Random randomness

[Madmarcus]

Websites about moving claim that I can get a 4 bedroom house into a 26" truck!? That seems crazy; are they assuming some form of minimalist take on not moving anything and buying everything from Ikea in the new town?

[Fardaza]

Websites about moving claim that I can get a 4 bedroom house into a 26" truck!? That seems crazy; are they assuming some form of minimalist take on not moving anything and buying everything from Ikea in the new town?

That's pretty minimalist if they can fit it into a 26 inch truck!!

[stessier]

Websites about moving claim that I can get a 4 bedroom house into a 26" truck!? That seems crazy; are they assuming some form of minimalist take on not moving anything and buying everything from Ikea in the new town?

That's pretty minimalist if they can fit it into a 26 inch truck!!

Must be trying to contract with Pym Moving and Storage.

[Isgrimnur]

Websites about moving claim that I can get a 4 bedroom house into a 26" truck!? That seems crazy; are they assuming some form of minimalist take on not moving anything and buying everything from Ikea in the new town?

[Madmarcus]

That's pretty minimalist if they can fit it into a 26 inch truck!!

[Madmarcus]

That's basically what I figured but I haven't moved in 23 years and I have no memory of how full the truck was last time!

It it just possibly true enough that I had made me think though. We are in technically a 5 bedroom house right now but we are only moving one bed/mattress. One bedroom is an office, one is a sewing room, one is a my hobby room which is really only boxes because none of the furniture is moving, and one is a really empty storage room.

[LordMortis]

I don't know big a 26' truck is but I live in a 4 bedroom home. I moved in with a 1/3 full of furniture small Uhaul and about four pre Uhaul trips filling a Mercury Tracer. Moving out would probably take twice the room mainly because I have since filled a garage full of yardwork stuff. Now, my 4 Bedroom is only a 1000 sq foot home with finished basement and I am one person. So I am the exception but if 26' is the small UHaul, then that's all I'd take to move.

[Isgrimnur]

26' is ~1/2 of a semi trailer. When we moved from 2b apartment to house, The 26' truck was full, and we still didn't get everything.

[stessier]

26' is ~1/2 of a semi trailer. When we moved from 2b apartment to house, The 26' truck was full, and we still didn't get everything.

I had a corporate move and used 1/2 a semi for a 2500 sq. ft. house - 2 adults and two kids under 5. Technically 4 bedrooms, but only 3 were occupied with the fourth serving as a computer/guest room (so 4 beds). 130+boxes (189 pieces were numbered). Professionals can be great at the Tetris that is truck loading.

[Smoove_B]

We moved from a 4BR house a few years back with a 26' truck. Well, the movers did. We were downsizing to a 3BR without a basement so prior to the move I did need to ditch a significant amount of furniture. And a 30 yard dumpster was filled with nonsense. It's possible depending on what your situation is, but I don't think it's the norm. But yeah, movers are amazing.

[hepcat]

This was before boardgaming entered your life, right?

[Smoove_B]

Oh lord no. I have cut my board game collection by 50% or more. If I was still living in my old house (where I converted the basement into a gaming room)? I can't even imagine what my collection would look like now.

[dbt1949]

I may be moving out of my house next year. (But nothing is certain) and I'll be getting rid of everything but my computer gear. I guess I'll be getting an auctioneer.

[Daehawk]

Online info and common sense says to write on tinfoil use a Sharpie. Its what Ive always used. But those things dont work well at all. Its hard to see. Ive got a black and a red one and neither are stand outs so to speak. Dry wet unfrozen frozen...dont matter. Seems no good way to see my writing on the foil. More a guesstimate of whats in it and where I stored it in the freezer if I can remember .

If anyone is wondering Im testing Tyson chicken breast vs the grocer's generic...I think they are the same thing just labeled and priced diff. Usually Tyson is tougher. Then again the last Tyson I bought was more tender than the generic store brand.

Want to find the most tender for the least dollar. Its a guessing game out there and chicken and eggs are getting expensive.

[Madmarcus]

A couple of these stories are making me think it could work in the 26" truck. Which would be really nice as that will be a lot easier to deal with at the far end where we are going to have to do it during the day and hope the on street parking clears up when people go to work.

