09:59 – Barbara is cleaning house this morning, while I do laundry. We just started seasoning the new wok she bought down in Winston. I’ve seasoned cast iron cookware, but this is the first time I’ve done steel. It’s ugly, which is more obvious on the gray surface of the steel than it is on the black cast iron. Barbara has never cooked in seasoned pans before. I think once she tries it she’ll like it. Ten second cleanup and the food just seems to taste better. And I like the idea of using 3000 year old nonstick technology.
UPS showed up about 7 p.m. yesterday, just after we’d finished dinner and cleaning up, and left five large boxes on the porch. Colin never even woofed. Those boxes contained about 3,000 30mL bottles and caps, a case of funnels, and two cases of test tube racks, which we were completely out of. Later today, we’ll finish building a dozen chemistry kits, which were awaiting test tube racks, and then return to labeling and filling chemical bottles and building subassemblies.
And in more bizarre news, it seems that four years or so ago a Pennsylvania Amish couple more-or-less sold their 14-year-old daughter to a 51-year-old pervert, by whom she has borne two children. What really surprised me was that the father of the girl said he thought it was legal based on research he’d done on-line. Since when do the Amish use the Internet?
Email from Jen, whose husband has a new hobby. Two or three weeks ago, they attempted to start their generator and it wouldn’t fire up. So David hauled the generator over to a guy he knows who works on small engines. He sat and watched as the guy tore down and cleaned the carb, making notes of tools and supplies he’d need to do it himself. Jen says David has now downloaded service manuals for all their tools that use small gasoline engines, both four- and two-cycle. Last weekend, he tore down, cleaned, and rebuilt their leaf blower and chainsaw. This weekend, he’s going after their lawn tractor, which Jen fears will never be the same. But she does admit that both the leaf blower and chainsaw are running fine.
“This weekend, he’s going after their lawn tractor, which Jen fears will never be the same.”
Just wait until he decides to fully disassemble the family auto for a “tune-up”. :laughing:
Was the wok bought online? If so I’d appreciate a link with a photo. I like woks, but cleaning them is a PITA. I heat food in a wok directly on the stove but was wondering about getting a teflon one with inbuilt heating.
Barbara says she got the work at BB&B.
@miles,
from watching hours of chinese cooking shows (Yan Can Cook- recommended) and my own experiences, you don’t want a non-stick bowl shaped pan that’s masquerading as a wok. Won’t work.
The technique of wok cooking requires that you be able to move stuff off the bottom, and ‘up the sides’ for lack of a more technical term. The non-stick “woks” let the food slide back down into the heat.
A traditional wok has texture in the surface and shape of the bowl that will hold the food up the sides.
Also, the searing doesn’t happen correctly with the non-stick.
Finally, the non-stick limits the temperatures you can safely use and that defeats the ‘high heat, quick cooking’ technique that makes a wok what it is.
nick
(and the electric woks seem to have a “step” in the shape at the bottom, ie, not a smooth bowl shape, which also makes the techniques more difficult.)
(I’ll also add that my Calphalon “wok shaped” pan is one of my most versatile and useful pans, but because of its flat bottom, it is NOT a wok.)
DadCooks will probably be able to expand on or correct me as needed……..
I’ve read in several forums, and confirmed with my limited experience, that small engines most often fail to run because of clogged up carb (due to stale gas, or debris) or completely clogged air filters.
Clogged air filters are the single biggest failure with small engines you see tossed out on the curb (by homeowners that have more money than time.) String trimmers are very common in the trash, and the former owners don’t seem to realize they even have filters.
Missing gas cap is a common problem for discarded (but otherwise fixable) small engine yard tools.
Keep your eyes open while driving, and you can score some good practice material, and a cheap lawn tool to boot.
nick
okay, ty for the wok info.
he tore down, cleaned, and rebuilt their leaf blower and chainsaw
I used to do that as a youngster while living on the farm. The biggest issues are gaskets and bearing surfaces. Sometimes opening something will tear a gasket and you have to make a new gasket or buy a new gasket. Bearing surfaces have been worn over time to conform to each other. Disturb the orientation and you will experience accelerated wear as the bearing surfaces re-seat themselves. You also have to be careful of tightening order on cylinder heads and torque order. Failure to do so may result in warp and leaking heads.
