Octopus Overlords

Rumpy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:11 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:47 pm Anyone ever try Easton's microwave cheeseburgers?

Just me, but I personally wouldn't be eating that. All I can think of is the preservatives needed in making something like that happen.

Daehawk has a lot of questionable dietary choices he announces, but I expect many are made because the cheapest foods are often the least healthy.

Let's just say my dad keeps talking about subsisting on Chinese sausage and rice porridge, and maybe canned salty fish, and it's possible, but you can't live long-term on that... they're not that nutritious. But I have a couple cans of that fish and couple packs of that sausage. I also have some of those survival bars and protein bars. The problem is vegetables and fruits.

Is everyday regular food that scarce in your area?

coopasonic wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:29 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:22 pm Everyone get their US Census? I got mine a week ago and filed online. then today I got a reminder to do it. It says if I filed thanks but if I dont then they'll remind me in a couple weeks.

I don't think I got it. Hopefully I didn't throw it out with the pile of homeowner's insurance offers I get every year around this time.

It came in the mail yesterday.

On the race/origin questions, I entered origin as American. I am amused by that for some reason.

Paingod wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 6:44 am

Rumpy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:11 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:47 pm Anyone ever try Easton's microwave cheeseburgers?

Just me, but I personally wouldn't be eating that. All I can think of is the preservatives needed in making something like that happen.

Daehawk has a lot of questionable dietary choices he announces, but I expect many are made because the cheapest foods are often the least healthy.

Yep. We ate a lot of crap when my wife was alive but since her passing and me going to food stamps and donated food Ive gained over 25 lbs and I dont eat much. Im working on cutting back even more.

I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

I had to fill my census on line.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 11:45 am On the race/origin questions, I entered origin as American. I am amused by that for some reason.

I had to do mine online last night and I put in US. I didn't know what else to do. German? That's like five generations ago at the closest point (much further at other points and not pure at all) and I have no German ties beyond my love for Bratwurst and I didn't develop that until my 20s.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:00 pm I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

Exactly.

It's likely cheaper, healthier, AND better-tasting to make your own homemade frozen hamburger patties from ground beef vs. paying a premium for a prepackaged product loaded with garbage.

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:23 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:00 pm I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

Exactly.

It's likely cheaper, healthier, AND better-tasting to make your own homemade frozen hamburger patties from ground beef vs. paying a premium for a prepackaged product loaded with garbage.

none of that speaks to Daehawk's primary criteria: effortless

Unagi wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:31 pm

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:23 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:00 pm I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

Exactly.

It's likely cheaper, healthier, AND better-tasting to make your own homemade frozen hamburger patties from ground beef vs. paying a premium for a prepackaged product loaded with garbage.

none of that speaks to Daehawk's primary criteria: effortless

Criteria not applied to banking, of course.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:38 pm

Unagi wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:31 pm

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:23 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:00 pm I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

Exactly.

It's likely cheaper, healthier, AND better-tasting to make your own homemade frozen hamburger patties from ground beef vs. paying a premium for a prepackaged product loaded with garbage.

none of that speaks to Daehawk's primary criteria: effortless

Criteria not applied to banking, of course.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:00 pm I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

Full cheese burger in box - $1.05 with tax

Buns - $1.50
Ground beef - $6.00 (only comes in 2 lbs)
Cheese - $4.00
Tax on $11.50 - $1. 15
Total - $12.65

$12.65 vs $1.05

OR

$12.65 for 4 cheese burgers vs $4.20 for 4 cheeseburgers. For the $12.65 I could get 10 of the boxed. Remember Im on food stamps and not many..I should get $200 because I have like $80 left after all the bills. I get $92 after I begged and complained of the $56 I was getting .And I get one bag of food a month..usually dry beans and canned pears with a jar of peanut butter. Basically I live on $92 in food a month..and that free bag of fart fuel.

I think the only one here who can compare lifestyle is Blackhawk. No offense meant to anyone including BH. Just how life is. I even mentioned my weight gain to the lady at the food bank due to eating all the junk I have to eat because its cheap. Sometimes I think people must think I eat great because Ive gained weight. Opposite.