Probably no one will see this edit but the latest guy says 1500 cubic feet from the inventory list I sent. Crazy stuff but it really looks like a 26" truck works.

[coopasonic]

Random Info

" = inches
' = feet

[Smoove_B]

[Daehawk]

hahaha lol. Oh man Spinal Tap.

[Unagi]

[LordMortis]

As I try not to give up on walking, I find that I may need to buy ear muffs for the first time in life. I might also just get one of those pilot caps that pull over your ears. Time to pay attention to such things when I go shopping.

Do they make a reasonably cheap but worth while pair of blue tooth ear muffs?

[Isgrimnur]

[LordMortis]

Not sure how well that would work with my ponytail but Ima put it under consideration.

[Daehawk]

This is Isgrim's link

https://smile.amazon.com/Sleeping-Headp ... B098F5TWPN

[Max Peck]

My solution to winter walking was to buy a treadmill.

On the upside, no need to worry about the weather or slipping on ice.

On the downside, if I'm watching Colombiana while exercising and Zoe Saldaña does something interesting (as she is wont to do), I might forget to focus on my footing and balance, almost tumbling arse over teakettle and breaking my neck. Hypothetically...

[Daehawk]

Zoe. Miss Uhura if you're nasty.

[Anonymous Bosch]

As I try not to give up on walking, I find that I may need to buy ear muffs for the first time in life. I might also just get one of those pilot caps that pull over your ears. Time to pay attention to such things when I go shopping.

Do they make a reasonably cheap but worth while pair of blue tooth ear muffs?

Here's another alternative you may want to consider. I grabbed this on sale several weeks ago from a B&M Costco for $12.99 --
BULA Polartec Convertible Balaclava, 2-pack:



Keep in mind, if ninja-mode ain't your cuppa, you can easily pull the lower portion below your chin. I take a daily five-mile walk before sunrise, when temperatures are often barely above freezing at this time of year. Suffice to say, I've found its Polartec fleece to be remarkably impressive in terms of just how warm and toasty it keeps yer ears and head -- especially when combined with a hat or cap. I usually wear it with a pair of wired in-ear monitors, but suitable Bluetooth IEMs ought to work just as well.

[Blackhawk]

A couple of these stories are making me think it could work in the 26" truck.

Empty a room. Lay out the dimensions on the carpet with masking tape. The garage works, too.

If you have the space, some people actually pack into the space as they go to pre-Tetris it.

[Madmarcus]

Random Info

" = inches
' = feet

I actually know that but have been being sloppy!

[Madmarcus]

Empty a room. Lay out the dimensions on the carpet with masking tape. The garage works, too.

What is this thing called an empty room that you discussing?

Seriously, my biggest hassle in this entire move is that we are downsizing, packing, and doing some minimal repair work at that same time and in a very non-organized fashion. It works and mostly it makes it less stressful as we can shift between different tasks when something gets one of us frustrated but it also leads to every room having in use stuff, packed boxes, and unpacked boxes in it.

[telcta]

This is the first time I checked into having a different supplier for electricity. Our supplier rate is expected to double from $0.12 to $0.24 cents per kWh on Jan 1st. That's a pretty good chunk of change so looking at different suppliers I can lock in at $0.16 for 3 years. Between this and natural gas prices soaring, it's going to be an expensive winter.

[Holman]

This is the first time I checked into having a different supplier for electricity. Our supplier rate is expected to double from $0.12 to $0.24 cents per kWh on Jan 1st. That's a pretty good chunk of change so looking at different suppliers I can lock in at $0.16 for 3 years. Between this and natural gas prices soaring, it's going to be an expensive winter.

Be careful. Here in Philly, alternative energy suppliers send people door-to-door with promises of great savings, but almost inevitably they are followed by news of rip-offs hidden in the small print.

[Daehawk]

One tea down. Yes Im one tea brand down it seems. All my life we had a large selection of teas both hot and cold and how to make them. The favorite being Lipton 'sun' tea. They even sold large glass containers for this in the 80s. Fill it with water and tea bags and sit it in the sun a few hours around noon. And in fact it was always better tea. No bitterness you tended to get from boiled tea.

