09:50 – Barbara is off to the gym and the bank. We’ve gone from cold and dry weather to warmer and a drizzle. Later this week, we’re to have the worst of both worlds: lows in the single digits F (~ -15C) with precipitation. Ugh.
Several people commented, here or via email, that cast iron wasn’t a good choice for a wok. Before I ordered, I read a lot of the comments that were discussing this very issue. The weight of opinion seems to be that heavy cast-iron is a much better choice than thin, light steel because the cast-iron wok retains its high temperature when one adds things to it. Neither of us is Godzilla, so we won’t be flipping the food in a 14-pound wok, or even tilting the wok to dump food onto plates, but the average of almost 1,000 customer reviews on Amazon is close to five stars, so it obviously works for a lot of people.
Several prepper sites have been running articles about how the supply of “fish antibiotics” is supposedly going to dry up as of 1/1/17. That’s simply not true. What is true is that antibiotics for agricultural/livestock use will become harder to come by. As of now, you can simply buy many antibiotics over-the-counter from farm-supply places. Many farmers and ranchers routinely treat their cattle, pigs, and fowl with sub-clinical dosages of various antibiotics because that allows them to grow and put on weight faster. Unfortunately, routine sub-clinical dosages are also the best way possible to help bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. That’s what these new regulations are aimed at. Starting January 1st, many widely used livestock antibiotics (such as this one) will now require what amounts to a veterinarian’s prescription. Antibiotics intended for use with ornamental fish, such as those sold by Thomas Labs, should not be affected by these new regulations.
That said, regulations can change any time, so it’s not a bad idea to acquire at least a minimal stock of a few key antibiotics. I still recommend aquabiotics.net as a good source. They sell a much broader range of antibiotics than Thomas Labs does, and they’re much less expensive. A few weeks ago, Brittany ordered what seems to me to be a reasonable supply for a family or a small group. As Brittany is aware, all of these antibiotics are to be used only in an absolute emergency, where regular medical services are unavailable. Every one of these antibiotics has the potential for severe side effects, up to and including death. Do NOT self-medicate when a physician is available. I regard these antibiotics as an absolute last-ditch solution. I wouldn’t administer them to myself or others unless I was pretty sure the person was in imminent danger of dying without them.
Okay, no more talk about FLASHLIGHTS for a while. What I’d like to know about is people’s thoughts about kitchen knives. I’d like to get some good ones, not the K-Mart variety. Any ideas?
Henkel for consumer
Or go to a restaurant supply and get some at the higher end of their price range.
Seems to be a massive Comcast outage. Using my phone sucks. Can’t do my shipping or auctions either.
N
A favorite of mine:
Victorinox 4 Inch Swiss Classic Paring Knife, Spear Point
https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Classic-Paring-Knife/dp/B005LRYE36/
WRT woks:
The idea is to have a cooking vessel that offers a variety of temperature areas. This is where the proper varying slope of the sides and the proper concentric groves around the wok come into play. Cast iron distributes the heat, just what you do not want for proper stir frying. The shovel shaped scoop and a proper ladle are also important tools. A restaurant supply store is the best place to buy a wok and tools, if there is an Asian clerk even better.
I’m not going to wade into the antibiotic debate again, except to say that goobermental regulation DOES NOT EVER do any good or achieve a beneficial effect.
The “weatherman” spent to much time with the computer models and not enough time looking out the window and reading the instruments with his/her/its own eyes. We got hit with 6-inches of “wintery mix” very early this morning and there were no road crews ready to respond. Schools started with delays that have now turned to closures. There are 3 major highways for the commuters and all are now plugged with accidents. There are 3 more highways out of the Tri-Cities and now all of those are not drivable. We had 4-inches of snow Friday morning and that was not cleared up until early Sunday, they then gave the road crews some time off, BIG mistake. The wife and kids got to work okay, before all the accidents started. Dad is drinking all the coffee š
edit — WRT knives:
I’d go with @nick’s advice. All mine are pro Henkle’s that are 35+ years old, bought at a restaurant supply store (have I mentioned that I shop there a lot). A proper sharpening stone is also a necessity.
“” WRT woks:
The idea is to have a cooking vessel that offers a variety of temperature areas. This is where the proper varying slope of the sides and the proper concentric groves around the wok come into play. Cast iron distributes the heat, just what you do not want for proper stir frying. “”
+1
(Not that my knowledge isn’t mostly from cooking shows, but limited experience confirms these points.)