Generally not difficult for the average tinkerer. As long as you careful disassemble , note the orientation carefully of some parts, and don’t tear gaskets. Also if you do replace a gasket remove ALL of the old gasket and don’t use a screwdriver to scrape off the old gasket.
Small consumer engines are low compression and are fairly tolerant of minor issues. As long as they have fuel (vapor), spark, and air in the right ratio they will run.
that small engines most often fail to run because of clogged up carb (due to stale gas, or debris) or completely clogged air filters
Never had an issue with clogged carbs. Even when the engine has sat for a year. Key to that is fuel treatment, year round.
I always change the oil, oil filter (if forced lube rather than splash), air filter, spark plugs, and fuel filter if so equipped. I do this once a year in the spring for the riding mower and the lawn tractor. String trimmer just gets a new air filter and spark plug.
Currently alternating outdoor stuff with sitting at my desk to cool down. ATM it’s 104F in the sun at my weather station, feels like 116F with 47% RH.
spent 1/2 hour cutting the grass and I’m wiped out.
So pretty f’ing miserable.
I’m checking in my purchases from yesterday. I went to ONE estate sale and hit the honey hole.
The deceased was a ham operator, (referred to as an SK, or Silent Key). I got 4 radios in the box, 3 of them NEW and another loose. 4 were mobiles, 3 were dual band and one was 3 band. One was a brand new yaesu FT-847, just like the used one on my desk. Also picked up 2 very desirable tube radios, that should not only fund all the rest but put me well into the black even if I keep everything else. Add to that 3 big boxes of misc. So far I’ve got an MFJ antenna analyzer, a Bird wattmeter, 3 duplexers, a TNC for digital modes, power cables, heliax and other coax jumpers, power supplies, and a handheld yagi for working satellites. Oh, and an Alinco handheld. I was grabbing stuff and piling it up as fast as I could. Miraculous really, as I got there late in the morning, and NOTHING had sold yet. I left behind a dozen or more antennas of varying freq and designs, scanners, old heathkit transceivers, cb radios, and a 30ft tower. Also 100’s of feet of heliax and regular coax (it was installed, or I’d have grabbed that too.)
I feel like it’s Christmas morning!
nick
Woks are pretty easy to season and keep clean. To season, heat the oven to 350 F. Take the wok and put a thin film of vegetable oil on it, both sides. Put in oven. Turn oven off. Let the wok cool. Do several times. When washing, use only hot water and some kind of scrubbing pad of plastic. Dry thoroughly, thin film of oil on the inside and heat on the stove or do the 350 degree oven. Over time it will get well seasoned, just like cast iron.
Get a real wok with a burner ring for your gas stove. Not sure if they work well on electric. My stove came with a wok ring that works well, and there was one when we bought it. They are pretty cheap if you buy them at a restaurant supply house. In fact, that’s where I get most of my kitchen stuff now. Cheaper than even big box stores and online.
“I feel like it’s Christmas morning!”
Major congrats, amigo; you done hit the trifecta!
Now, imagine a deceased firearms collector…and the family just wants to get rid of it all immediately, whatever they can get for it, and they don’t know squat about values, and you’re the first on the scene…
85 tops here today; doing more planting of stuff; gotta mow or have the neighbor kid hit it tomorrow or Monday, whatever. I have my work cut out for me this week, outside and inside, while Mrs. OFD is in Norman, OK, where it’s 90+ so fah.
Princess is doing some traditional music thing with a pal from Quebec, down in central VT this weekend; not sure what her plans are for after that, like getting back to Moh-ree-all, etc. Wife dropped Saab off at body shop to fix the dent put in it by Princess a while back. Unclear also when Princess is heading off to Bah Hahbuh, Maine for a week of harp classes before flying to Ireland. I’m the very last to know anything around here, of course.
So I’m here with the cats and dawg again for a week and doing whatever I can get to from the 5-page to-do list. My idea about simply ignoring the back pain and numbness seems to be paying off; I just go about my biz here and sit when I have to, and today it’s not too bad at all.
