Jump to content

Damor

Certifiably Surly
  • Posts

    707
  • Joined

Everything posted by Damor

  1. I've got one. I had a Camp Chef before (pretty much a Blackstone), and there are some things better, some not as good. I do love it and I use it all the time. Advantages: -- I think the surface area is a little larger than the Blackstone overall, but it's pretty close. -- The circular drip tray around the outside makes grease management a little easier, and the cooktop is slightly curved so grease runs off evenly. -- Gets hot AF quickly. I sear steaks around 600F and that's set just above medium heat. I don't know if you could go higher without warping it, but I'm not sure I'd ever want to. -- It still has hot spots, but it's more even than my old rectangular griddle. I like that for cooking large amounts of vegetables, tacos, etc. -- The tighter fitting lid makes it good for steaming things. Haven't ever tried using it as a pizza oven. Disadvantages: -- It only has an inner and outer ring, so you can't fine tune multiple temperature zones as easily as on a rectangular 4-burner. -- The curved surface means if your oil or ghee or whatever is going to try to run off and it has to be scraped around. -- OCD types who like cooking in Cartesian coordinates may struggle moving to a polar system. Good thing I was a liberal arts major. -- Duh, it's stupid expensive. When we were building the outdoor kitchen, though, there weren't a lot of options for something more built-in without going commercial, which is even worse and nobody would install it anyway. I actually have the tabletop model on a shelf made to fit it, because the "built in" is somehow even more expensive. -- It still doesn't keep me from being a shitty cook.
  2. Hmm, dunno then. I assume you did the usual IT trope of power cycling it? My pool guy had me do that including detaching the data cable for a minute, but I don't remember if that made much of a difference since my issue was with signal strength.
  3. I had the same thing happen when I changed mesh systems. It doesn't make any sense to me, but I had to move the transmitter out of the network rack I had it in because it was no longer communicating with the receiver. Check and see if the send/receive lights on the transmitter are active.
  4. You mean like, "Infinity is so super weird that it doesn't require a calculator!" and "So if Capt. Quackenbush's spaceship exists in only two dimensions, if he passed the event horizon of a supermassive black hole would he be stretched out like a piece of infinite Silly Putty or achieve total Consciousness?" We looked at a property with transmission lines when our kids were little, so I read about it a bunch and asked a smart oncologist for his thoughts. There's no good evidence to support causation. If I remember right, the cluster cases were reported in the British Medical Journal, which for some reason likes to be alarmist about this kind of stuff and medical radiation. Although I suppose it could be because their socialist grid is missing 10Hz of MURICAEAGLEFREEDOM.
  5. Damor

