Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[sovereignstar v2]

Linux is where it's at

[Ghost Econ]

Had a stray follow me and the dog home on our walk. She's sweet as can be, wants to be our shadow. Took her to the vet and she not chipped, no spayed and no one has responded on the socials.

Not sure what to do with her. The shelters here are overcrowded and she's not cute, so she's probably dead if we take her. We can't keep her since we are leaving on vacation soon and she's too big for our house. I think we just might leave our gate open. Unfortunately it might be her best shot at living a little while longer.

[Edward64]

Traveling and staying at a hostel. Who the frak puts their wash cycle for 2 hours and 30 min? That is just pure bullshit and GD inconsiderate.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Linux is where it's at

2 turntables and a microphone

[Ghost Econ]

Ziploc bag quality has gone to shit lately. The gallon bags have gotten unbelievably thin. I have to double bag any meat I want to thaw in hopes it doesn't leak.

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Ziploc bag quality has gone to shit lately. The gallon bags have gotten unbelievably thin. I have to double bag any meat I want to thaw in hopes it doesn't leak.

And the seal is stronger than the handle on the bag. You can rip off the plastic trying to open the bag pretty easily if you aren't careful.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Ziploc bag quality has gone to shit lately. The gallon bags have gotten unbelievably thin. I have to double bag any meat I want to thaw in hopes it doesn't leak.

More like Riploc! Amirite?!?

[thesloppy]

I've started using compostable sandwich/snack bags and I think they're actually stronger than the ziplocs these days...though they start breaking down quickly once they've touched food, are more expensive, and aren't reusable for anything. I think they're made out of corn starch.

[dubb93]

I’m at a loss for how stupid the people I know are. I helped people on Facebook understand why their property taxes are increasing (assessed value keeps going up.) I explained how the property I purchased 7 years ago has increased in assessed value every year to which the consensus became “Yea the last 4 years anyway.”

I left the convo but how is everyone’s property values increasing under Biden a bad thing? I swear these cultists are too stupid to even see things that benefit them unless it has Trump’s face on it.

[cuervo72]

Tell them they should support more building in their area, it should loosen supply and keep their home values down. Sounds like they'd love that!

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I’m at a loss for how stupid the people I know are. I helped people on Facebook understand why their property taxes are increasing (assessed value keeps going up.) I explained how the property I purchased 7 years ago has increased in assessed value every year to which the consensus became “Yea the last 4 years anyway.”

I left the convo but how is everyone’s property values increasing under Biden a bad thing? I swear these cultists are too stupid to even see things that benefit them unless it has Trump’s face on it.

It's a bad thing if you're trying to buy. I'm trying to find a place that is less of a dump but with the prices out there I don't know if it would be worth it.

[Edward64]

It’s great for homeowners like me, but crappy for those that want to buy

[cuervo72]

It took me over six years to actually open it, but I'm all in now on the Instant Pot.

BEANS + VEGGIES + PROTEIN AND GO, BABY

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

It took me over six years to actually open it, but I'm all in now on the Instant Pot.

BEANS + VEGGIES + PROTEIN AND GO, BABY

I love making beef stew in mine.

[cuervo72]

Yeah, I will absolutely try that at some point. First dish was black beans, a couple cans of diced tomatoes with chilis, and some thin sliced beef which I cut into strips. Yesterday was black eyed peas, greens, and chicken thighs. First was a little soupy perhaps (used 4 cups of broth). Halved that the second time. But raw beans, done in a half hour or less? Yes, please.

Basically, anything I've tried in a crock pot is getting done in this now instead.

(And actually, what popped into my head again: boiled peanuts. I can't get them green up here I don't think, but at least it looks like getting them raw is possible, where it didn't seem to be when I thought about this a few years ago.)

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Yeah, I will absolutely try that at some point. First dish was black beans, a couple cans of diced tomatoes with chilis, and some thin sliced beef which I cut into strips. Yesterday was black eyed peas, greens, and chicken thighs. First was a little soupy perhaps (used 4 cups of broth). Halved that the second time. But raw beans, done in a half hour or less? Yes, please.

Basically, anything I've tried in a crock pot is getting done in this now instead.

(And actually, what popped into my head again: boiled peanuts. I can't get them green up here I don't think, but at least it looks like getting them raw is possible, where it didn't seem to be when I thought about this a few years ago.)

I have done boiled peanuts. Very good. My wife bought some from a company that gives them to you preseason and ready for a Instapot. I had some that was Cajun spiced, and a dill pickle seasoned.

[Edward64]

Love boiled peanuts so am tempted to try this w/pickle.

But I can eat the whole thing watching a football game, definitely not good for my diet

[sovereignstar v2]

Just watched the video that GD shared in the College Football thread and I noticed a sponsored ad for an OnlyFans model on Twitter. Like WTF

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Just watched the video that GD shared in the College Football thread and I noticed a sponsored ad for an OnlyFans model on Twitter. Like WTF

That's terrible.......what's her name? Just so I can dodge it.