I like the various diamond knife sharpeners, including the ice pick shaped ones for serrated knives.
Prep idea:
Emery paper makes a pretty good lightweight knife sharpener. Slip pieces of 220 and 320 (or finer if you want) grit emery paper (or cloth) into any convenient slot in your kits or EDC. Find some sort of flat spot and you can touch up a knife edge pretty easily.
I’ll just chime in that the ones the restaurant uses are not thick or heavy. They use one heck of a burner too.
N
Yep, that’s the issue. Homes do not have the flamethrower burners that restaurants use. That’s why restaurants can use thin steel woks. Thin steel conducts heat much better than thick cast iron, although obviously the thick cast iron retains heat (and temperature) better.
There is this device:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/the-wok-mon-converts-your-home-burner-into-a-wok-range-solution.html
I have seen it in action at a friend’s house and he likes it (a Japanese engineer BTW).
Ah, sweet sweet internet, restored….
As I was checking in my purchases, and cleaning and putting away, I discovered that the cast iron griddle I bought for $1 is Le Crueset. Score!
Go me!
n
Knives – my wife & I took the recommendations here:
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/1331-knife-block-sets
and bought an a-la-cart set. I have to say I’m pretty happy with it. First chef’s knife I’ve ever owned, and I’m ecstatic about it.
I won’t touch the knives in the wedding-gift blocks anymore, unless I want one the kids can use & not get hurt.
Edit: Nevermind that link – it’s behind a paywall now. ATK is a pretty good show, and the knives they recommended when I bought them were all top-notch.
I find the wok discussion to be interesting. We have an electric stove and my wife wants a wok for Christmas. I saw video of an asian TV chef suggesting that if you have an electric stove that you get an all metal wok and preheat it in a 525 degree F oven.
I predict that our hosts will use the large burner on the stove for their wok. At least we’re discussing something besides flashlights for a change.
There really hasn’t been that much discussion of flashlights lately.
Did I mention yet that it’s 70F and 90%RH That’s down from 95% this morning too.
n
Our snow is drifting & melting, making removal a challenge. 6″ weighs as much as 12″, and 18″ is enough to about kill me. Glad I got rid of it this morning (mostly). still that slush/ice on the ground that just doesn’t come up nicely.
It’s supposed to freeze tonight & be colder the rest of the week. Should make for interesting skiing on Saturday.
Here’s a little curiosity when every dollar counts.
The USPS has free shipping materials if you are using their Priority Mail service. You go online and order whatever you want, in a large variety of sizes and shapes.
You are probably familiar with the Flat Rate boxes. I’ve recently found that they have a box the same shape as the Small Flat Rate box, that is just a bit bigger. I have a whole bunch of items that need to be in boxes, that fit this slightly bigger box perfectly. The down side is you pay for weight and it’s always more than Small Flat Rate.
The solution, and where the USPS is F’d up, is simply put the box inside a Padded Flat Rate envelope. Same volume, same weight, but put the box inside the magic envelope and it costs about $4 LESS. That $4 makes a big difference when you are selling smalls with free shipping. The Flat Rate Legal Envelope can often be used the same way.
Another WTF is that Regional A box is bigger than what I needed, but is flat rate, and about $1-2 cheaper. So MORE weight, and MORE volume, for less than the weight cost on the smaller box.
nick
The three pack of 3AAA FLASHLIGHTS I ordered the other day arrived this morning. They seem decent to me. The light is a bit bluish, but they’re nice and bright. Barbara likes them.
On kitchen knives:
– find some that fit in your hand well
– you really only need about 4 or 5 knives. You need a paring knife, a chef’s knife, a boning knife, and a serrated bread/tomato knife. A santoku is nice to have but not required.
– for the serrated knife, look for an offset one. I have one like this one I got at a restaurant supply house. https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Cutlery-9-Inch-Polypropylene-Handle/dp/B0019WZ7EW/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1481568054&sr=1-2&keywords=offset+serrated+knife
– most of the knives in stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond are way too expensive for what they offer.
– avoid wooden handles. They wear out before the blade will.
– I have an electric sharpener. It works great.
Is there some reason I’ve been put on moderation?
