Octopus Overlords

After Wife complained that she's losing her night driving vision, I noticed that the headlight housings on her 13-year-old car were seriously cloudy. Buying new headlight assemblies was too expensive to contemplate. But Facebook knew of my dilemma and served me an ad for this:



Friends, this worked miracles. The driver's side unit has some corrosion on the inside that I couldn't treat, but the passenger side is like new and overall illumination increased dramatically.

If you have an old car with cloudy headlights, this is well worth $19 and an hour of your time.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Dec 31, 2022 12:10 am After Wife complained that she's losing her night driving vision, I noticed that the headlight housings on her 13-year-old car were seriously cloudy. Buying new headlight assemblies was too expensive to contemplate. But Facebook knew of my dilemma and served me an ad for this:



Friends, this worked miracles. The driver's side unit has some corrosion on the inside that I couldn't treat, but the passenger side is like new and overall illumination increased dramatically.

If you have an old car with cloudy headlights, this is well worth $19 and an hour of your time.

I don't know what Walmart used, but it was worth an hour or two of my time and $25 to let them do it right instead of me laboring and probably doing a piss poor job (I suck at this sort of stuff). Wondered around the store and picked up a couple things while waiting.

You can do just about as good with a can of DEET bug spray. It melts the oxidation right off then put vinegar on it to stop the process. Once you've done that if you really want to brighten up replace your bulbs inside those housings with LED bulbs. They shouldn't cost more than the regular bulbs, but boy are they bright. They seem to hold up sturdy too.

Just not those pure effing white LED bulbs that manage to bypass the headlight brightness laws on a technicality (brightness limits were based on the old yellow lights - the same lumens from a pure white bulb have a much bigger impact on the human eye in the dark, despite not being technically brighter, and end up blinding drivers.)

Mines on the inside of the lenses not the outside. So gonna replace mine someday.

Toothpaste as a polishing compound also works for clearing up headlight lenses. Cheap, MacGyver trick.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Nov 09, 2022 6:24 pm I recommend a nice electric blanket for the cold weather. They feel so amazing on winter and comfy too. My only gripe is they only work from 1 -3 seasons. 3 if very lucky. My last one the blanket is fine but the controller died and I cant find a replacement as the company never has them in stock and I aint buying no used one.

I moved from Georgia to Michigan for grad school, and that was the first time I needed an electric blanket.

I quickly realized that turning the blanket on and going to bed left me a certain kind of discomfort. I was cold before the blanket warmed up, and then I was clammy and sweating at 3 or 4 a.m.

Eventually I tried this, and it seemed to work: turn the electric blanket on to max about an hour before bed, piling plenty of blankets on top. At bedtime, climb into a remarkably warm bed and turn the electric blanket off. You'll be warm immediately and not get increasingly too warm over the next few hours, and the other top blankets will help hold in the right amount of heat.

Even if you get cold and turn the blanket on again a little before dawn (i.e. in January), you're still only running it a couple of hours instead of all night.

Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:35 pm Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

Shhhhh! You have to be less obvious about the murder method!

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:35 pm Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

I have a Cuisinart Air Fryer/Toaster Oven. I've had it for about three years and it's been awesome.

gbasden wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:51 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:35 pm Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

I have a Cuisinart Air Fryer/Toaster Oven. I've had it for about three years and it's been awesome.

Wow, that's pricey.

em2nought wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:54 pm

gbasden wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:51 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:35 pm Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

I have a Cuisinart Air Fryer/Toaster Oven. I've had it for about three years and it's been awesome.

Wow, that's pricey.

I got it at Costco and it wasn't nearly that expensive, but I think it was still about $175. But it's my only experience with air fryers that are reliable. My $80 cheapie lasted 9 months before it imploded and kind of sucked before that.

gbasden wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:57 pm

em2nought wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:54 pm

gbasden wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:51 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:35 pm Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

I have a Cuisinart Air Fryer/Toaster Oven. I've had it for about three years and it's been awesome.

Wow, that's pricey.

My $80 cheapie lasted 9 months before it imploded and kind of sucked before that.

What brand was the cheapie, as I've been looking for a small toaster oven/air fryer and it might help to know what to avoid.

em2nought wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 9:02 pm

gbasden wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:57 pm

em2nought wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:54 pm

gbasden wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:51 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:35 pm Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

I have a Cuisinart Air Fryer/Toaster Oven. I've had it for about three years and it's been awesome.

Wow, that's pricey.

My $80 cheapie lasted 9 months before it imploded and kind of sucked before that.

What brand was the cheapie, as I've been looking for a small toaster oven/air fryer and it might help to know what to avoid.