Princess has a car of her own, doesn’t she?
“Now, imagine a deceased firearms collector…and the family just wants to get rid of it all immediately, whatever they can get for it, and they don’t know squat about values, and you’re the first on the scene…”
ALMOST had this happen. Had a friend of a friend inherit a gun collection that filled a POD shipping/storage unit. Friend and I were going to partner on a buyout and split up whatever was there. Unfortunately, the POD disappeared in transit according to the friend o friend. That wouldn’t surprise me actually, as more than one person was involved in the loading of the POD. That’s a hard thing for the criminally minded to pass up.
Almost happened again with a neighbor of the same friend, but after much delay, the surviving children couldn’t reach agreement on how to dispose of the collection, so they kept it for now. When there is more than one survivor, you wouldn’t believe the level of distrust and conviction that the others are stealing all the ‘good stuff.’ There is something about an inheritance that brings out the absolute worst in otherwise decent people.
nick
“Princess has a car of her own, doesn’t she?”
Yup, but it has the original MA plates; it was her brother’s while he lived down in MA and he gave it to her. The problems arise due to her being a dual-Canadian-Murkan citizen and the border huckleberries get all discombobulated when she’s going back and forth as one or the other with a Murkan car, and meanwhile her Murkan passport has expired and no one has considered that a priority to update here. Meanwhile yours truly goes back and forth with the VT “enhanced” license, which allows me to do that for the Canadian and Mexican borders and also to drive around in the Pacific Trust Territories if I am so minded.
So, in a nutshell, there is always some kinda transportation hassle here, because on top of all of that, she’s also lugging a ton of crap back and forth each time, including her full-size Irish harp. Six more months of this and then she’s done with college, with foreign language translator certification and fluency in a half-dozen instruments, primarily specializing in Irish and UK traditional and folk stuff. Which is yuuuuuuggge up here and in the Maritimes.
“There is something about an inheritance that brings out the absolute worst in otherwise decent people.”
Yeah, I’ve heard the stories. Not too worried about that in our family, though, ’cause we don’t have chit worth arguing over. Banks or finance companies own the houses and at least one car for now; we have zero saved anywhere and zero investments and zero retirement; and if our kids and grandkids wanna have a steel-cage razor match over my books and firearms and computers, why, have at it. I plan to palm off the guns and related stuff to my next-younger brother anyway, and then we’ll see who gives a blind rat’s ass about my medieval epic poetry books.
There are advantages to being an only child.
Oh, already ordered replacement earpads for the Heil ham radio headset that was in one of the boxes….
nick
(There is a Heil desk mic too, currently bringing $150 on ebay, but I think I’ll keep that too.)
we don’t have chit worth arguing over
Sadly that was not an impediment with my family when grandma died.
Write a will and be very specific. People devolve into selfish bastards at the least excuse.
My will is gonna be a half-pager; firearms and related to next-younger bro, who’s the only who’d be interested. They can then do a steel-cage straight razor fight over the distribution of my books. Wife can sell off whatever else. Any insurance to wife and step-kids. Then: bury me in a plain pine coffin, no flag, basic funeral mass at the Latin Rite RC church, isolated and rural semi-abandoned boneyard in the deep woods somewhere. Slate stone w/winged skull. Party on whatever cash might be left later that day.
” The problems arise due to her being a dual-Canadian-Murkan citizen and the border huckleberries get all discombobulated when she’s going back and forth as one or the other with a Murkan car, and meanwhile her Murkan passport has expired and no one has considered that a priority to update here.”
How much does it cost to update a US passport? I mean, the capita; invested in the car is just sitting idle.
Families are some of the least trustworthy people.
My uncle and his wife tried to cheat my parents while my maternal grandmother was dying in 1964. But she died a day too soon, and their plan fell apart. It was so bad that they asked if they could attend her funeral. Mum and her brother took 30 years before reconciling.
Another group of relatives told an ancestress that if she gave away all her dough (to them) she could get a war widow’s pension. She did, and when she died they kept the lot.
I trust my sibs but want everything in writing.