For some reason Akismet seems to have something against you and Ray. I’ve checked everything, and there’s no reason it should be holding your comments.
The āweathermanā spent to much time with the computer models and not enough time looking out the window and reading the instruments with his/her/its own eyes. We got hit with 6-inches of āwintery mixā very early this morning and there were no road crews ready to respond.
Four years in Vantucky (Vancouver, WA), and I never saw a single road crew on surface streets, even during the last big mess at the beginning of February, 2014.
Granted, the need on the West end of the Gorge isn’t as critical as Tri Cities, but I suspect the politicians spend the “road crew” budget elsewhere and get away with it.
After the disastrous elections from yesterday (big win for the crooks), I did some thinking about what should I’ll be prepared for, and what to do.
I’m expecting that the winning party, PSD, will start with some populist measures, like increasing salaries and other promises like that, so they can keep people happy and ignorant, and on their side. PSD and their allies already control the MSM, so these measures will be a success for them, but not for our economy.
Then, PSD will start changing things so to suit their needs, and to increase their control over all the institutions. Many things will deteriorate: Justice act, EU relations, investments, education(too low already), health, economy. They are experts on finding who to blame. The manipulation will be high. The air will be unbreathable: lies, stupidity, corruption, hate, irrationality, and so on..
So, what should I do?
Emigrate: perhaps in one of the countries where I might be welcomed like Canada or New Zeeland. But I can’t. It will cause too much pain to my parents., and I won’t be comfortable with that.
Or stay and … fight? But fight what? We’ve just had democratic elections. Everything was legal and clean. The majority spoke or didn’t care (low turnout 39.5%). They chose the crooks – this is not just a figure of speech: the leader of PSD is a convicted fellow, like many other members past or present. So I have to accept the hard truth: as a whole, the Romanians are an uneducated, dishonest and stupid people. We already had a lot of chances to prove the contrary, and we didn’t. And it will get worsen.
So, I’ll have to adapt to it. I’ll post later some thoughts on this, as this comment is already too long.
“For some reason Akismet seems to have something against you and Ray.”
Well-known haters, that’s why.
We got us a couple more inches of wet snow overnight, no big deal.
Wife off to Hawaii for the week.
I’m still busy with IRS and other Fed paperwork and dealing with a credit card outfit that I took most of my accrued “rewards points” from to order an Amazon gift card for Xmas, and come to find out they charged it to our bank checking account instead.
And I see that Princess apparently pulled a fast one and took my RAV4 back up to Moh-ree-all with her and left me with her mom’s Saab (no snow tires) and her own car (expired MA reg) while I was busy up here on the phone and computer. I’ll mention this the next time I hear from her mom and I’ll be told that they told me that was gonna happen that way but they didn’t, because if they had, I would have yanked the go-bag containing loaded pistol magazines from it first.
An interesting article on setting up microgrids for solar power in the Himalayas. They mentioned cylindrical lead-acid batteries made for solar power use. Handn’t heard of them, but I’m not into solar power.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/solar/lights-for-the-enlightened-an-engineering-trek-in-the-himalayas
“So, Iāll have to adapt to it. Iāll post later some thoughts on this, as this comment is already too long.”
I’d say, gee whiz, Eugen, we’d LOVE to have you come here to the great United States of America, but we have roughly the same situation, politically speaking. And we look at the majority of voters who in several recent elections stupidly voted for Bill Clinton TWICE and Barack Hussein Obama TWICE. The first is a serial adulterer, drug dealing enabler and user, rapist, pedophile, war criminal and probable traitor. The second guy came out of nowhere, a former communist “community organizer,” whose birth and college records are somehow unavailable STILL, and is also a probable war criminal and traitor. The other candidate in our most recent election is well-known for decades of chiseling, graft, financial and political corruption and lying, substance abuse, and the usual war crimes and probable treason. Yet many tens of millions of the richest and allegedly smartest people on the planet voted for these criminal scumbags REPEATEDLY.
I wish I had something comforting I could say, but unless you can get out to a better place WITH your parents (or anyone else you’d want to bring), your best bet is probably to use your knowledge and abilities to make whatever progress you CAN make over there and prepare the best you can for your circumstances. You may or may not be familiar with Selco’s accounts of his situations as the former Yugoslavia disintegrated into chaos and “civil war.” I hope Romania does not go down the that same road, or the road taken by Albania.
