Random randomness

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:40 pm

MP3 players rock.

Just grab two Gigs of "this can go in the car on shuffle" at one song per artist and go.

However, every time I hear "Straight to Hell" by the Clash come on all I can here

"All I wanna do is ... ... ... and take your money." I'm still trying to figure out if the song is ruined. Funny that I never put the modern song (whatever it is) together with the the Clash when it came out.

And speaking of "Straight to Hell" has a few versus about Christmas in Viet Nam for those of you looking for your non traditional Christmas music.

Fretmute · Post by **Fretmute** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:38 pm

I went to Taco Bell for lunch today, and the location in question features the dual drive-through window system, which I assume was implemented to increase throughput in some way.

I was served by the same employee at both windows. It's probably not quite as efficient as they'd planned.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:56 pm

I thought it was done to prevent employee theft (unless they are both in on it, together).

One person's ticket must equal the other person's bank... so they can't 'pretend' to ring you up, then just pocket the cash and hand out a little food.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:21 pm

Unagi wrote:Doesn't need it's own thread, so I thought this was perhaps a good home for this.

The tauntaun sleeping bag !!

I love how the zipper is a lightsaber.

Apparently, I almost got this for christmas but my wife didn't think it was really worth $100.

How about $80?

@thinkgeek ... code TAUNTAUN20 takes $20 off your Tauntaun order today thru midnight EST.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:44 pm

I need to remember not to pay off debts. No sooner do I pay off my car, leaving me broke, than do we get have some major power issues in around my home, blowing out traffic lights and everything. Everything including my home computer. Looks like I can get an acceptably spiffy machine with a monitor from Dell for under $800 though. (I hope I am not selling myself short by getting Windows 7 Home Premium). But that $800 is going to be leave me on the verge of having credit card debt.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:02 pm

LordMortis wrote:I need to remember not to pay off debts. No sooner do I pay off my car, leaving me broke, than do we get have some major power issues in around my home, blowing out traffic lights and everything. Everything including my home computer. Looks like I can get an acceptably spiffy machine with a monitor from Dell for under $800 though. (I hope I am not selling myself short by getting Windows 7 Home Premium). But that $800 is going to be leave me on the verge of having credit card debt.

Would home owner's insurance cover it? If so you might be able to get a really big spiffy machine.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:18 pm

Remus West wrote:
LordMortis wrote:I need to remember not to pay off debts. No sooner do I pay off my car, leaving me broke, than do we get have some major power issues in around my home, blowing out traffic lights and everything. Everything including my home computer. Looks like I can get an acceptably spiffy machine with a monitor from Dell for under $800 though. (I hope I am not selling myself short by getting Windows 7 Home Premium). But that $800 is going to be leave me on the verge of having credit card debt.
Would home owner's insurance cover it? If so you might be able to get a really big spiffy machine.

Don't know. But I do know that I have a deductible and that I don't want to go through the hassle and I also fear that my premiums would go up for making a claim. I might have to call State Farm and see if it's worth the hassle or even possible.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:56 am

So I'm preparing to join the 2010 weight loss thread by doing some pre calorie counting and as it turns out creamer has almost as many calories as sugar. I figure my coffee mug is about 20 oz and I put about 60 calories or creamer and sugar in it. I sometimes do 3 cups of coffee a day as a substitution for the pop I don't drink, trying to lose weight. Crappy.

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:57 am

LordMortis wrote:So I'm preparing to join the 2010 weight loss thread by doing some pre calorie counting and as it turns out creamer has almost as many calories as sugar. I figure my coffee mug is about 20 oz and I put about 60 calories or creamer and sugar in it. I sometimes do 3 cups of coffee a day as a substitution for the pop I don't drink, trying to lose weight. Crappy.