I think it was a Hamilton Beach. It was one of the vertical models and I found that it had a very limited amount you could put in the basket or half of it didn't cook.

I like my Cosori air fryer but it does not get heavy use.

I don't think that Cuisinart would fit on top of my microwave anyway.

I ordered me a coffee maker that can be programmed to make coffee just before I plan on waking up. Or maybe olde coffee hours before I wake up.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:06 am I ordered me a coffee maker that can be programmed to make coffee just before I plan on waking up. Or maybe olde coffee hours before I wake up.

Whenever I forget to set up my coffee the night before the whole day is ruined.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:47 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:06 am I ordered me a coffee maker that can be programmed to make coffee just before I plan on waking up. Or maybe olde coffee hours before I wake up.

Whenever I forget to set up my coffee the night before the whole day is ruined.

Not sure if serious. How long does it take you to make coffee??

I’m thinking of all the potential options here, and excepting some really arcane, intentionally obtuse methods for ?? sake that I’ve seen mentioned on the coffee geeks forum, I’m thinking between 3-7m for most methods.

Grinding beans, # servings, milk-based or not are the biggest time factors I guess.

I am not at my best when I first wake up.

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 1:13 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:47 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:06 am I ordered me a coffee maker that can be programmed to make coffee just before I plan on waking up. Or maybe olde coffee hours before I wake up.

Whenever I forget to set up my coffee the night before the whole day is ruined.

Not sure if serious. How long does it take you to make coffee??

Minutes matter at the eyeball-peeling hour of 8 a.m.

Tea drinkers laugh at your suffering.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:18 pm Tea drinkers laugh at your suffering.

And also don’t suffer the hard crash of coffee based caffeine.

mori wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 10:09 pm I like my Cosori air fryer but it does not get heavy use.

I've got a Cosori that I probably use 2-3 times a week. I've only had it since my birthday last May and I'm not sure of the cost as it was a gift. It's held up OK except that some of the coating is coming off the basket so we ordered a new one. I can't compare the end results with other air fryers as this is the only one I've used, but I've been happy with how things turn out.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:44 am

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 1:13 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:47 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:06 am I ordered me a coffee maker that can be programmed to make coffee just before I plan on waking up. Or maybe olde coffee hours before I wake up.

Whenever I forget to set up my coffee the night before the whole day is ruined.

Not sure if serious. How long does it take you to make coffee??

Minutes matter at the eyeball-peeling hour of 8 a.m.

I pour the water and fill the grinds before I pee, take meds, etc... By the time I mostly conscious the coffee is ready and waiting for me. I'm not sure timed brewing is for me. Some days I get up at 03:30 and can't get back to bed, so I just start my day. Some days I can't drag my ass out of bed until after 09:00 when my bladder informs me if I stay in bed any longer the day will get a whole lot worse.

I dont drink coffee and am not a morning person so Ive solved the wee hours open eye thing....I just get up late closer to noon

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:35 pm Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

This is one of today's Woots. I haven't tried it, but other Ninja appliances have been pretty good.

Hrothgar wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 3:19 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:35 pm Six months ago we were given a used air fryer. We've made heavy use of it since. Tonight it died.

Any suggestions on an air fryer that's both reliable and big enough for 3-4 people?

This is one of today's Woots. I haven't tried it, but other Ninja appliances have been pretty good.

I've been watching discussions here for a while and Ninja Foodi this or that seem to be the preference, but boy are they are high priced on the comparative market. I keep waiting for a good price on the 9 in 1. I think I'm going to be waiting for a long time.

https://www.ninjakitchen.com/exclusive- ... -fry-oven/

I don't generally like "x-in-1" appliances because, with a few exceptions, instead of doing one thing really well, they just do a bunch of things I don't need and a mediocre job of the one thing I really need.

We got a Cosori air fryer last summer - 5.8 QT, what they consider a "large" size, but there are only two of us, so it's usually more than enough. Obviously it hasn't been very long, but it's been working great. Also, despite it being "dishwasher safe", I never ever put the baskets in the dishwasher.

gilraen wrote: ↑Fri Jan 20, 2023 1:20 pm We got a Cosori air fryer last summer - 5.8 QT, what they consider a "large" size, but there are only two of us, so it's usually more than enough. Obviously it hasn't been very long, but it's been working great. Also, despite it being "dishwasher safe", I never ever put the baskets in the dishwasher.

That's what we ended up getting ourselves - a Cosori 5.8 quart. It's a little small, but will do the trick.

Someday I will have counter space. And electrical outlets. In a kitchen that wasn't built in 1948.