Let us know what you’re thinking.
“And I see that Princess apparently pulled a fast one and took my RAV4 back up to Moh-ree-al…”
Call the cops.
And why the hell do you leave the keys lying around?
It’s the loaded magazines I’d be worried about. Canadians don’t see it quite the way we do.
āFor some reason Akismet seems to have something against you and Ray.ā
Probably an anti-SPAM reaction to their FLASHLIGHT obsession.
“And why the hell do you leave the keys lying around?”
“Itās the loaded magazines Iād be worried about.”
Cah keys (or khakis) are kept in a kitchen drawer and one of them had just used the RAV to take the dawg out for a run. Then I got busy on the computer and phone up here and meanwhile they skeddadled with the RAV and left me the key to the Saab (no snow tires convertible). If they HAD told me their vehicle plan BEFORE leaving I could have simply taken the go-bags out. So now, if they get rousted at the border going up, or coming back next weekend, it’s on THEM. Because they were sneaky about it and know I don’t like Princess keeping the RAV and putting hundreds of miles on it all over New England and the Maritimes and trashing the interior like always. Had they told me or asked me, I would have said ‘alright, but keep it clean and put gas in it and be careful; meanwhile let me get my stuff out of it.’
And I see that Princess apparently pulled a fast one and took my RAV4 back up to Moh-ree-all with her …
God help her if they decide to do a quick search of the car at the border.
When we went to Canada back before the new passport cards were implemented, the border crossing guard went semi-nuts when he saw my Florida drivers license.
“Are you from Florida? … Don’t they have a (back then) new concealed carry permit in Florida? … Do you own a gun? … Do you have a concealed carry permit? … You know you can’t bring a gun into Canada? … Whose car is this? … Do they own a gun? … Does your wife own a gun? …”
I was concerned while he went through the spiel. I’d heard stories of people getting strip searched just for having the wrong newspaper in the back seat (no freedom of the press guarantees in Canada mean news blackouts are possible). Fortunately, after five minutes of that guy’s best Jack Webb, he waved us through without searching the car … or worse.
Yeah, I’ve got some stories about Canadian border inspections. I used to fly in and out all the time. I’ve even had work permits for several years. Basically, not interested in having americans come for work, or any other reason, love them some terrorists though, and I got searched more thoroughly in canada than china or the UAE.
n
“God help her if they decide to do a quick search of the car at the border.”
She’s had problems with border people before; it’s completely luck of the draw who you get, going up or coming back across. I’ve NEVER had an issue, but wife and daughter HAVE, several times. So now they’re going up in MY car with my stuff in it. If they get a wack job person at the crossing who keys in on the black bags hanging off the rear headrests, so be it. But I think I would have heard by now; they left a couple of hours ago and should be approaching Moh-ree-all. They both have passports, wife with U.S. and Princess with Canadian. (she has yet to renew her U.S. passport (WAY overdue) despite being down here almost every week all through her academic year for entertainment and social events, nor have they registered her car with VT plates despite having many moons to do so, also).
I’m frankly of the opinion that they’re both in need of some kind of wake-up call because both of them are in normality-bias mode all the time and only think of the present and immediate future as it concerns THEM. Same deal with my brothers’ wives and daughters down in MA. Whereas at least two of my brothers are concerned about the country’s future and how it will impact them and their families.
So what is a recidivist misogynist supposed to think?
You’ve got my sympathies, Dave, but I don’t have any useful advice. I have essentially the same problem with my wife and her mother taking, destroying, giving away, or throwing away my stuff, my wife borrowing my car and then either trashing it or getting in an accident (always minor so far, but it’s just a matter of time), and so on. I can pop off the plug wires if I suspect she’s going to “borrow” the car and I can lock up a limited amount of my tools and such, but that’s a bullshit way to live.
re woks, RBT, it sounds like y’all plan to use the “wok” as a round-sided skillet. That’s fine, but it’s not a wok. OTOH, if you like the results the way you cook your stir fry, there’s no benefit to being a purist about proper woks and proper technique.
I wouldn’t have made such a broad statement myself, but I’ll admit I can’t think of any counterexamples off the top of my head…
Listened to 5 minutes of a Bernie Sanders speech given at some university recently.