My wife went from 3 cream 2 sugar (I think) to 1 milk 1 sugar. She got used to it after a couple of days and it really cuts the calories tremendously.

http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/menu/nu ... nuttype=US" target="_blank

Play with sugar and cream and milk.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:08 am

tjg_marantz wrote:
LordMortis wrote:So I'm preparing to join the 2010 weight loss thread by doing some pre calorie counting and as it turns out creamer has almost as many calories as sugar. I figure my coffee mug is about 20 oz and I put about 60 calories or creamer and sugar in it. I sometimes do 3 cups of coffee a day as a substitution for the pop I don't drink, trying to lose weight. Crappy.
My wife went from 3 cream 2 sugar (I think) to 1 milk 1 sugar. She got used to it after a couple of days and it really cuts the calories tremendously.

http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/menu/nu ... nuttype=US" target="_blank

Play with sugar and cream and milk.

Except I like my coffee like I like my women. Blonde and sweet.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:19 pm

Hot and strong... with a spoon in them.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:42 pm

Full of whiskey?

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:51 pm

weak and bitter?

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:59 pm

In a largest cup size available?

Mr Bubbles · Post by **Mr Bubbles** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:07 pm

I hate European restaurants.. who in the hell thought it a good idea to dole out .2 liters of drink of a meal... Shameful.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:12 pm

Mr Bubbles wrote:I hate European restaurants.. who in the hell thought it a good idea to dole out .2 liters of drink of a meal... Shameful.

It's actually "bad" for you to drink while eating... Or so "they" say. But I consume a shit ton of whatever beverage is available when I eat. I am going to try to learn to divorce the habit of drinking while eating next year and hopefully teach my body the difference between thirst and hunger again as well as help my digestion. We'll see how well that works out.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:17 pm

Due to several bouts of inflamed/infected tonsils, the only way I could eat without choking to death was to consume large quantities of fluids to literally wash down my meal. I still drink large amounts of fluid, I have just transitioned to calorie-free options like unsweetened ice tea when I go out to eat.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:30 pm

Ok just need to vent somewhere.

I CANNOT stand my mother-in-law.

I've never met a 67 year old woman that actually out whines a two year old, until I met her.

We make every effort (generally falls on me) to extend all graces and conveniences to her, and she does nothing to extend an even remote mood of gratitude or even a small additude of appretiation.

Just a big old brat.

My poor wife has to constantly down-play it. But it drives her twice as crazy. It's often made even more obvious when my mother shows up and displays a level of selflessness and thoughtfulness that just puts the MIL to shame.

Ok. Done hiding in my room. Back out into the insane asylum ...

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 8:18 pm

My MIL used to be the most severe irritant in my life. When she was on a roll she would call our house 30, 40, even 50 times a day. She'd leave a 30-second tirade of insults on the machine, hang up, and call back 1-2 minutes later with something even more vicious that had occurred to her. If my wife picked up the phone she would refuse to talk. If confronted, she denied doing it. If blocked, she would call random strangers and tell them about her rotten abusive bastard kids.

I could go on about the family dynamics that prevented us from removing her telephone access or blocking her number, but I'll just fast-forward instead. Her 80th birthday was this week, and she is now completely toothless. She can't use the phone anymore and her speech is so garbled that my wife can only understand parts of it. It's actually sad to see the old warhorse brought so pathetically low.

So, enjoy her while you have her!

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 8:50 pm

My wife's aunt just died. She was 5 days short of her 103rd birthday.

Malificent · Post by **Malificent** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 9:48 pm

I hate the fact that I don't like wine. I really enjoy cooking and I would love to be able to pair this wine with that meal. But I can't stand the taste of alcohol, especially in wine. My only alcoholic drinks are fruity girly drinks that disguise the taste of the alcohol. It's a shame.

Wargus · Post by **Wargus** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:58 pm

Malificent wrote:I hate the fact that I don't like wine. I really enjoy cooking and I would love to be able to pair this wine with that meal. But I can't stand the taste of alcohol, especially in wine. My only alcoholic drinks are fruity girly drinks that disguise the taste of the alcohol. It's a shame.