    Maui

    Everything is starting to come together for our late June/early July trip, but I still have stupid questions because... obviously I'm not a golfer. My older one has expressed wishes to play at Kapalua. He's not a serious golfer but at least has coordination and can put together about a 5:1 ratio of nice shots to where-the-fuck-did-the-ball-go. I'm absolutely horrible and would be happy to have that ratio in reverse, but whatever, it's a graduation trip. I think therefore the Bay course is the better option, both from a cost and frustration perspective. I see you can book up to 90 days out for the Bay course by paying a premium ($320 vs $280 for a 30d window). I know things are crazy with revenge travel, but anyone with any experience regarding how difficult it is to get a tee time? I also saw a recommendation on Reddit for a place called Jimmy's Maui Golf Rentals which would cut the club rental in half, which sounds like a good option. They also offer discounted green fees, but as a golf ignoramus, is that the kind of thing that's likely to be legit, or risking no availability or a shitty time?
  6. Don't forget James and the Giant Peach.
  7. Those are independent of how I book, though, aren't they? I'm planning to use the AMEX, but I guess my question is whether or not to use their travel portal. Although I don't travel a lot, I've had more issues when booking through a travel portal than direct, so I was looking for any perks I'd be missing out on. If all else is equal and I'm getting 5x points either way, I'm more likely to go direct with the airline.
  8. More dumb question amnesty, please, regarding using AMEXtravel for flights with a personal Platinum. I get 5x MR points whether I book directly with the airline or AMEXtravel, correct? Is there any reason I should use AMEXtravel over direct booking if the fare is the same?
  9. Ignorant question: What is Paris like this time of year for visiting? Next year is our 20th anniversary, and if we wanted to do a trip, I just wondered what to expect.
  10. Mine are now 15 and 18 (and about to graduate), so you are hitting me in the feels. I have an admitted bias towards things I remember from when I was little (thus making them classics, irrefutable in their cultural significance), but: Arnold Lobel: arguably the GOAT as far as I'm concerned. "Frog and Toad" series is the most prolific, and is awesome. Don't sleep on "Small Pig" either. That said, "Owl at Home" may be his greatest single work. I could recite "Owl and the Moon" from memory after having read it to mine hundreds of times, and is pure poetry. When my boys have their own kids, they will be receiving a bundle of Lobel books as gifts. Seuss: A given, but the Sleep Book is a bedtime gem. Another I know by heart. Judith Viorst: Alexander and the THNGVBD is a given. My Mama Says is good for those with nighttime fears. Richard Scarry: Great picture books, less so at bedtime due to all the shit going on with fucking Dingo Dog driving erratically all over the fucking place. Some antiquated ideas for sure, but what little I know of housing construction, electricity generation, and papermill operations comes from "What Do People Do All Day." The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster: one of the great books ever written. Save this for when they are 8 or 9, when they are wondering why they should learn this stuff and why any of it matters. Shit, most adults need to read it now. I just discovered the annotated version and am reading it myself. Amazing. I agree that the Great Brain series is excellent, though that was more independent reading for me and mine. When they are bigger, The Hobbit and CS Lewis' Narnia books are excellent. The Hank the Cowdog books are great for upper single digit kids and are even better on audio, as read by Texas (and Plan II) grad John Erickson. Damn, it went fast.
  11. Maybe we can help! We have powers and knowledge that are far beyond younger men!
  12. I'm not good enough of a cook to deserve it, but I am still smitten with my 48" Bluestar cooktop: I absolutely love it, and all that capacity is awesome at holidays. When we built, I was in charge of that, the vent hood, and the nugget icemaker. For everything else, I let my wife pick out matching stuff she liked, because I know anything with a circuit board in it is doomed. She went with Electrolux stuff which has been pretty good so far (fingers crossed) aside from some relatively minor issues. Are you doing a warming drawer? If I was ever going to do this again (God, I hope not), I'd love to have a second or a bigger one. It fills up quickly, particularly at the holidays or otherwise cooking for groups.
  13. I'm not the travel expert that others on this thread are (I can't say I've seen London, haven't been to Paris in 20 years, and I ain't never seen no Queen in her damned undies as the feller says), but airline fare pricing is weird, so try some weird things. For example, we are flying to Maui this summer, and it was 20-30% cheaper to fly from AUS/GRK/ACT-->DFW -->OGG than it would have been to drive up to DFW and take that same direct flight to OGG. Spend some time playing around with it on Google Flights and set up a bunch of price watches, the more specific the better. And subscribed to this thread for great info for future travel, thanks.
  14. I've never fished Brushy Creek, and if I did I'd probably be terrible at it, but I trust Living Waters and below is their request for action on TPWD input for protection via bag limits: The Link And for @Born to Run, there are a ton of variables that go into it, but I'll echo the TFO recommendations. You may end up wanting something slightly different, but that TFO will always have a home and play a solid role in your "quiver." Also, don't underestimate how much importance the line plays. It's an underrated but over-represented part of the experience as I've learned from those on here and from my limited experience.
  15. Finally, this timeline gives us something good to look forward to. Or, more likely, we're being teased with nice things and the world will end before my preorder ships on 10/10/2023. Watterson is returning with an illustrated "fable for grownups," which I am anticipating will be beautiful, thoughtful, meaningful, and more difficult to pirate as something pissing on a Ford logo. Simon & Schuster announcement: From Bill Watterson, bestselling creator of the beloved comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, and John Kascht, one of America’s most renowned caricaturists, comes a mysterious and beautifully illustrated fable about what lies beyond human understanding. In a fable for grown-ups by cartoonist Bill Watterson, a long-ago kingdom is afflicted with unexplainable calamities. Hoping to end the torment, the king dispatches his knights to discover the source of the mysterious events. Years later, a single battered knight returns. For the book's illustrations, Watterson and caricaturist John Kascht worked together for several years in unusually close collaboration. Both artists abandoned their past ways of working, inventing images together that neither could anticipate—a mysterious process in its own right. Some early interesting conjecture here. I anticipate there will be some mewling about Watterson not being the primary illustrator, but the only thing better than his art for C&H was his writing. The art previews look fantastic, but I'm going to refrain from peeking at any more than what's already been shown.
  16. My understanding is that NCFOM was originally conceived as a screenplay early in McCarthy's career, then revisited as a novel, so it makes sense how well it translated to the screen. Especially via the Coens. This thread has gotten me thinking about The Road a bunch lately, but I still haven't reread it. I am thinking about signing up for HBO Max to check out The Last of Us, though. For anyone who wants to nerd out about the final paragraph of The Road, here's an interesting link. Article is longcat spoilered below, but here's the abstract: "The closing paragraph of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road hums with mystery. Some find it suggestive of renewal, though only vaguely. Others contend that it does little to ameliorate the novel’s pessimism. Still others find it offers both lamentation and hopefulness, while some pass it over in silence. As an admirer with a taste for puzzle solving, here I offer a new interpretation revealing a surprisingly optimistic denouement."
  17. The 17" TRD wheels just arrived today, so I'm in a similar spot. I found this on a 4runner forum and it seems to be quoted often enough to be reliable: @Patricio Swayze, looks like the 275s should fit fine. I'm looking at Toyo AT3s in either 265 or 275, which are pretty much the same price. Any big advantage/disadvantage to one more centimeter? (twss)
  18. "Dad. DAD. He has his own bed. This is mine." "DAAAAAAD." Sigh....
  19. Damor