There can be no quarter given. No mercy, except the coup de grace. They will not stop until they’ve destroyed it all. They lie. They twist. They distort. They’re Wormtongue whispering in ears, spreading all the seven deadly sins and all the venal ones too.
They don’t live in the same world we do. They don’t experience reality like we do. They clearly don’t experience time like we do- as they get cause and effect reversed.
Given these things, there isn’t any way to meet them halfway, to reach an accommodation, to treat in good faith.
And they are relentless.
“Living wage”
“Citizens United”
“Billionaires buying elections”
“One person one vote”
“Billionaires paying no taxes”
“Rapacious corporations making billions and paying no taxes”
“Free state university educations”
“Crushing debt of student loans”
“Millions of bright young people who can’t afford college”
Fuck me, I could write a script to generate the left’s speeches.
nick
Princesses’ car. MA or VT plates? I thought you said MA at first.
If the Mounties confiscate your weapons who will pay to replace them?
(I crossed into Canukistan at Niagara in 2003. The Mountie was very nice and polite. Comming back the American ex-KGB Border Guard was very aloof.)
“Good” is defined by the gooberment and goes contrary to all common sense and is the opposite of how us despicable deplorables would define good. If there is ever any beneficial effect it is purely by accident and the gooberment will act quickly to correct their oversight, often by adding more oversight š
@Eugen — I too am sorry that I have no solutions for you, only the wisdom to remind you to trust no one and keep your eyes and ears open. Unfortunately your presence here waves a red flag (pun intended). Be safe.
I crossed into Canukistan at Niagara in 2003. The Mountie was very nice and polite. Comming back the American ex-KGB Border Guard was very aloof.
We crossed north of Bellingham, one of the busiest crossings along the border. I figured the Mountie had just received a briefing about the (then) new Florida concealed carry permit, probably that morning before shift change.
Going the other way, the US Border Patrol agent was polite. Of course, this was pre-9/11 when the biggest smuggling concern was (I’m not kidding) Canadian toilets destined for housing developments along the I-5 corridor.
Chicago had a brisk trade in older toilets. (Unintended consequences of water flow restrictions.) Don’t know if it is as much an issue, as the current lo-flows, at least the $300 ones, are pretty good.
n
So you had to go a mention old toilets, now I’m really boiling with just another of the gooberments intended consequences. Sewer systems were designed to receive a certain flow so that they would not clog. There is no way any small town, let alone big city, can afford to dig up the sewer lines and make them work with “low flow”. So people flush 3, 4, 5 ,6 times, that is unless they have a good relationship with Roto-Rooter. Problem is exasperated by all the illegal immigrants who think anything can be thrown down the toilet and dumping grease down the sink in common. Now don’t get me started on baby wipes…
BTW,I love the sound of my old toilets dumping 5+ gallons per flush. No clogs for me š
dumping 5+ gallons per flush. No clogs for me
Wimp. You need more solids in your diet.
Wife called a little while ago; she says she asked Princess to ask ME if it would be OK to take the RAV, and Princess said “Yeah, it’s fine.” I only saw her for about two minutes before she took off with the dog and then they both left in it right after that. Princess did NOT consult with me on it, but we’ve caught her in lies before about all kinds of stuff.
No problem at the border, evidently, at least not with the guards, but they hit a major snow squall there and it was just as well they had my RAV with all-wheel-drive and some weight to it. So now she has it in Moh-ree-all for the week, where they got a lotta snow, apparently, and cars in the hotel parking lot are buried. She’ll get her mom at the airport next Sunday and come back with my car then. Meanwhile I have the Saab and at least they keep the streets pretty well cleared here and I have her car with an expired MA reg (expired this past August) and no one could be bothered to register it here in VT. Entertainment and social gadding about are way more important. If I say anything I’m the mean old son of a bitch fascist stepdad, etc. “She works so hard up there.” Etc. But seems to have loads of free time to come down here, travel around New England, the Maritimes, Ontario, etc.
This had BETTER be her last year of college on our dime.
What did I get done today? Some scant progress made on two Fed paperwork and phone fronts; other stuff is hanging.
Anything to do with prepping today? Fuck no. Nothing. Other than reading prep-related emails. A loss. Devoured by locusts.