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 20, 2023 5:59 pm Someday I will have counter space. And electrical outlets. In a kitchen that wasn't built in 1948.

Oof. I feel ya. Been there.

Some day I want to build a house with a counter that is 40' long...

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 20, 2023 2:02 pm

gilraen wrote: ↑Fri Jan 20, 2023 1:20 pm We got a Cosori air fryer last summer - 5.8 QT, what they consider a "large" size, but there are only two of us, so it's usually more than enough. Obviously it hasn't been very long, but it's been working great. Also, despite it being "dishwasher safe", I never ever put the baskets in the dishwasher.

That's what we ended up getting ourselves - a Cosori 5.8 quart. It's a little small, but will do the trick.

You definitely have to be careful about overloading. The first time we did fries, we put too many in. They cooked, but they weren't crispy. One thing I've started doing is trying to prep/cook batches early, but stopping a bit early. That way I can do a big batch at the end for just a short time in order to get everything warm. Though with fries we tend to just eat each batch as it comes out.

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 20, 2023 5:59 pm Someday I will have counter space. And electrical outlets. In a kitchen that wasn't built in 1948.

That was part of the appeal of the unit I was looking at, it folds up to take less counter space which is supremely valuable in my 1958 kitchen with almost no counter at all. But it does have three outlets plus the fridge outlet. One for each of three walls. My counters a nook next to the stove and the size of reasonable desk on either side of the sink. Essentially my counter space is the dining table, which is pushed against the wall to allow enough space walk in the hall or the to living room. These and the bathroom the size of small walkin closet are the trials of 1000 sq foot ranch that also wants to have three bedrooms.

Over the years, I've been doing more and more snowshoeing. I had a pair of titanium snowshoes with a hard plastic binding that just hurt when trying to take them off after a session. With no easy way to get them unlatched without hitting them with your hand, I was starting to want to look for something better. Then the pandemic happened, I stopped going to the gym and started hiking/snowshoing a lot more. The final straw for these snowshoes was when I bought a new pair of boots that the bindings damaged. Surely there was something better!

Then I came across Crescent Moon Eva foam snowshoes. They're molded foam and extremely light, featuring a velcro binding. My mission was to find a pair, but this ended up being the end of 2020, and nearly every online store had stock issues. I ended up finding a pair at a local store out of pure luck and I've been enjoying them ever since.

https://crescentmoonsnowshoes.com/shop- ... snowshoes/

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Dec 31, 2022 12:10 am After Wife complained that she's losing her night driving vision, I noticed that the headlight housings on her 13-year-old car were seriously cloudy. Buying new headlight assemblies was too expensive to contemplate. But Facebook knew of my dilemma and served me an ad for this:



Friends, this worked miracles. The driver's side unit has some corrosion on the inside that I couldn't treat, but the passenger side is like new and overall illumination increased dramatically.

If you have an old car with cloudy headlights, this is well worth $19 and an hour of your time.

There are car washes around here that offer headlight declouding services.

My new car has headlights I can't stand -- blindingly bright halogens that disorient oncoming traffic. I never put the brights on, as they are so damn bright on normal.

Car battery chargers. The kind that don't need to be plugged in while they work.

Does anyone know anything about them, enough to make a recommendation on what to look for and/or avoid?

I always have one in the trunk. Look for the ability to charge USB devices and the ability to trickle charge through the cigarette lighter. Also an air compressor.

I've never had to use mine to start my car but I've used it about a dozen times to start someone else's. And a few times to charge devices. And a lot to top off tire pressure.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Wed Aug 02, 2023 5:14 pm I always have one in the trunk. Look for the ability to charge USB devices and the ability to trickle charge through the cigarette lighter. Also an air compressor.

I've never had to use mine to start my car but I've used it about a dozen times to start someone else's. And a few times to charge devices. And a lot to top off tire pressure.

That sounds great, but it seems like a lot of extra functionality to pay for. Admittedly useful, but I'm back in "don't spend if there's any way not to" mode (the household's monthly income has been cut by nearly half over the past few months.)

They'll all have the ability to charge USB devices, you can skip the rest of the extras. We have a Type S portable charger that we got at Costco (that's a brand, not a type of charger...) They seem pretty popular on Amazon. Most them will give you 400 amps, which is enough to jump start a standard car - probably up to a large sedan or compact SUV size? (not sure about that, if you drive something bigger, you may want to read the comments to decide whether you need to go with a 500-amp model).

Alternately, this one is on sale right now: https://www.amazon.com/NEXPOW-18000mAh-Starter-Portable-Battery/dp/B07T9S3Q5N?th=1, about the same price but with 2000 amps, which I'm pretty sure can jump start a semi...