EDIT: Oh and pasta. Lots of dry pasta and can after can of tomato sauces. Thats not helping any at all in lowering weight hahaha.

technically I am on vacation right now. Have a week off so I can hang with the kids during spring break.
but, the kids are not in school. and everything at work is on fire. so I am at work, while i am on vacation, because there is no one else.

extraordinary times my friends.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:05 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:00 pm I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

Full cheese burger in box - $1.05 with tax

Buns - $1.50
Ground beef - $6.00 (only comes in 2 lbs)
Cheese - $4.00
Tax on $11.50 - $1. 15
Total - $12.65

$12.65 vs $1.05

OR

$12.65 for 4 cheese burgers vs $4.20 for 4 cheeseburgers. For the $12.65 I could get 10 of the boxed.

I am also poor people, and do poor people math for a living. For $12.65 you are getting eight of the good ones vs ten of the bad ones (2lb burger = 8 burgers.) And you're only using half of the pack of cheese, which means you have half left over for the next set. That changes the math by about two bucks, meaning that you can have eight burgers for the same price as nine of the boxed - essentially the same cost. And if you want to poor properly, you skip the buns and have them on bread. That saves even more, and is less toxic. They also taste a hell of a lot better, and that's from somebody who had one of those Meijer cheeseburgers. They're about a half a step above a school cafeteria burger from the 80s.

But that's not how you do it. Grab the two pounds. Make eight patties and freeze them. Have a couple per week and have some even cheaper stuff - peanut butter is a good choice - in between. It averages the cost of meals and makes them even cheaper. That last bit is the secret: If you can find something super cheap that isn't horribly unhealthy, you can use that to bring down the total average price of each meal and have a few meals that cost more.

Also Im not getting my free bag of food this month or next at the least. 1. Im sick of beans and pasta. 2. Dont need coronavirus for those things Im sick of.

Oh man I miss school cafeteria cheeseburgers and pizza.

8 patties would be pretty small patties. I can get 4 big ones and a little one. I suppose I could make 8 tiny ones. They really cook down.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:37 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:05 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:00 pm I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

Full cheese burger in box - $1.05 with tax

Buns - $1.50
Ground beef - $6.00 (only comes in 2 lbs)
Cheese - $4.00
Tax on $11.50 - $1. 15
Total - $12.65

$12.65 vs $1.05

OR

$12.65 for 4 cheese burgers vs $4.20 for 4 cheeseburgers. For the $12.65 I could get 10 of the boxed.

I am also poor people, and do poor people math for a living. For $12.65 you are getting eight of the good ones vs ten of the bad ones (2lb burger = 8 burgers.) And you're only using half of the pack of cheese, which means you have half left over for the next set. That changes the math by about two bucks, meaning that you can have eight burgers for the same price as nine of the boxed - essentially the same cost. And if you want to poor properly, you skip the buns and have them on bread. That saves even more, and is less toxic. They also taste a hell of a lot better, and that's from somebody who had one of those Meijer cheeseburgers. They're about a half a step above a school cafeteria burger from the 80s.

But that's not how you do it. Grab the two pounds. Make eight patties and freeze them. Have a couple per week and have some even cheaper stuff - peanut butter is a good choice - in between. It averages the cost of meals and makes them even cheaper. That last bit is the secret: If you can find something super cheap that isn't horribly unhealthy, you can use that to bring down the total average price of each meal and have a few meals that cost more.

Also, if weight loss is a goal and carbs are one thing he gets for free, I’d say: skip the bun/bread entirely.

we should start a kittie so Daehawk can get homemade burgers for next month.

I'm not going to knock people's math but for me that works out differently.

8 buns on the cheap = $1 ($2 if you want reasonably good buns)
two pounds of 80/20 not on sale = $5 ($4 on sale, better ground beef is considerably more expensive)
16 slices of Kraft American slices= $2.50 (less if you go offbrand or get it on sale)
No food tax in Michigan

8 1/4 pound burgers, no condiments, no packaging = about $1.15ish.