Now donāt get me started on baby wipesā¦
Apparently the new adult wet wipes (same material, different box) are really clogging the sewer systems.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Charmin-Freshmates-Adult-Flushable-Wipes-40-count/14284567
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/nyregion/the-wet-wipes-box-says-flush-but-the-new-york-city-sewer-system-says-dont.html?_r=0
There was a big feature article in the German press about the issue, and how they have to pump millions of gallons of water into the sewers to make up the missing flow.
So no water saved, lots of stink, higher cost for consumers, and municipalities, and loads of bureaucrats getting paid on the back of the people.
n
So, a successful program, is what you’re saying.
Yep, mission accomplished. Now to grow my dept, so I can advance up the payscale….
n
For some reason Akismet seems to have something against you and Ray.
My posts are on a 60 minute delay. I just assumed it was my last ‘heads on pikes’ comment.
Buncha dam cynics and haters here.
No trigger warning.
Must find safe space.
Yes. Patriots versus Ravens. Patriots 16 and Ravens 3 at halftime. Safe space.
“I just assumed it was my last āheads on pikesā comment.”
Very doubtful.
Much worse has been said here.
With no trigger warnings.
Thought of it makes me anxious and afraid.
Must find safe space.
Yes. Halftime over. Safe space.
I thought this was Princess’ last SEMESTER, not her last YEAR.
I’m speechless at what you and the old lady let her get away with. Oh well, at least you’ve got 20+ years of luxury living ahead of you on *her* dime when she’s a rich and famous translator or harpist.
Feeling pretty proud of myself at the moment.
Had an LED downlight fail, way early. Figured it was something in the driver board. Caps looked good, guessed it was the first diode in the current path. Pulled the diode and it tested bad. Dug thru the junk box to find boards with diodes on them. Pulled some diodes, found one that was close enough (I think.) Replaced diode, reassemble and test. Et walla!
Light comes out the front again.
Don’t know if it will hold up, but I’m feeling pretty smug. All those youtube vids are paying off- I saved $30. (I know, but the $8 ones at Costco are 2 x as bright and a different color white. I tried. No work-y when you have 20 of the F-k-ers in the kitchen ceiling.)
Moral of the story is if you are going to replace a whole room full of down cans with LEDs, buy a couple extra AT THE SAME TIME. You can be sure that down the road, the lights will be “improved” and won’t match, but with foresight, you’ll have a spare from the same production run. And a 2c part died early and took out a $30 light. ($30 ‘cuz that’s what one that matches the original specs costs online.)
Way expensive in terms of my time, but ATM my time is cheap, and I wanted to see if I could fix it. Might come a day when fixing is the only answer.
nick <— feeling good.
It is her last semester coming up this winter-spring and better be her last year, on what has turned out be the Seven-Year-Plan for a McGill BA in Languages and Music. She’ll be almost 25 then, having taken a whatever-they-call-it-year (I forgot the term, CRS Syndrome again) after high skool and living and working in Rome.
“Iām speechless at what you and the old lady let her get away with.”
I’ve had very little ground to stand on these past 20 years, as she is my STEPdaughter and every attempt I made to rein her in was met with sabotage, undercutting and sandbagging by her mom and grandma, until very recently. Interestingly, we did not have a tenth of this trouble with my STEPson. He worked his ass off through high skool, college and thereafter, unto the present day, now 31 years of age with three kids of his own.
“…youāve got 20+ years of luxury living ahead of you on *her* dime when sheās a rich and famous translator or harpist.”
Good one! I seriously doubt it. In any case neither wife nor I give a blind rat’s ass for a life of luxury anyway. We have both had some very hard times in our lives and would just like to be paid up on everything, own our house, and get some quiet time now and then. With the way things are going with this country and the world, hard times a’comin’ again, in our dotage, of course.
Patriots won 30-23 but after making some grievous mistakes on the part of two special teams players that got the Ravens two touchdowns they would not ordinarily have had, plus our QB Tom Brady, the greatest ever in NFL history and now 39, threw only his second interception of the year. Which is pretty effin amazing.
@JLP: I bet you’re dealing with 495 traffic right now, buddy. And I bet you were in the stands and fit to be tied over those mistakes.
From Patrick today:
http://buchanan.org/blog/will-trump-defy-mccain-marco-126173
We hope and pray that tRump and his people can stave off the fucking neocons and chickenhawks and avoid any more stupid chit with Russia, China and the Middle East.