Everything you can do with wine you can do with beer.

And here's how you learn to like it: For about 4 years, drink swill - lots of it. If you go beer I can recommend Lucky Lager. Get blitzed twice a week or more, with at least a few days every couple weeks where you end up puking all the next day too.

After 4 years of that, upgrade to a well recommended dark beer. You'll love it.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 11:00 pm

Wargus wrote:Everything you can do with wine you can do with beer.

I defy you to make a margarita with beer.

Wargus · Post by **Wargus** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 11:04 pm

Unagi wrote:
Wargus wrote:Everything you can do with wine you can do with beer.
I defy you to make a margarita with beer.

I can guarantee I'm up to that challenge. I bet I can even make a GOOD margarita with one. It will take a bit to find or make the right beer though.

edit: WAIT a minute: are you making Margaritas with wine? If you are you are doing it wrong.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:05 am

Wargus wrote:edit: WAIT a minute: are you making Margaritas with wine? If you are you are doing it wrong.

Normally, of course not.

However, there is Agave wine that actually makes a pretty damn good margarita.

(secret of some restaurants that only have beer/wine licenses)

Mr Bubbles · Post by **Mr Bubbles** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:30 am

Unagi wrote:
Wargus wrote:Everything you can do with wine you can do with beer.
I defy you to make a margarita with beer.

Indeed, but if you he doesn't like wine as a drink it is amazing in a variety of sauces. My father in law prepared coq au vin. I've grown very fond of cooking with wine. Even my wife would can't stand wine of any form loves in sauce.

Bakhtosh · Post by **Bakhtosh** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:20 pm

Just got this in my e-mail. I have the Preview Pane turned on and it was sized just right to show me this:

Fox News will have the best New Year's Eve show EVAR!

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:50 am

Is it possible to play an angry or melancholy banjo?

razgon · Post by **razgon** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 10:06 am

No, but I used to play a mean guitar...

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:41 pm

Not smoking at work was very easy when I snacked a lot. Not smoking and not snacking. Sheer insanity.

Did you know that one of those tiny Yoplait "light" yogurts still have 100 - 110 calories? And here I thought I scrutinized my diet pretty for the coming weak. Yogurt will be the flaw in my plan. Yogurt. When yogurt has too many calories, where are you supposed to turn? At least they are still more better than one of that 100 calorie snack packs. Those things are as insulting to a snack as is a "fun size" bag of M&Ms. What's fun about five M&Ms? That's not even fun if you go all Metalhed with them. Look, four whole combats.

I need to find a lettuce addiction or something where I just sit at my desk and chew on iceberg all day long... Except I can't dip it in ranch.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:52 pm

Did you know that one of those tiny Yoplait "light" yogurts still have 100 - 110 calories?

Yeah, but they're good calories. As opposed to say, eating 1/5 of a bag of McDonald's french fries instead. No fat, Vitamin D, calcium. There should be no guilt involved.

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:58 pm

Yeah, that's acceptable calories.

I love the low fat activia yogurts. I splurge and get the low fat activia with fibers in them. Lurve them.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:59 pm

Depends if it's full of sugar, really. If "light" means no fat, and the thing is made with a bunch of additional sweetener to compensate, the calories might not be as "good" as you think. I've seen both fat-free ice cream and yogurt that had more calories than the regular kind, because of the added sugars. You really do need to learn how to read and compare labels.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:12 pm

As weight loss is my target, I'm not so much worried about the source of calories so much as the number. Instead of snacking on high carb snacks throughout the day, I replaced them with high fat sunflower seeds. I get fewer calories and expend more calories and spread the intake out over more time due to the effort to get into the shells.

I figure that losing substantial weight right now is serving me more good than worrying about maintaining a fine nutrient balance.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:12 pm

Yoplait Lights are pretty good in that regard - you'll find that a lot of weight loss people/sites, etc. give them high marks. And they do indeed have fewer calories than the non-light versions (which are about 140).