Haven’t been to an airshow since my days in the Air Force, geez, probably 30 years now. Anyhow, I just went to one here in Switzerland, celebrating the 75th anniversary of a particular military airport. Fun! And very different – this airport is tucked into a narrow and steep alpine valley.
This made it even more impressive, because there is no room for error or sloppiness. Watching acrobatics against the forest. They also used the terrain really well, so they would disappear out the end of the valley, curve around and reappear over some other pass for the next formation. Really cool!
Amish, there’s a dark side there. Some years ago, there was a woman who left the community, because her cousins and I think her brothers regularly raped her. Her parents told her to shut up and put up with it. Another sexually abused teenager who was punished for complaining about it by having her teeth pulled. Likely a brief Google search would turn up plenty more examples. This seems to happen whenever you get a closed, insular community.
So an Amish guy thinks he can sell his daughter? That’s not supposed to be any part of their religion, nor of their culture. That’s just horny old geezers with power over young, trapped teenagers. I hope both of them rot in jail.
“How much does it cost to update a US passport? I mean, the capita; invested in the car is just sitting idle.”
No idea, not that much, though. But there has been no interest in getting that done ASAP, nor has there been any move to switch the car reg from MA to VT and to either her mom or me, which would be less of a problem for the border cretins to grok. The car itself is not idle for very long; either she’s using it up in Moh-ree-all or we run it here sometimes, like when the Saab was in the shop. As soon as the next pay check is here, I’m taking it upon myself to register her car to her mom and get VT plates for it. I’m also badgering her to update her U.S. passport.
“They also used the terrain really well, so they would disappear out the end of the valley, curve around and reappear over some other pass for the next formation.”
What kind of jets are those in the pic? Swiss AF? We get air shows up here sometimes, put on by the Collings Foundation:
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/
and meanwhile her Murkan passport has expired and no one has considered that a priority to update here
That’s for you to do, Dad.
Party on whatever cash might be left later that day.
$1.95 doesn’t go far these days.
@OFD: After I’ve shuffled off this mortal coil I’ve instructed my heirs to sell my library to these guys. Not only will they get cash for books on topics they have no interest in, but Zubal will box the books up and haul them away at no cost to the seller.
I figure this is the best way to get my books into the hands of people who’ll most appreciate them.
Check out the videos on the Zubal website showing what seems like miles and miles of packed bookshelves in their warehouses.
“DadCooks will probably be able to expand on or correct me as needed……..”
@nick, you have once again shown that you are a man (I believe that is how you are identifying these days 😉 ) of many talents and much experience, you are quite correct in your wok recommendations, for me to add more would be “gilding the lily” so to say.
A wok is an investment, just like good cast iron. They need to be heaviest on the bottom to hold heat and a bit thinner as you go up the sides. There should be definite concentric groves circling the entire circumference and height of the pan. The Asians know their metals and a great wok is crafted like a fine Samurai Sword.
There sure is a lot to comment on today, but I am up to my … in the proverbial alligators today, so Dad will hold off until later.
Got an early start and made Yosemite south gate by 7am. Went out to Glacier Point, wonderful views. Looking down into Yosemite valley no traffic on the roads. Obummer was busy not inconveniencing anyone.
Headed back and stopped at Bridalveil creek crossing and had lunch sitting a picnic table by the creek. Wonderful spot, wonderful weather.
Made it back to Wawona road and made a stop at the restrooms and here came the rolling road blocks. BO was headed to Glacier Point. About 50 CHiPs in both SUVs and motorcycles, parks ranger, twenty black Suburbans and a bus.
Fucker! it was only about 30 minutes but still way overdone. Front row seat. and we were going the other way all together. I tried so hard to avoid him. Wife told me I’m too grouchy.
How much does it cost to update a US passport?
$110, same as a new passport, lost passport, any passport. For a new passport you have to add a $25.00 agent acceptance processing fee. I do know that you have to write two checks for a new or lost passport. $110.00 to the state department, $25.00 to the post office where go to send the passport. For a renewal you can do the forms online and mail so you don’t have the agent acceptance fee.
