Random randomness

[LordMortis]

More than once by reflex I have touched a spam call notification because I want to block the caller, and the stupid iphone dials the number. I wonder if I can say, "Hey Siri, block this caller"...

I hate that I have not adapted to smart phone use enough to not call people while trying to manipulate history screens.

[Daehawk]

I have $130 store credit at Home Depot. To get a ok cordless chainsaw its that plus another $70 or so.

I have a gas chainsaw. Last time I used it was around 2011. I dont see the point of using my credit on one that I will hardly use. But I need to use one this year a lot. From then on probably not much if at all.

Good - I got my gas one running just now to test and see if it even ran.

Bad - It wore me out getting it to run. Then after simply holding it while it ran for a minute both hands and arms were tingling. Its super vibrationy'ish. AND LOUD! And scary.

[The Meal]

I just spent about $130 on a Sun Joe 16" cordless electric chainsaw. The issue is that it's tool-only and runs using the same battery as my two-stage snowblower. Probably add another $50+ to include a battery and charger.

[dbt1949]

Don't you already have a battery that will fit and a charger for your snowblower? A second battery is very useful but not mandatory.

[The Meal]

Don't you already have a battery that will fit and a charger for your snowblower? A second battery is very useful but not mandatory.

I have 4 of them! (The snowblower needs two at a time, and I've got a lot of driveway.)

I was thinking for Daehawk's situation, wanting a not-noisy chainsaw for $130 or less. Mine would almost work for him except the battery and charger part.

And I really don't think he needs a snowblower.

[Daehawk]

I have a cordless axe. But that thing hasn't ran since I was young.

[The Meal]

I do not miss the maul and splitter. Pops got rid of the Franklin Stove the winter I moved out and went to college.

[Blackhawk]

No kidding. For several years in Reno (5,000 feet on the edge of the Sierras, so it gets cold), our only heat was a woodburning stove. I spent a lot of time with a splitting maul and stacking, and a lot more with an axe chopping up old wooden palettes (which some warehouses gave away by the truckload.)

[Madmarcus]

Does Stirling ever sing? I find that I like some of her videos ok but her music blurs together and if I try to use it as background music I get tired of it really rapidly.

[Blackhawk]

Does Stirling ever sing? I find that I like some of her videos ok but her music blurs together and if I try to use it as background music I get tired of it really rapidly.

Not that I've ever heard, although she does join other performers who sing:

[Isgrimnur]

El Paso

Imagine you’re sleeping in your bed and start to hear what sounds like rain, and even feel something dripping on your face. However upon turning on the lights, the water is actually blood.

That’s what happened to Ana Cardenas, an El Paso woman, who woke up to the disturbing discovery of blood on her face that seeped through the ceiling while she was asleep.
...
Cardenas had slept with the ceiling fan on and the blood seeped right where the fan was which caused the blood to travel towards the blades of the fan causing the splatter on her bedroom walls.
...
After calling 911, the blood, which covered parts of her bed, walls, furniture and even her hair, was coming from her upstairs neighbor. Cardenas said it was a man aged between 55-70 who died.

“The firefighters knocked down his door and the body was laying exactly where my fan is underneath. He had carpet but the blood seeped through to my ceiling,” Cardenas said.

Cardenas said police determined her neighbor died from natural cause and was decomposing for about five to six days.

[Jaymann]

One man's ceiling is another man's floor...

[Blackhawk]

Cardenas said police determined her neighbor died from natural cause and was decomposing for about five to six days.

That was a lot more than blood dripping on her face.

[Sudy]

What, you think he like fell on some beer cans when he died?

[Blackhawk]

What, you think he like fell on some beer cans when he died?

After a week? And there are enough fluids to soak through the floor getting out of his body which the article suggests wasn't punctured? Yeah, more than blood.

[Sudy]

Just being coy.

[Archinerd]

Bees have five eyes.

[Smoove_B]

Wow, thanks for the injection of memories from when my daughter was a toddler!

[Daehawk]

Anyone eat at Huddle House? When I was a kid I had a cousin that loved them. Ive only ate one time at Huddle House and it was on the way to Florida as a child. Dont even remember it. We've had them around but Ive never been. They just built a new one right near me. Looking at the menu it appears they are like Dennys. I find Dennys plain and bland. Its the food I had as a kid but with no flavor. Am I missing out by not going to Huddle House?

And I always think of football when I see or hear the name.

[Jaymann]

I own the DVD of Dark Skies, which is nothing special, I have only watched it twice. But it has a great appearance by J. K. Simmons as an "expert" who can't do a damn thing to help them.

[Sudy]

I'm not familiar with Huddle House. In the 80s, my parents had some kind of revolutionary experience at Perkins while vacationing in Orlando. They thought the peach pie was amazing, and were excited to return when we took a trip as a family in the early 90s. In the last couple decades we got our own Denny's and Perkins within a reasonable distance and frequented both for a time. I guess they're more interesting than your average local breakfast diner, but I'm not sure why we were so attracted to them. I guess we like breakfast. Then, my folks moved away and, not having a car, visits became much less common.