I haven't tried the Activia ones because I'm afraid they'll make me crap my pants ala the Jamie Lee Curtis commercials as parodied by Saturday Night Live.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:15 pm

YellowKing wrote:Yeah, but they're good calories.

The Internet tells me that I need to be about 2000 calories or less a day to lose weight (and slowly at that). Two baby sized cups of yogurt costs me ten percent of my daily intake. Twenty baby cups of yogurt a day would not get TuboLardMortass through a day. That means eating them is officially a treat and they can not be classified as food.

I "quit" fries a few years ago when I "quit" pop. They're a rare treat that I get when I'm around other people getting pop or fries. It's peer pressure I tell ya. Ranch Dressing is the latest thing to hit the chopping block. I have to relearn to like salad without dressing. It's been a long time. I'll miss you ranch. I love you.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:18 pm

It depends on your starting point. My software tells me that I can consume ~2400 calories and still lose 1.5 pounds a week, since my mass requires more than 2000 to hold serve.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:30 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:As weight loss is my target, I'm not so much worried about the source of calories so much as the number. Instead of snacking on high carb snacks throughout the day, I replaced them with high fat sunflower seeds. I get fewer calories and expend more calories and spread the intake out over more time due to the effort to get into the shells.

I figure that losing substantial weight right now is serving me more good than worrying about maintaining a fine nutrient balance.

I debated buying sunflower seeds yesterday for just that reason. Apparently, I lost that debate. I elected not to buy sunflower seeds because eating them and spitting out shells can be kinda gross for the people around you. I think I might be buying them tonight anyway and just not eating them around other people. They'll be really good for sitting on the computer at home and not snacking and not smoking.

It depends on your starting point. My software tells me that I can consume ~2400 calories and still lose 1.5 pounds a week, since my mass requires more than 2000 to hold serve.

I think it's the sedentary lifestyle thing. With my sit on my ass lifestyle, three different internet sites all said the same thing. 2400 calories to maintain. 2000 to lose something in the neighborhood of .7 pounds a week. Increased activity (hopefully) will come later. Of course the only thing we've found so far to increase my energy levels, it prednisone and that's off the table.

We're hoping I can get fit for mouth piece to help me sleep better... to help raise my energy levels... to help me exercise... which will help burn calories... which will help me lose weight... which will help me sleep better...

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:32 pm

Wow, I only get 1600 calories if I want to lose 1 lb/wk, 2100 to maintain. With 800-1200 beer calories in a normal day I've nearly cut out food entirely.

My wife once went to a Weight Watchers meeting where an argument broke out over the merits of snacking on carrot sticks versus celery. Carrots are one of the higher-calorie vegetables, whereas celery is just cellulose and water. But as the WW representative told them, "None of you got here by eating too many carrot sticks."

So, um, yeah. Carrot sticks. Go wild!

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:45 pm

Carrots were my go-to bulk snack when I didn't have many calories to spare. But then I figured out more than about 3 oz of baby carrots meant bad things for the ol' GI system.

100 calories of yogurt, along with 30-80 calories of fruit/vegetable (grapes, carrots) are my go-to post-lunch snacks while at work. 100 calories of banana accomplishes the same goal after coffee but before lunch each day. Given 1700 calories per day (pretty aggressive loss for me), that means I've got 1450 to use up between lunch (roughly 800-900) and dinner/evening snacks (the rest: 650-750).

Rare is the day that I'm going to bed hungry wishing I had more calories that could go into my mouth. Spread the intake throughout the day and don't gorge on any one meal (I could probably cut the standard lunch down to 650-750) and you end up surprisingly satisfied. The trick is finding all those ~100 calorie snacks to put into your system. (Dole peaches/pears snack packs are a big winner for me.)

Weekends are difficult to get above 1500 per day, unless I'm a) eating out, and/or b) drinking.