Anyways cold brew serves me just as well these days. But we had 3 brands that I recall...Tetley, Lipton, and Luzianne. Im thinking that last one is a southern thing and brand. But I liked Tetley. It also was never bitter. I remember the tv ads in the 90s "Tiny little tea leaves in Tetley tea" har har . Anyways Ive not seen Tetley around lately. Seems to still be in business but our big huge Walmart supercenter.....I feel I need to read that like a 1980s era wrestling intro.........doesn't stock it at all. Just Luzianne and Lipton. And not a big variety like in olden days. Are teas dying out? With no tv service I dont see ads like I once did so dont even know who advertises for what brands now days.

[Holman]

One tea down. Yes Im one tea brand down it seems. All my life we had a large selection of teas both hot and cold and how to make them. The favorite being Lipton 'sun' tea. They even sold large glass containers for this in the 80s. Fill it with water and tea bags and sit it in the sun a few hours around noon. And in fact it was always better tea. No bitterness you tended to get from boiled tea.

Anyways cold brew serves me just as well these days. But we had 3 brands that I recall...Tetley, Lipton, and Luzianne. Im thinking that last one is a southern thing and brand. But I liked Tetley. It also was never bitter. I remember the tv ads in the 90s "Tiny little tea leaves in Tetley tea" har har . Anyways Ive not seen Tetley around lately. Seems to still be in business but our big huge Walmart supercenter.....I feel I need to read that like a 1980s era wrestling intro.........doesn't stock it at all. Just Luzianne and Lipton. And not a big variety like in olden days. Are teas dying out? With no tv service I dont see ads like I once did so dont even know who advertises for what brands now days.

Walmart doesn't stock Twinings? Celestial Seasonings? Bigelow? Stash? Tazo?

My regular old mundane grocery store has about 6 feet of floor to ceiling tea brands.

[Daehawk]

They used to stock Celestial Seasonings. They have been tearing this particular store apart and re-glueing it. Tons of remodels. I cant find stuff I used to find easy. The employees sometimes know where stuff is. Maybe thats why their teas section sucks. I almost passed right by it in the coffee section. Its tiny. Shelves bare, Boxes all over. Perhaps its different at a stable store. Or maybe its just Walmart.

As for those other brands you mentioned Ive never heard of them.

[hitbyambulance]

Tetley is doing just fine: https://www.tetleyusa.com/tetley-story

while i can tolerate Tazo or Stash black tea 'ok'(-ish... ofc there are faaaar better options), i will not drink Lipton*. that stuff is bottom of the barrel (or literal sweepings from the factory floor) tea - even by American standards. it is just awful. how such a low quality product _thrives_ in the marketplace is beyond me. if i am working somewhere where the only tea option in the breakroom is Lipton, they either do not know better or do not care about their employees (and i'm bringing my own tea in).

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21072975

roboys on Sept 25, 2019 | parent | context | favorite | on: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics p...

My buddy used to work for Lipton. He explained that they use the cheapest grade of tea (dust) available. Also many tea companies mix non-tea additives (fillers) to their tea bags.

After hearing this I decided, if it's not full loose leaf, I don't drink it. We found that companies like Elephant Chateau (http://elephantchateau.com) deliver the 3 highest grades of tea direct from Ceylon mountain estates with the option for plant-based pyramid bags (soilon) or a free stainless steel infuser.

Bonus, the tea actually tastes like tea and is tasty enough to drink plain unlike Lipton dust. It always funny to hear people promote all the health benefits of tea then turn around and dump 100 grams of sugar into a cup to make it palatable.

brokenkebab on Sept 25, 2019 | next [–]

To be fair, bagged tea exists because there are lots of buyers who only want quick refreshing non-coffee caffeine, and don't care for taste that much. Or sometimes they just want a background for those 100 g. of sugar you mentioned. Tea dust is a perfect match for this market, because it releases everything it holds to water immediately, while whole leaves may require some patience, and proper procedure.

mumblemumble on Sept 25, 2019 | parent | next [–]

FWIW, I'm personally fond of tea dust for cold brew, too. This summer I've been very much enjoying gyokuro dust steeped overnight in the fridge as my morning beverage. Not only is it less expensive than the whole leaf stuff (essentially free vs. some of the most expensive tea I own), but I think that works better with that brewing method, too.