Hasn’t Trump just selected one of Vlad the Impailer’s bum buddies as SoS?
Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine.
I hate to gloat but I was off my parents’ hands before I was 22… š
@ Miles_Teg
Got you beat by a couple years friend. I don’t remember how old I was but it was shortly after high school.
My oldest sister boomeranged into her early thirties when she got married and moved out for good. Middle sister was rarely at home by the time she hit 16. There was never an official move out date for her, she just gradually stopped staying at home.
We’re old enough that our plan with our child is to brain wash her from an early age (we’ve already begun) that 18 and graduating high school = move out. Wish us luck.
I think “rich and famous harpist” translates to “doesn’t need to wait tables in order to support herself”. IIRC the harpist of the Chicago Symphony, a full-time position, made about $80K some years ago, which is not great pay for Chicago. And there was approximately one such position in the country.
Plus, Celtic harp is not the same as “classic” harp. I was to guess, I’d guess that this will boil down to the occasional gig, which will pay barely more than the gas to get to the gig.
Translating can pay well, if you’re smart about it. Or lucky enough to stumble into a good job, I guess.
As Dave says, it takes only one parent or other figure to “enable” a prolonged parasitic childhood.
Chicago had a brisk trade in older toilets. (Unintended consequences of water flow restrictions.) Donāt know if it is as much an issue, as the current lo-flows, at least the $300 ones, are pretty good.
We have a new Toto *1.0* g.p.f. lo-flow toilet that actually works, but it cost us $500 plus labor. Sigh.
Ours – self-installed – is 1 gpf for #1, and 1.8 gpf for #2. Buttons on the top instead of a handle on the side. Cost me $110, and I installed it myself. Teaching the kids to flush after every #1 helps keep the septic wet. I have noticed the lower water bills. It flushes well and doesn’t clog as often as the old one did, and _it_ worked with 5gpf.
What really got me was that replacement parts for the old toilet would have bought me a new toilet years ago, but I was stubborn. It’s just been the past few years that the low-flow toilets have performed well enough that clogging isn’t an issue.
The old toilet, set at road, was gone in less than an hour. There IS a market for them. The other one (stashed in the basement) will NOT leave the house. I have an emergency reserve…
the greatest ever in NFL history and now 39, threw only his second interception of the year
By that metric I am even better than Mr. Brady as I have thrown no interceptions. Of course I haven’t played either. Stats have to be in perspective. How many passes has Mr. Brady thrown during the year. A running offense tends to have lower passing stats (and interceptions) whereas a passing offense is just the opposite. OK, I am just being an asshole.
Brady is good, Staubach was good, Bradshaw was good, Peyton was good. How you determine who is the greatest is perspective is difficult. But know for certain someone will come along in the coming years that may be better. Unless the NFL continues to pussify some of the rules.
There IS a market for them
Friends son would pick them up. Then each year at 4th of July he would fill a couple with gun powder and blow them up in his lower field. Generally the finale after the several hundred dollars of fireworks had been consumed.
I hate plumbing. Needed to replace a cutoff valve for the outside faucet and drain the line. Well valve would not close all the way. No problem. Cut out the old valve (copper pipe) and solder in a new valve.
Could not find my MAP torch and had to buy another one. Cut out the old valve and soldered in the new valve. But a fitting further up the line that was not touched, may have moved slightly, started leaking. Thus off to the hardware store for some more parts to resolve that leak. Then discovered that the main shut off valve for the house has a small leak. That now needs replaced along with the pressure regulator.
I hate plumbing.
@Jenny…
My boss in about 1990 had a son and he and his old lady immediately started saving so the kid could go to an interstate university and be off their hands when he was 17. I understand that’s quite common in the UK: kids move to a distant town to study. One of my Scottish friends was quite unusual in that he stayed in Glasgow to do his degree at the University of Glasgow.
Two weeks before I left home at age 21y 10m mum showed me how to use a washing machine and iron. I learned to cook the next year.
By my senior year in high school, I was washing my own clothes and taking a turn at cooking dinner. Along with my twin brother and female cousin (2 yrs younger). My folks were adament that we would be able to take care of ourselves when we leave the house. Fortunately, the Air Force was able to pick up on any gaps and so far, I’ve stayed above ground. Doing same with my kids; we all pitch in regardless of what needs to be cleaned or prepped or mowed.