That's same price as sale shopping single premade burgers. There's more effort but a better quality. On sale I could bring that down to about $.90 for both the pre-made and the prep myself.


All bets are off at the local grocers right now, though. Both meat and frozen aisles were basically empty on both trips I've made to the grocer this week. I got two dozen eggs on the second trip and I felt like a hoarder. The scarcity of everything else warranted so many eggs. Eggs and rice may very well be my diet this weekend, so as not to eat up everything else. We'll see. My grocer says they have increased their incoming trucks to try and catch up with demand.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:39 pm
8 patties would be pretty small patties. I can get 4 big ones and a little one. I suppose I could make 8 tiny ones. They really cook down.

They're called 'quarter pounders' for a reason.

As to the Coronavirus on the other stuff, get your free box. Set it in a corner and don't touch it for four days. Bam! No coronavirus!

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:05 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:00 pm I'd start by cutting back on those boxed cheeseburgers. That shit can't be good for you. Much better for you to make one yourself from scratch.

Full cheese burger in box - $1.05 with tax

Buns - $1.50
Ground beef - $6.00 (only comes in 2 lbs)
Cheese - $4.00
Tax on $11.50 - $1. 15
Total - $12.65

$12.65 vs $1.05

OR

$12.65 for 4 cheese burgers vs $4.20 for 4 cheeseburgers. For the $12.65 I could get 10 of the boxed. Remember Im on food stamps and not many..

You do know that warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam's Club typically accept food stamps, right? Your funds would likely stretch further by shopping there for basics (such as burger buns and ground beef).

Cant afford membership and the closest is 20+ miles away.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:45 pm Cant afford membership and the closest is 20+ miles away.

You likely spend significantly more on games in a year than the $45 it costs for a basic Sam's Club membership. I dunno what your particular zip code is, but it looks like they have plenty of locations to choose from in Tennessee.

I have never needed 5 gal of ketchup.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 5:10 pm I have never needed 5 gal of ketchup.

You're just not trying hard enough.

Even if it wasn't 20 miles away I wouldn't get any use out of it as I live alone....id never need the amount they sell.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 6:12 pm Even if it wasn't 20 miles away I wouldn't get any use out of it as I live alone....id never need the amount they sell.

Not necessarily. Just stick with products that are unlikely to go bad (e.g. rice, frozen food, and even burger buns that are easily frozen) and shopping at a warehouse club would stretch what limited resources you have a whole lot further.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 19, 2020 6:12 pm Even if it wasn't 20 miles away I wouldn't get any use out of it as I live alone....id never need the amount they sell.

There's a LOT of stuff that makes sense buying bulk. Never say never. Anything that doesn't go bad, like TP, paper towel, detergent, cleaning supplies, can probably be bought in bulk, and you'd be set for months or years. Dried goods, canned goods, etc. no problem. Vitamins and more too. Nothing wrong with a case of water (35 bottles) and Coke (in 48 can packs) and so on.

What Costco also sells cheap is prescription drugs. Almost all of them have a full-service pharmacy, and you don't even need a membership to fill your prescription at their pharmacy. And their prices are usually 1/3 lower than other pharmacies esp. on generics. THAT, and hearing aid batteries.Stuff even single people should buy from Costco

I've never even been in a Costco. I'd love to do some shopping there, but the nearest one is a 3-hour round trip.

Come to think of it I think we have a Costco some 20 miles away. And a SAMS a couple of miles further. Been to SAMS and I would never go back without going with a member again.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 20, 2020 12:30 am I've never even been in a Costco. I'd love to do some shopping there, but the nearest one is a 3-hour round trip.

A couple of years ago I paid their membership fee to buy something where the member savings was greater than the fee. As a new member, I felt like I ought to go there and see what it was all about, so we made the drive and went through the hassle of getting member cards and I even ate one of their storied cheap hotdogs, which turned out to be a thoroughly average hotdog (but cheap). After wandering for an exhausting half hour, we concluded that Costco is not for us. If you're a really avid consumer, or you have a big family, or you really need the economies of scale, or they just have a store that's convenient and not too crowded, go nuts. Wasn't worth the effort for me.