Probably the main reason I don't use Lipton instead of the good stuff when I'm making cold brew is that I dislike all the packaging waste. Between the brewing method and the serving temperature, I don't necessarily find the taste alone to be enough better to justify the higher price.

* referring to the US Lipton - UK Lipton is ok.

[Blackhawk]

And in fact it was always better tea. No bitterness you tended to get from boiled tea.

Bitterness in brewed tea is almost always one of two things (provided that it isn't horribly awful tea to begin with):

1. Brewing it too long. Check the manufacturer's recommendation, and don't exceed it. For black teas, 4 to 4 1/2 minutes is about as far as you want to push it. Tea only has so much flavor. Brewing it for that amount of time draws pretty much all of the tea flavorings into the water. Brewing it longer does not make it stronger. With all of the flavor already gone from the leaves, all you're doing is drawing out the tannins into the water, which - you guessed it - just make it bitter. If you want stronger tea, you have to add more bags, not more time.

I drink my iced tea unsweetened, and when I am out, there are only two commercial brands of bottled tea that are readily available that have unsweetened options. Gold Peak and Pure Leaf. You can tell with even the smallest sip of their unsweetened offerings that they boil the living crap out of their leaves, then mask the poor quality, bitter tea with tons of sugar.

2. Squeezing the tea bags. Again, the flavor is already in the water. Squeezing doesn't add flavor, it just forces more tannins out.

Bonus: Contrary to popular lore, dunking you teabag does not harm the flavor.

[Blackhawk]

By the way, if you want an option for black tea that is affordable online, look at PG Tips or better yet (in my opinion), Yorkshire Gold from Taylors of Harrogate. Right now you can get a box of 160 bags for $11.49, and it blows anything Walmart carries out of the water.

[hitbyambulance]

And in fact it was always better tea. No bitterness you tended to get from boiled tea.

Bitterness in brewed tea is almost always one of two things (provided that it isn't horribly awful tea to begin with):

1. Brewing it too long. Check the manufacturer's recommendation, and don't exceed it. For black teas, 4 to 4 1/2 minutes is about as far as you want to push it. Tea only has so much flavor. Brewing it for that amount of time draws pretty much all of the tea flavorings into the water. Brewing it longer does not make it stronger. With all of the flavor already gone from the leaves, all you're doing is drawing out the tannins into the water, which - you guessed it - just make it bitter. If you want stronger tea, you have to add more bags, not more time.

I drink my iced tea unsweetened, and when I am out, there are only to commercial brands of bottled tea that are readily available that have unsweetened options. Gold Peak and Pure Leaf. You can tell with even the smallest sip of their unsweetened offerings that they boil the living crap out of their leaves, then mask the poor quality, bitter tea with tons of sugar.

2. Squeezing the tea bags. Again, the flavor is already in the water. Squeezing doesn't add flavor, it just forces more tannins out.

Bonus: Contrary to popular lore, dunking you teabag does not harm the flavor.

precisely this. and with less oxidized teas (e.g. oolong, green, white), you have to reduce the steeping time even more. most greens only need about 1-2 minutes or they get hoooooribly bitter. but if brewed properly, you get Amazing Flavor You Never Knew Existed*

*except with Lipton. it always tastes weak and flat, no matter what

[hitbyambulance]

By the way, if you want an option for black tea that is affordable online, look at PG Tips or better yet (in my opinion), Yorkshire Gold from Taylors of Harrogate. Right now you can get a box of 160 bags for $11.49, and it blows anything Walmart carries out of the water.

you can do even better if you visit your local Indian grocery and get a 2lb bag of assam tea for $9.99... it's even better than the above mentioned. no Indian grocery nearby? something like this will last you at least a year - absolutely best value. https://www.amazon.com/Tea-India-Premiu ... B007SH2C6S

[dbt1949]

Got my statement from SS. I'm getting a take home raise of $167. Last year it was about $40.