“How many passes has Mr. Brady thrown during the year.”
http://www.nfl.com/player/tombrady/2504211/careerstats
Brady is currently the second-highest rated passer in the NFL and only second by a tiny digit or two.
So sorry; just trying out a small change from FLASHLIGHTS and now TOILETS. Geez.
Out-of-the-house-year? Age 17, during which I graduated from high skool, spent most of that summer away from home at friends’ houses or hitchhiking across Maffachufetts back and forth from the Berkshires to Boston, and in September left for Lackland AFB, TX. Where smartass young OFD got a very rude awakening from that very first morning.
“Iād guess that this will boil down to the occasional gig, which will pay barely more than the gas to get to the gig. Translating can pay well, if youāre smart about it. Or lucky enough to stumble into a good job, I guess.”
You’d guess correctly, so fah, and not only that, she got $200 for her very first performance gig up in Moh-ree-all and promptly had it stolen from her purse while sitting in a movie theater. I gather she now wants to go on to grad school somewhere but wife has said that it’s on HER dime, but I’ve seen how that stuff works: MIL will pony up the money and then we’ll have to pay MIL back. I’ll try to torpedo that operation but my success record is mostly nil so fah. As for translating, I have no clue how she will make money from that, other than occasionally, like with the Celtic harp. I suspect that things will not turn out quite as rosy as some people seem to think around here and we may see her moving back in for her mid-20s, but she’s said she can’t live with her mother anymore, whatever that means. I can’t imagine she’d prefer living with ME, so who knows? Probably move back in with her 88+ grandma is my theory, as she stays there mostly whenever she’s down here and grandma gives her cash all the time, which we then have to pay back. See how that works?
“…it takes only one parent or other figure to āenableā a prolonged parasitic childhood.”
There it is.
@OFD “fit to be tied over those mistakes”
It was a good game. Part of the fun is riding the “we’re winning” / “they’re losing” emotional roller coaster with the crowd. It was my first game in a long time (about a decade, I think) so it was almost like a new experience. I know several regular contributors here are quite anti-sports, and I’m no uber-fan, but I did have a very good time. It is quite a production.
The people a Gillette have things worked out pretty well. It helps that I don’t live too far from the stadium. I went a bit early so we could do some shopping and have dinner at Patriot Place before the game. From leaving home to parking the car was 15 minutes. From the time the game ended to laying my head on the pillow at home was 1 hour and fifteen minutes. That included getting from the stadium to the car, getting out of the parking lot, dropping off my friend at her house and then driving to my home. Not bad at all.
Security was EVERYWHERE but they were courteous and efficient in all my dealings. This was not the TSA. This event hasn’t changed my opinion of crowds, I still don’t like ’em. My aversion to the throngs of people is a preference not a phobia. I make my choices and take my risks as I see fit.
“This event hasnāt changed my opinion of crowds, I still donāt like āem. My aversion to the throngs of people is a preference not a phobia. I make my choices and take my risks as I see fit.”
Indeed. Glad you had a good time and it was a roller-coaster game with a nice ending. Finally.
I used to live down there, grew up there, etc., so the crowds and traffic are more a major annoyance and irritant than squicking me out or anything. It’s been many years since I went to a Pats or Red Sox game and the high prices and parking situations and traffic would pretty much negate me ever going again unless…….I got FREE tickets.
Up here I like to go to the minor-league baseball games; shuttle bus takes us to the stadium and tix are six bucks. Regular families with kids, no drunks in the stands trying to provoke fights. And if you don’t guzzle beer by the quart, you don’t have to stand in line for the mens room.
I hate plumbing.
Fresh water at the house in a semi-unlimited quantity is the first sign of civilization.
āā¦it takes only one parent or other figure to āenableā a prolonged parasitic childhood.ā
There it is.
Our situation is fairly tough as our 29 year old daughter is unable to take care of herself. But, she is able to do more than she normally does. When the wife leaves town, I ask the daughter to wash dishes, make food for herself, etc. And as soon as the wife gets home, she restarts enabling immediately. The wife has lost one daughter and is bound and determined not to lose another, even if she has to crawl over broken glass.
I hate plumbing.
Fresh water at the house in a semi-unlimited quantity is the first sign of civilization.
Let me rephrase that. I hate working on plumbing.