    Maui

    Whatever you're into, man.
  20. Damor

    Maui

    Curious for those who did the road to Hana what time of year you went. We have been to Maui twice but haven't done it. This trip, we have the time to devote a whole day to it without rushing and with kids who are of a tolerable age, so it's on the docket. We are going in late June/early July, though, so I'm wondering what the odds are that the waterfalls will have much flow. I'd just like to be able to establish reasonable expectations, especially for the older one who envisions plummeting gracefully off of a cliff into an idyllic pool filled with deep azure waters and cacao-skinned girls wearing nothing but fragrant orchid and plumeria lei and a smile. OK, there might be a little projecting there, but you get me.
  21. Brr. I know the Limited doesn't quite fit into the spirit of the thread, but considering the used Toyota market right now, I was not going to turn a good deal down. My younger one will be driving it, and he's not as into truck stuff as his older brother (TRD Taco is upthread somewhere). As somebody who's not a big car guy, I'm happy for now with everything but the shitty stock Bridgestone tires, which fortunately are due to be replaced. I've been through the tires thread, but thought I'd ask here for any advice on a couple of options I'm thinking about: 1) Keep the stock 20" Limited wheels, but change sizes. The OEM size is 245/60/20, which has pretty limited options. I've been looking on some 4runner forums, and it seems like you can go to 275/55/20 without having to make any mods. There are a lot more options in that size, and I like the idea of a wider tire unless there's something I'm missing with that (there's a lot of conflicting info out there, and I'm assuming DT won't balk at installing them). Would probably put Michelin Defenders on for the current use case, but there are lots of options in the future (we're probably sending the older one to Colorado for college, and he has the Toyo Open Countrys the tire thread mafia likes for up there). 2) Swap out for a set of 17" TRD wheels. That opens up a lot more availability in both 265 and 275 sizes. It looks like that will run about $1k to make the change (is BAM wholesale legit?), but assuming this vehicle is going to be kept for 200k+ miles, it's a drop in the bucket. It's a little less of a grandma look, and I'd guess that if he ends up wanting to make other mods in the future it's a good starting point. I can always keep the 20" wheels around. Any thoughts/experiences/recommendations?
  22. Eating lunch is exhausting. We must harvest solar energy for the purposes of digestion.
  23. I, too, read it as a relatively new dad when my sons were 2yo and about 9mos. It messed me up for a good three months. It's the greatest book I may never read more than once. That said, I now have two first printing copies put away which they will receive when they are fathers themselves. I wrote them a little something on the flyleaf when they were little, and will add to it before they receive them. But I'll tell them to wait a few years before reading it. The concluding paragraph may be one of the most beautiful ever written: It comes to mind every time I'm fortunate enough to fish with my boys in a cold stream in Colorado.
  24. [stupid long pic post incoming] Oh, hai there, Rupp! Do you want surprise??? Meet your new little brother... ...Augie!!! DERRRP and HERRRRP Did we just become best friends???
×
×
  • Create New...