[GrantDawg]

The funny thing about this boiled peanut discussion is I had some for lunch today. Random, because I hardly ever do that.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I have done boiled peanuts. Very good. My wife bought some from a company that gives them to you preseason and ready for a Instapot. I had some that was Cajun spiced, and a dill pickle seasoned.

Ah, I did see one company I think with "Boil the Bag" peanuts. A little more expensive maybe but possibly easier. (I've seen recipes with crab boil and cajun seasoning, etc. There's a flea market in Daytona that we'd get some at when at the in-laws that had a jalapeno flavor, definitely wouldn't mind trying to emulate it.)

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The funny thing about this boiled peanut discussion is I had some for lunch today. Random, because I hardly ever do that.

Heh.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Ah, I did see one company I think with "Boil the Bag" peanuts. A little more expensive maybe but possibly easier. (I've seen recipes with crab boil and cajun seasoning, etc. There's a flea market in Daytona that we'd get some at when at the in-laws that had a jalapeno flavor, definitely wouldn't mind trying to emulate it.)

Pretty sure that's the one. They are good, but I will warn you that bag has way more peanuts than I thought.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

That's terrible.......what's her name? Just so I can dodge it.

Okay, this made me lol.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Yeah, I will absolutely try that at some point. First dish was black beans, a couple cans of diced tomatoes with chilis, and some thin sliced beef which I cut into strips. Yesterday was black eyed peas, greens, and chicken thighs. First was a little soupy perhaps (used 4 cups of broth). Halved that the second time. But raw beans, done in a half hour or less? Yes, please.

Basically, anything I've tried in a crock pot is getting done in this now instead.

(And actually, what popped into my head again: boiled peanuts. I can't get them green up here I don't think, but at least it looks like getting them raw is possible, where it didn't seem to be when I thought about this a few years ago.)

I was just thinking a couple of days ago that we need a "Random Recipes That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here" thread.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Critch

I was just thinking a couple of days ago that we need a "Random Recipes That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here" thread.

Your idea. Do it. I'm in.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Critch

I was just thinking a couple of days ago that we need a "Random Recipes That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here" thread.

We use to have a recipe thrad, it's probably buried somewhere.

[Ksyrup]

AmEx has been promsing to "refresh" a bunch of its cards and hinted changes were coming to the Gold card. Last week, someone leaked what were supposed to be the changes, and this morning, they were confirmed.

- Annual Fee goes up from $250 to $325 (I believe for renewals after 10/1)

- Added a RESY credit of $100, similar to the Platinum card's Saks 5th Ave credit in that it is split into two $50 credits, one in each half of the year. This is on top of the Delta AmEx also adding a similar credit, except I think that one is $20 a month for a total of $240 if you use it every month. The problem for those of us who don't live in a big city is the limited number of restaurants on Resy. Now even more coupons for things we can't use, yay!

- Added a $7/month Dunkin credit, for a total of $84. Again, another high-effort/unwanted, low-reward coupon. I guess maybe my daughter can use this?

- Revised the list of restaurants to use the $10/month credit. Removing Shake Shack and Milk Bar as of 9/26, adding Five Guys. Again, coupon clipping BS.

- Biggest hit to the card, by far - reduced the 4X points on restaurants from UNCAPPED to $50K a year. The supermarket cap of $100K remains, but I'll never hit that. The $50K on restaurants? Possible I would hit that one. But I don't have enough history with this card to know what my annual spend is (and theoretically it will go down once I kick my 2nd daughter off after college in a couple of years as an additional user).

So, whoever did the leak nailed it 100%. Pretty disappointing. Combine this with travel partners increasing rewards requirements and limiting redemptions without notice, and rewards cards are getting more and more difficult to use. Or at least, you need to be really invested in them and understand the ins and outs to get as much value out of them as possible. The coupon clipping shit is annoying, though.

[Ghost Econ]

We pretty much only use our Chase Sapphire because the points still convert well to Hyatt. We are on our third all inclusive "free" and still have enough points for or 2 more before we'd need to wait longer. Trying to decide if we'll use them instead for a few cheaper Hyatt properties in Europe so we can get multiple trips with just paying air and food.

I know they can convert well to the airlines, but it is just a lot of work playing that airline game, trying to find that one where you can find business class to Europe for 10k points or whatever. And we travel a decent amount for swim meets, so not paying for hotels is helpful.

Otherwise, our cards are just basic cash back amex/discover and the chase freedom that we rotate when we get the right category... Then promptly forget when we actually use them.

[Ksyrup]

I've gotten pretty good value out of points for flights - especially international - but yes, it's a lot of work.

I've basically replaced the amount of time/energy I put into my daughters' sports careers with rewards points. The amount of work I put into recruiting/travel ball, tournaments, scouting opponents, etc., was crazy. Now I'm channeling that effort into flying all over the world.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The coupon clipping shit is annoying, though.

I like the rose colored gold card, it’s pretty and know my wife would love it … just for show.