I also paid the extra to get passport cards that I carry with me at all times. This will allow vehicle transportation in and out of Canada and Mexico. However they are not good for plane transportation. I also use the cards when flying so I don’t have to show a driver’s license. Actually, anytime it is requested for a government issued photo ID I use the passport card.
Last time I went to vote I used the passport card and was told by the person checking people who are voting that it was not a valid ID and could not be accepted. She had to call over a poll supervisor after I told her she was wrong and the passport card is a legal identification. The poll supervisor had to call someone. Why are stupid people running the polls? Yeh, I know hateful redundant question.
“That’s for you to do, Dad.”
Nope, she’s gotta do it in person, and possibly with new pics, I’m not sure. It’s up to us, of course, to pay for it, natch. Ima gon git my own Murkan passport, too. Just in case I leave North Murka for any reason. Doubtful.
“I figure this is the best way to get my books into the hands of people who’ll most appreciate them.”
On the one hand, thanks for the tip and link; better that somebody who’s interested and can make use of them than non-reading family members, i.e, all of them except wife and I. On the other hand, no thanks; now I have another site I can BUY books from, so (sarc mode on) thanks a LOT. (sarc mode off).
“A wok is an investment, just like good cast iron. They need to be heaviest on the bottom to hold heat and a bit thinner as you go up the sides.”
Agreed; saw many of them in the rural villes in SEA. We don’t have a wok but we DO have some nice cast-iron cookware, some of which I seasoned myself from their original nasty condition and made like new again, and some very nice Le Creuset enameled cast-iron, most of which was either old and already in the family or we got seconds somewhere. As Anthony Bourdain recommended in his first book, “Kitchen Confidential,” make sure your pots and pans are sturdy enough to bash someone’s head in. And besides those, all you need is a good chef’s knife (like the $24 Forschner), and I also have a good offset Lamson bread knife (works great on ripe tomatoes, too) and a carving knife. Little spray bottles are great for spritzing all kinds of stuff on food, too. And that’s IT.
“Fucker! it was only about 30 minutes but still way overdone. Front row seat. and we were going the other way all together. I tried so hard to avoid him. Wife told me I’m too grouchy.”
Nope. You’re not too grouchy. You had/have the normal reaction of any normal, regular, human being Murkan citizen. The guy is a fucking asshole and a stinking blot on the course of American history, elected and then re-elected by a dumbkopfen populace, our very own FSA writ large, and seasoned by cadres of SJW and prog scum. To see that son-of-a-bitch’s motor convoy/entourage is enough to make any normal person’s blood boil; incalculable expenses via our tax dollars, while at the same time his useless bitch-on-wheels lawyer “wife” is off with their litter again somewhere on yet another multi-million-dollar vay-cay.
What’s even more aggravating is that we know that only do we have to keep hearing and seeing the Klinton crime family nonstop for the rest of their rotten nasty lives, we can expect to suffer likewise with the Obola criminals. While they rob us blind and sell out the country to our enemies.
Grouchy? HELL NO.
“Why are stupid people running the polls? Yeh, I know hateful redundant question.”
And yet another micro-aggression; you just never learn, do you?
I waved to him.
you just never learn, do you?
Nope. I am a hopeless case. I am surprised you even asked.
I waved to him.
I would have waved my middle finger.
What did you think I did? (and I’m not the only grouch here)
Mr. Ray beat me to it; I would have also used the middle digit, or both of them, actually, while shouting obscenities and death threats. Mr. Ray would have been simply beaten to the ground, cuffed and taken to the hoosegow for further investigation. I would have been shot on the spot. But we’re sour old veterans, like them other reprobates in Lost Wages and the Capital District and we just don’t give a fuck anymore.
On the one hand, thanks for the tip and link; better that somebody who’s interested and can make use of them than non-reading family members, i.e, all of them except wife and I. On the other hand, no thanks; now I have another site I can BUY books from, so (sarc mode on) thanks a LOT. (sarc mode off).
Always happy to help out a fellow book-aholic! 🙂
Biblioholics, suffering from bibliomania.