Then Denny's popped up on UberEats a couple of months ago and the whole process of excitement began again for Mrs. Nym and I. But now I'm tired of them. They're one of the only places you can get grated hash browns though. Around here, we seem to be almost exclusively about home fries.

Mrs. Nym's hometown in SD has a Perkins. She worked there briefly. It did not go well. The family still likes to eat there though.

[Madmarcus]

I guess they're more interesting than your average local breakfast diner,

Nothing is more interesting when traveling than a local breakfast diner. At least not food wise.

[Sudy]

I agree wholeheartedly, but most of the local breakfast places we're already familiar with have far fewer options or interesting specialties. There are exceptions of course. But I'm so sick of eggs-normal meats-home fries-toast-buttermilk pancakes. Sometimes the local diners are what I crave, but other times I want the crazy/stupid specials Denny's offers, or something from their broader menu. But if I'm someplace new I'm not going to an international chain, no.

[Madmarcus]

I guess I haven't been in a Denny's in 15+ years but what sort of crazy specials do they have? All I remember are variants of eggs, potatoes, breakfast meats, and pancakes.

[Sudy]

Well, I recall they had all kinds of interesting/weird dishes to celebrate one of the Hobbit films. But I missed out on that one, and I'm not sure if it was available in Canada. But they usually have something. For the last while they've had pancakes with sliced banana, shortbread bits, and salted caramel sauce. That's not something the local diner has lol. It's also the only place I know of that has country gravy AKA sawmill gravy AKA white gravy. (It's not as common in Canada as it is in the U.S., at least here vs. the southern U.S.)

[Madmarcus]

But does Denny's have poutine?

I like local diners because they have regional things but you are right that can go both ways. I would never order white gravy outside of East Texas or the US Southeast because I'm not a huge fan but something like a Denny's probably is the only way to get it nationally/internationally.

[Sudy]

Indeed they do have poutine. Everyone in Canada has poutine now, even McDonald's lol. (Most surprisingly, I actually find theirs the tastiest of the non-Canadian corporate fast food chains. They use real cheese curds.) But the main attraction at Denny's for us is the shredded hash browns, which I can't even find frozen here. I guess we could make them from scratch--but oh, the horror.

The regional specialty for breakfast is peameal bacon as the meat option. I like it, but I get tired of it. It's so much better than so-called Canadian bacon. (Which, of course, doesn't exist here by that name.)

[Daehawk]

Ham.

[Kraken]

A chipmunk attacked my leg today and almost drew blood.

No, it wasn't rabid. It was upset because my cat was playing with it at the time and my leg was the nearest thing it could climb.

[LordMortis]

But the main attraction at Denny's for us is the shredded hash browns, which I can't even find frozen here. I guess we could make them from scratch--but oh, the horror.

Shoe string hash browns are the best. No grocer carries them? unpossible. I quit buying them (I don't even own a grater) when I had to quit eating bacon. Frying them in bacon grease is the key to making them, as they are to making the hashbrown patties like you'd find at McDonald's. So good. I miss bacon.

[Sudy]

I know, it's weird. I checked most of the local grocers, at least the ones I'd usually go to. They're just not as popular here for some reason. A quick googling suggests other Ontarians have run into the same issue, though one of the major frozen foods manufacturers does produce them, and apparently some of the less popular chains stock other brands as well. Usually all I can find are the frozen home fries about the size of kernels of corn (which are also good, but different) and McDonald's-style patties. Then there are usually some better quality home fries.

[LordMortis]

McDonald's-style patties.

Those in lard are an acceptable substitute to shoe string potatoes and their portable.

[dbt1949]

When going to buy frozen french fries I accidentally bought some waffle fries. Not too bad.

[stimpy]

Does WeTransfer, a way to transfer files, know that their service is used by companies?

Some of the backgrounds they have, which change every few minutes, are very questionable.
I sometimes start a transfer and walk away and this is what I come back to up on my screen:

NSFW?

Spoiler:

I have to wonder what they're thinking.....

[Isgrimnur]

Sounds like they love the fashion industry.

[stimpy]

Some of the stuff they use in their backgrounds while uploading and downloading is very cool and innovative.
But some is definitely not work appropriate.

[Daehawk]

Unless Im reading it wrong my power bill this time is $61. So yay for something going right.

[Kraken]

I just turned the damned heat on. Going down to the 40s tonight and won't get much above 50 again until Tuesday.

[Daehawk]

One of the reactors I watch on YT watched all three of the LotR movies. At the end of the final one one of her remarks was they looked amazingly good to be 20 years old.

My first thought was "ha they aren't even 100 years old .Whats she on about?" Then after a second of thought I realized by God they are 20 years old! Geezus. LotR movies are 20 years old! 20 years! Two decades have passed of my life. Sure doesn't feel it.

[Isgrimnur]