Random thoughts that are pointless and too dumb to say anywhere else thread: 2015–2018 (plus one)

[CheezWizHed]

What did the documentary say about the origins? It originated in NY, right? I have several Chinese friends who say there was no person named General Tso in China, nor does that food exist there. But I like it!

 

A lot of what we call "Chinese food" is just a very loose American interpretation of their cuisine. Fortune cookies and chop suey are both (basically) American inventions.

 

What we call Mexican is really "Tex-Mex", but a lot of Chinese food is actually pretty close. Americanized a bit, sure, but similar dishes can be found in China. That is both from my first hand experience in China and from Chinese nationals eating here (and Chinese restaurants in Germany we both ate at). There are obvious exceptions like you mentioned, but otherwise pretty close.

[BillScottCanRake]

What did the documentary say about the origins? It originated in NY, right? I have several Chinese friends who say there was no person named General Tso in China, nor does that food exist there. But I like it!

 

Zuo Zongtang is the man after whom General Tso's Chicken was named. We had a student from China stay with us for a couple of weeks this past February and she laughed when we told her about General Tso's Chicken. Zuo is very well known in China, but apparently the dish named after him isn't.

[fondybrewfan]

Any good ideas how to kill a squirrel? I have one that chews through the siding of my garage and makes a little nest up in the rafters. I don't own any sort of pellet gun and to this point rat traps and rat bait haven't offed him. The stupid jerk of a squirrel hisses at us whenever we are in the backyard and he can't get in the garage. At this point I just want to beat the crap out of him with a shovel; if only I were fast enough.

[1992casey]

It might be easier to get a trap and release the squirrel far, far away. The Humane Society or your local animal control probably has one that you can use free of charge. If they're located sufficiently far away, you can probably return the trap with the squirrel in it and let them release it.

 

A killing option might be mouse poison, but you have to be extremely careful if either you or your neighbors have pets.

[fondybrewfan]

I am going to try the humane thing and borrow a trap. Hopefully this isn't an exercise in futility; I think I am dealing with a pretty smart squirrel.

[DatHoser]

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff144/DatHoser/varmintcong.jpg

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist

[BrewersSuperCollector]

5 gallon bucket full of water. piece of wood that extends from the ground to the bucket in a 45 degree angle. Peanut butter spread on the inside rim of the 5 gallon bucket.

[GAME05]

That's similar to how my mother kills chipmunks. Provide a gangway to a bucket, fill the bucket with enough water that will drown it, and put some food in the bucket. The chipmunks don't realize there's water in the bucket, jump in and drown.

[fondybrewfan]

I didn't catch the little turd last night with the trap. Woke up this morning with him sitting on the top of the garage hissing at us because he couldn't get in. I might as well try the 5 galloon bucket idea in addition to the trap. Sooner or later this thing is going to make a mistake

[Patrick425]

I have a Chase credit card (It's a Southwest card) and whenever I go to the Chase web site, the log in page has a picture of Milwaukee in the background. I'm curious if this is because it knows where I am located, or if it's the same background they use nationally. I have seen them use two different Milwaukee pictures as background. The current one is the entrance of a walking bridge near the river walk. (south of the freeway looking north east towards down town). You can check it out for yourself by going to Chase.com

 

- Note, I just tried it and now it's a different picture that I'm not sure where it is (someone sitting on a blanket on a patch of grass behind a building)

[Beast Light]

Does anyone else feel lucky to be able to support a team with a name that can be typed with one hand?

[jerichoholicninja]

Is there any situation where using a screw with a straight blade head is advantages?

[Thurston Fluff]

A lot of what we call "Chinese food" is just a very loose American interpretation of their cuisine. Fortune cookies and chop suey are both (basically) American inventions.

 

Chop suey was credited with Americans accepting Chinese into our culture. Prior to that they were not treated very well to say the least. Some towns made laws that stated you could not be prosecuted for harassing or beating a Chinese person. As a matter of fact the spread of Chinese cuisine throughout the US is partially due to the discrimination they faced early on. While their food gave them some acceptance the fear of harassment made them agree with each other to designate territories were small groups of Chinese would move to. No other Chinese families were allowed to move into that area. That way each family had a way to make a living and the population never got big enough to attracted the wrong type of attention. The food along with small numbers in each community allowed them to live without too much harassment. It also meant their cuisine spread through the whole country in a fairly even distribution pattern.

[1992casey]

Is there any situation where using a screw with a straight blade head is advantages?