And this just in: one of Champ’s relatives was recently spotted down near Antarctica:
http://freedomoutpost.com/mysterious-live-giant-dinosaur-discovered-swimming-in-the-ocean-proving-the-flood-of-the-bible/
No dinosaur like the, um…. , ah….. credulous people at that site say. It looks like a giant squid to me. It’s been picked up by the press in the UK. They think it’s a kraken.
Looking at it in Google Maps with earth turned on, it may be a rock/reef. It’s in an area that would not normally be imaged unless there was an earth feature there. In Google Earth, the seabed is usually shown in relief, except around islands and reefs. Looking at an online nautical chart, there is a shallow there.
Heh. I was right. It’s a rock, Sail Rock. http://www.southernfriedscience.com/
Damn. You would have to go and spoil it. Now I gotta hike down to the shore and tell Champ it was all bogus. He’s gonna be pissed. Probably take out a jet-ski or motorboat tomorrow…and good riddance, too.
Thanks for the extra info on woks, pans and knives.
“What kind of jets are those in the pic? Swiss AF?”
The Swiss Air Force has two acrobatic groups (both of whom are also normal fighter pilots). The group in the pic fly Pilatus airplanes, which is a Swiss produced propeller plane that lots of other countries buy. It’s theoretically a trainer airplane (you can customize the cockpit to match whatever, in the Swiss case, it looks like an F-18). However, lots of purchasers quietly turn the hard points into live weapon mounts. Despite being propeller driven, it’s pretty high performance; for example, the airframe can pull up to 8g.
The second group, the Patrouille Suisse, flies F5E Tigers. This is also the older jet in the Swiss fighter inventory. The newer one is the FA-18. Why they bought a navy plane, well, that’s not totally clear to anyone…
Of course, if we are halfway realistic, why a country this small needs fighter aircraft isn’t clear to begin with. What the Swiss need in the air (imho) is something that can provide close security for events like the WEF. Which sounds a lot more like helicopters than jets, supplemented with anti-air defenses. This is a hotly debated topic, and the Swiss AF is trying to convince parliament to let them replace the tigers with something new. The last attempt was met with a referendum, and they had to cancel the purchase.
In the train on the way home, younger son and I got cornered by one of those intelligent-but-nutty types. Knows enough about everything to sound convincing, but if you listen closely, living in a different reality from ours. Claims to be a hacker, knows Linux and the terminology, and has “clusters of machines” at home, and could “turn off Zurich with a mouse click”, but of course would never do that. Also knows the 3-star general at the airshow personally (but couldn’t remember the name, until we reminded him). Can crack any encryption ever invented, because “there’s no such thing as random numbers”. Funny how he’s not a millionaire from cracking the lottery, but he had an explanation for that too. That was a loooong train ride.
“BO was headed to Glacier Point. About 50 CHiPs in both SUVs and motorcycles, parks ranger, twenty black Suburbans and a bus.”
If a politician needs that kind of security, there’s something seriously wrong. Maybe taking away the security would give politicians an incentive to fix the problems?
A while back, one of our rags wrote an article about it: Here’s the Swiss president, waiting on a train. There may be a bodyguard around, but not necessarily. I’m sure he’s travelling first class, but hell, so do I most of the time.
Granted, the Swiss presidency is pretty unimportant: it’s handed off annually to whichever member of the Federal Council is next in line. People do recognize the seven council members, but it’s not that unusual for them to be on the train, or seen somewhere, acting like normal people. The advantage of being a small country, I suppose…
“Why are stupid people running the polls? Yeh, I know hateful redundant question.”
I can’t speak for where you are, but in PA the poll workers are regular folks who voluntarily give up 2 days/year (and a couple of hours for training) to man the polls so we can vote.
Most are good people who want to do the right thing. There are two rules we follow.
1. Look in the book. It’s probably in there.
2. If it’s not in the book, call. You will get the right answer.
So your passport card, which is legal identification, isn’t normal where you vote? I’d be glad they called. That means they’re less likely to accept library cards as valid identification as well.
The last time I voted, I produced my passport rather than my driver’s license. The clerk didn’t want to accept it until I produced the ad from the newspaper which listed the passport as correct identification.