I'm kind of surprised, actually. I go to Costco about once a week, and buy everything from meat to cheese to frozen foods to tools to electronics. Prices are generally much better than the equivalent in the grocery store, and they generally have most of what I need. It's such a routine thing for me that it surprises me that there are so many here who don't utilize them.

gbasden wrote: ↑Fri Mar 20, 2020 2:03 am I'm kind of surprised, actually. I go to Costco about once a week, and buy everything from meat to cheese to frozen foods to tools to electronics. Prices are generally much better than the equivalent in the grocery store, and they generally have most of what I need. It's such a routine thing for me that it surprises me that there are so many here who don't utilize them.

Ditto. Their petrol prices are also rarely beaten.

The quality of their meat and produce is absolutely top notch, too. If you own a vacuum sealer and sous vide cooker, shopping at Costco saves an astounding amount of money.

The one thing they don't see at Costco in Canada is alcohol. Come to think of it, I don't think they sell travel either.

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Mar 20, 2020 1:58 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 20, 2020 12:30 am I've never even been in a Costco. I'd love to do some shopping there, but the nearest one is a 3-hour round trip.

A couple of years ago I paid their membership fee to buy something where the member savings was greater than the fee. As a new member, I felt like I ought to go there and see what it was all about, so we made the drive and went through the hassle of getting member cards and I even ate one of their storied cheap hotdogs, which turned out to be a thoroughly average hotdog (but cheap). After wandering for an exhausting half hour, we concluded that Costco is not for us. If you're a really avid consumer, or you have a big family, or you really need the economies of scale, or they just have a store that's convenient and not too crowded, go nuts. Wasn't worth the effort for me.

I probably saved my membership cost on a new washer and dryer I bought last month. Not only were the prices of the units themselves cheaper than Home Depot or Best Buy, the price included free delivery, free installation, all the needed hoses and cords (free!), and free haul away of my old units. Saved close to $300 pretty easily.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 20, 2020 1:10 pm The one thing they don't see at Costco in Canada is alcohol. Come to think of it, I don't think they sell travel either.

Down in the states, it depends on where you live. In Virginia, you can buy beer and wine. In DC, you can even buy hard liquor!

Feels like a frozen pizza kinda day. So shall it be.

Awwww how cute. Ive been hearing a squeeee squeeee peep peeeping from my window by the bed. Theres an ac unit in it. I went out thinking it may be a baby squirrel that needs help but its a tiny little bird's nest. Mama flew off...tiny little blur of a bird....but the nest has 3 or so tiny tiny babies. they have their eyes barely open and its them making the noise. So sweet. I left it all alone. I heard mama return just now and them peeeping. Little angels. Nature is awesome.

We’ve been getting earthquake aftershocks all day. Not enough to send us running for cover, but definitely enough that we feel it. Just had a 4.0 hit a few minutes ago, which is at least the third one today.

My already frazzled nerves are having a hell of a time dealing with this added fuckery on top of the plague.

Pro Homeowner Tip: If you smells gas, call your plumber, not the gas company. Friday afternoon my wife said she smelled gas after the HVAC guy came to add coolant to our system that has been leaking for years (only $8k to replace it!). I didn't smell up, but that's not a shock as I barely smell anything with my allergies. She called the gas company, they used their sniffer and said yup, has leak, turned off our gas, told us to call a plumber and left. This was at 4pm on Friday. It was 39 degrees overnight. Luckily our house is really well insulated and it only got down to around 60 inside.

Saturday we got the plumber out and he only saw leakage at like 35+ psi, which is not the kind of pressure you see coming into the system so not really a problem. City offices are closed/emergency only but I guess not being able to heat our home, cook our food or heat our water counts so the plumber is working on a permit to reseal a few connections to satisfy the gas company and maybe, just maybe I will be able to take a hot shower by end of day today.

Basically we are going to be about $1k out of pocket because my wife has a sensitive nose. Better safe than sorry, I guess?