I'm less apt to strip straight slot screws because they're a more forgiving target. I can't really see the slots in any kind of screw; that causes me to strip way more screws than othewise. If I'm able to have a choice, I'll get something that can be driven with a socket.

[TheCrew07]

Is there any situation where using a screw with a straight blade head is advantages?

I'm less apt to strip straight slot screws because they're a more forgiving target. I can't really see the slots in any kind of screw; that causes me to strip way more screws than othewise. If I'm able to have a choice, I'll get something that can be driven with a socket.

 

You need to start using an impact driver instead of a drill my friend... no more screw stripping. I use a little of everything but despise flat head screws.

[GAME05]

In only a month at my new job I've managed to break just about every flathead screwdriver I have. I've taken to star bits. And yeah, an impact driver is the best thing there is to get off rusty bolts.

[1992casey]

An impact driver is probably a good idea, although I rarely use a drill to drive screws. I don't see it helping me see the slots in the screws any better though.

[TheCrew07]

An impact driver is probably a good idea, although I rarely use a drill to drive screws. I don't see it helping me see the slots in the screws any better though.

 

You really hand drive them all? Regardless there are different types of Phillips screw heads which most people don't pay attention to, most commonly I end up using a #2. Usually stripping out the inside of the screw is caused by using the wrong driver for the type of screw. I do quite a bit of work on networking components and many of my coworkers have stripped out the screws that way making it very difficult to remove the devices from the network rack.

 

Robertson screws work pretty well, we've used those now on 3 decks I've helped my brother install. I also like Torx (star drive) screws, I use those quite a bit for mounting cable management devices in my facilities.

 

I do agree with your hex head assessment though, I use those pretty much any time I'm working with metal, unless I need to mount something like a surge protector which requires a specific screw head size or type.

 

I suggested the impact driver because if you use the proper driver for the screw head the clutch engages and it's very difficult to strip screws or torque the heads off, the downside is the noise generated. Admittedly I have to remind myself to be careful when I'm using a drill because I've gotten so used to zipping screws down in a second, doing that at full power with a regular drill causes problems.

[Thurston Fluff]

Maybe I'm old school but I find I like the screwdrivers with vodka in them best.

[WV Brew]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/16/17/article-3200051-2B6A99D600000578-742_636x382.jpg

 

 

Yankees heir Jessica Steinbrenner files for divorce from third husband who'd risen from the family's gardener to baseball exec

Yankees heir Jessica Steinbrenner files for divorce from third husband who'd risen from

 

Jessica Steinbrenner, daughter of legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, has filed for divorce from the man she first met after he was hired as the family's former husband. Felix Lopez was hired as a landscaper by Steinbrenner's second husband Joe Molloy. And just like Molloy, Lopez shot up to the executive level within the New York baseball franchise following the marriage.And last month history appeared to repeat itself once again last month as he, just like Molloy before him, lost his Yankees post right along with his wife. Jessica is pictured left with Lopez and right with previous husband Molloy.

 

 

Is this why the Yankees have a left fielder named Gardner?

[pitchleague]

If the St. Louis Cardinals baseball organization played a game against the ISIS National Team, I don't know who I'd cheer for.

 

 

[Please don't make this political. It was just a random thought.]

[GAME05]

Well, I start Police Academy tomorrow. The usual joke I tell people is "I expect it'll be just like the movie."

 

Little nervous, as I guess anyone would be when they'll get fired from their job if they don't pass. I'm expecting to get my rear end handed to me every day in physical training, as I'm weak and slightly doughy.

[WV Brew]

Awesome man vs bear story

 

May have to register with the Washington Post. 10 lb Yorkie was the hero.

[1992casey]

I got to the article without registering, probably because it was accessed via a link on this board rather than from the [cite]Washington Post's[/cite] site.

 

Several sites require registration but will allow full articles to be read if accessed via Google. I believe the [cite]New York Times[/cite] and [cite]Wall Street Journal[/cite] are among them. If that's the case, google the article title and access it that way.

[hawing]

Keeping it random...Milwaukee Journal Sentinel subscribers are eligible for complimentary online access to the Washington Post. We get the Sunday MJS delivered, which I already considered worthwhile for coupons and the weekly tactile experience of perusing a paper (which I still enjoy), but when they threw in Washington Post access, that definitely enhanced it for me.

 

The offer was initially for 52 weeks' access, which I figured gave me time to think about whether I'd want to pay for continued online WP access. But earlier this summer they offered to extend it another 52 weeks.