fairly inexpensive.
   
   Nematodes are also inexpensive but they’re controversial. Not all people believe they work and you need to wait for a rainy day to apply them, and do it each spring. My current thinking is that it’s the only solution that targets ticks on the ground and under leaves once they’re in your yard already, so it’s part of a balanced approach. The other two methods target ticks being carried by mice, either across a sprayed permitter or inside their nests.
   
   Spraying alone seems to be effective but it needs to be done 4-5 times each year, and each time is between $150 - $200 an application so it really adds up. I’m trying to strike a balance between cost and effectiveness with my approach, but it definitely takes more effort.
   
   TL;DR - I’d say at the very least if you spray, also add on tick tubes. They’re not expensive and are easy to put out. Also if you do find a tick on you, send it to your local health department for Lyme disease testing. You can find instructions here. And find a good GP doctor that is paranoid about Lyme and will test you if you start experiencing symptoms. If you get it you’re much better off treating it early.

I would strongly recommend picking up AMC's Best Day Hikes in Connecticut. Really gives you a good overview of the hiking spots, as well as a ton of background information about the parks and suggested routes.

Up in far northwest CT, you can actually hike up to the Appalachian Trail from Salisbury, CT. I believe it's the Lion's Head Trail. From there you could go pretty far either way.

One of the bigger areas I've seen is in Guilford, on the coast: Westwood has some pretty long trails if I remember correctly. I've done one that's only a couple hours but there were definitely options to extend that further.

I did a lot of stuff out of this book

Visiting the "haunted" places with a friend was the best part. Nothing all that scary (besides melonheads) but hanging out was the best part.

Also, check out Derby. Like the whole city.

If anyone is interested here are the ones I bought. I like that they fold up to pocket sized for me and for my wife she can easily stash a few in her purse. At just over $2 each they seem like they will be well worth the money compared to the $1 ones the grocery stores carry.

Reusable Grocery Bags 6 Pack Machine Washable Sturdy Ripstop Polyester Foldable Reusable Shopping Bags Easily Folding into Attached Pouch Reusable Grocery Totes Bags for Shopping https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K7GGDYP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_aLzsDbE3FNFWS

Damn, thanks for all the info...much appreciated! I had no idea about all these connections. I work in East Hartford and eat at Augie & Ray's all the time, and I've been to Grants in West Hartford before. My father used to hit up Hartford Jai Alai every so often, and I remember when we first got a computer with internet in the 90's, the first thing he did was look up Jai Alai videos.


A few minutes after I made this post I stumbled across a book called Rogue Town which goes over organized crime and corruption in Stamford in the 70's. Looks pretty interesting. I've lived in Connecticut most of my life, and for whatever reason I've never heard of or looked into these things. Very fascinating.

Again, thanks for the info buddy.

suddenly the Flowtron Diplomat is looking a lot more tempting

http://www.amazon.com/Flowtron-Diplomat-Outdoor-Indoor-Control/dp/B000OUSP12/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1373578592&sr=8-5&keywords=bug+zapper

>It's big. It's bad. It's the biggest baddest bug zapping machine you're ever likely to lay hands on, and about as much fun as you can have without committing a felony these days. Seriously, if the machine gun like sound caused by the non stop electrocution of massive quantities of blood sucking pests doesn't cause the joys of boyhood mischief to rise in your heart like a tidal wave of glee, you're already dead.

>That said, do take care not to put this near the window of any room you sleep in, because the light this puts off is not the nightlight level glow found in your ordinary bug zapper. You can read a book by this; at 2am; in a storm; from 5 feet away; with sunglasses on.

>Oh ya, its also loud. Really loud. Like machine gun staccato bug bursting happy feeling loud. The first time you see an entire cloud of gnats fly into this thing and go off like microwave popcorn, you'll wonder why you didn't buy it sooner.

http://www.amazon.com/Bottoms-Assistance-Dog-Leash-Black/dp/B000T4UJE4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1370533036&sr=8-3&keywords=bottom%27s+up+leash
Not sure if this might be of some help while she's healing. Shared your page..hope the beautiful girl feels better soon!

I suggest you check out a couple books:

• New England Waterfalls
  
• Hiking Connecticut and Rhode Island
  
  There are some good options in the Catskills, too. The Appalachian Mountain Club has lots of good books, like Best Day Hikes Catskills & Hudson Valley.

I just looked it up and the shotgun field for you would be $26, and $24 for your son, and then the throwing machine is $35 per hour. I'd recommend getting a cheap hand thrower or something like this before paying that much though.

Here are the rates and hours.

This book is pretty good https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934028770/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I found the perfect solution for you.


https://www.amazon.com/Snowflake-Christmas-Insulated-Cooler-Lunchbox/dp/B07CC4SX4X/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=snowflake&qid=1566281880&s=kitchen&sr=1-3

Legal brothels in Nevada are almost universally atrocious in their treatment of women who work there. The best model for harm reduction is decriminalization, not legalization and regulation. CT has an enormous human trafficking problem, and if you've ever driven up the Berlin Turnpike and wondered how all of those motels stay in business you would want to burn them down if you knew the truth about it. A good book on the subject:P https://www.amazon.com/Berlin-Turnpike-Story-Trafficking-America-ebook/dp/B0050ZHRFQ

https://www.amazon.com/Berlin-Turnpike-Story-Trafficking-America-ebook/dp/B0050ZHRFQ

There is an ebook on the subject here: https://www.amazon.com/Berlin-Turnpike-Story-Trafficking-America-ebook/dp/B0050ZHRFQ

There is a news story here: https://patch.com/connecticut/berlin/berlin-police-department-aided-fbi-in-nationwide-human-trafficking-sting

There is legislation aimed at curbing it here: http://www.myrecordjournal.com/news/state/8593101-129/legislative-committee-advances-bills-targeting-sex-trafficking-on-the-berlin.html

http://www.amazon.com/The-Berlin-Turnpike-Trafficking-America-ebook/dp/B0050ZHRFQ