But yeah, I can’t get enough value out of it to justify the annual fee. Wish it was more the traditional points and travel/shopping benefits

[Ksyrup]

My wife has the rose colored as well. But now... they have a limited edition WHITE GOLD to make you forget about the crappy changes and increased fee!

I shouldn't make fun of it. I got the Delta Reserve card made partially out of an old 747.

[thesloppy]

Today I received a package with a sticker that said "DO NOT OPEN WITH BLADES" What should I open it with? Magic?

[Ksyrup]

Skates, of course.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Skates, of course.

I tried this, and I have been concussed.

[Critch]

Have you tried a hammer?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Today I received a package with a sticker that said "DO NOT OPEN WITH BLADES" What should I open it with? Magic?

Call Scott Summers

[thesloppy]

Spoiler: I used a blade.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Daaaaayum random people make my head hurt (more).

In the latest example, some Karen back in my hometown all confused and seemingly upset by the notion of the local HS football team doing a "Midnight Madness" gimmick this year (new coach coming in after several years of noticeable regression from a brief heyday so it kinda makes sense to shake things up some)

I wonder how upset she'd be if someone explained to her that most of those players weren't going to bed at 830p whether there was a midnight practice or not.

If my options for permanent residence was my old hometown or, say, Gaza I'd be working on my language skills ASAP.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Okay, I have a "what say FOFC" question for you, I'll try to limit the setup / background best I can

I need a pro pet sitter for a few days in a couple weeks, our usual family friend who handles those situations for us will be out of town. No biggie, I Google and quickly find what appears to be THE major one in the area. Nice enough website for what it is, all the registration stuff actually seems to work, etc.

And as I start to do the next step of filling in info I find this little gem.

"We require TWO points of access for your home. And no "key under the mat" is accepted. We must have either a) a digital entry code or b) a key in a secure lockbox. If you do not have a suitable lockbox, we are happy to sell you one"

My reaction here in the batcave was, umm, brief but suitably profane.

So my question is: do ordinary people have, like, random lockboxes (or in this case TWO of them) just lying around their house? If so, when did this become a thing?

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

So my question is: do ordinary people have, like, random lockboxes (or in this case TWO of them) just lying around their house? If so, when did this become a thing?

I assume that must be liability related, they don't want to be blamed/sued if someone else uses your under-the-mat key, and maybe they also don't want to be liable for your pet if that key goes missing.

...that doesn't really explain the two points of access though.

[GrantDawg]

I run into most people having lock codes either on their doors or their garage doors. I only usually run into lock boxes on houses for sale or rental/Air b and b houses. No, most people don't have two lock boxes if they have them.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, we don't have a lockbox but we have keypad access on the garage. As for the second access point... open a window and jump?

[Passacaglia]

I don't understand why people wear hats that say NFL rather than a specific team.

[flere-imsaho]

Jon - try rover.com. You should be able to find an independent dog walker on there that won't have so many requirements.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Jon - try rover.com. You should be able to find an independent dog walker on there that won't have so many requirements.

That's likely what we'll end up trying, cause the other one can go ... lick themselves (or whatever)

[Radii]

It's been years now since I've needed a pet sitter, but when I did I used rover and had a very good experience.

[flere-imsaho]

As I was setting up an online bank account for my now-13-year-old son earlier today it occured to me that a great many of us of similar age (let's generalize it as Gen X folks) has the unenviable task of having to help our parents and our children navigate everyday life complications in a way that probably hasn't happened before.

Our parents are typically shit with technology, we all know that, so there's that and everything that comes with that (like phishing scams and the like).

But then our kids seem wholly unprepared for the complexity that comes with life. Sure, they might be comfortable with technology (though that isn't the same as "good with technology"), but explain to them the process it takes to open a bank account or buy a car, or, god help them, deal with health insurance, and see real terror their eyes.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

god help them, deal with health insurance, and see real terror their eyes.

My 24 year old niece graduated first in her engineering class at a great college. Before she even graduated the school offered her a job which she took. I had to walk her through all her health insurance options (mom is a flake, dad is long dead) and now she is changing auto insurance and I have to explain it all to her.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

or, god help them, deal with health insurance, and see real terror their eyes.

Hell, you only have to look at MY eyes to see that.

Absolutely without a single doubt THE most miserable household task I had to assume a couple years ago. And, accordingly, THE most stressful by a wide margin.

[Ksyrup]

You know, I've been listening to yacht rock since I was a kid (pre-teen), going back to the 70s. I've heard Jefferson Starship's Miracles hundreds of times, especially in the past several years now that SXM has a dedicated Yacht Rock channel.

However, for some reason, it wasn't until today that I realized that song contained the following line:

I had a taste of the real world (just a drop of it)
When I went down on you, girl, oh

For some reason, I finally heard that line and it registered. Well, I did a double take and immediately made a mental note to google the lyrics to confirm what I heard and yes, that's the line.

Bravo, Balin & Co.

Calls to mind The Babys song Midnight Rendezvous, where right at the end, John Waite sings, "Oh I'd really like to fuck you" as the song fades out, and it almost always is played as is on the radio.