Useless Conversation

[Yegolev]

Retractable.

Sharpie.

[Nonentity]

Retractable.

Sharpie.

YES I KNOW I HAVE SEEN THOSE.

But - eventually, any Sharpie will use its tip if you use it long enough. Or you get so into what you're doing you SMOOSH it.

Then my OCD over keeping things in pristine condition for as long as possible will kick in and I freak out. 3 seconds later, I'm in the 'It's broken - oh well' mode, and all is right in the world.

It's like what happened with my first-gen Wii strap with Wii Bowling, and my stupid whore of an ex-roommate. She was throwing all the weight on the wrist strap, and flailing it around like a morning star. Of course, it breaks and flies into a pile of Guitar Hero controllers. I flex, relax, and all is well.

However, she then had the audacity to get all pissed off at me when I told her to use the same Wii remote with the broken wrist strap. Well, duh, you stupid bitch. STOP BREAKING MY SHIT AND USING IT IMPROPERLY. ROAR.

[voodoolily]

I am very sad and frustrated. Yesterday morning I smelled something funny in the kitchen, like the smell of dead electricity. That was the smell of our fridge dying. Our 3-year old fridge. They can't fix it until tomorrow. I have ten pounds of week-old tuna that is thawing and must be eaten in mere days. Unopened bags of gyoza, ruined. Gallons of fumet and crawfish stock, all thawed for the paella and cioppino that I cannot possibly make and eat in 3 days. A gallon-sized freezer bag of grilled zucchini from the garden, now garbage. I just composted 6.5 qts of veg that is thawed and can't be eaten in time, including an unopened $6 bag of blueberries.

I wish that the freezer weren't my primary food preservation device, but now we're fucked and throwing away delicious homemade food that was supposed to last me until at least October. 

[Furiously]

That's what Wayabvpar's fridge is for.

[schild]

Funny, I was going to offer to fly up there and eat it all. Rapture.

[cmlancas]

I am very sad and frustrated. Yesterday morning I smelled something funny in the kitchen, like the smell of dead electricity. That was the smell of our fridge dying. Our 3-year old fridge. They can't fix it until tomorrow. I have ten pounds of week-old tuna that is thawing and must be eaten in mere days. Unopened bags of gyoza, ruined. Gallons of fumet and crawfish stock, all thawed for the paella and cioppino that I cannot possibly make and eat in 3 days. A gallon-sized freezer bag of grilled zucchini from the garden, now garbage. I just composted 6.5 qts of veg that is thawed and can't be eaten in time, including an unopened $6 bag of blueberries.

I wish that the freezer weren't my primary food preservation device, but now we're fucked and throwing away delicious homemade food that was supposed to last me until at least October. 

Why don't you cook it and freeze it? It extends the shelf-life by months. A shitload of work, for sure, but at least you aren't losing food.


Edit: Assuming that everything stays good until they can come fix your fridge so you can pop it in your freezer after you cook it.

[Murgos]

Find sporting goods store.  Buy HUGE marine cooler.  Buy ice.

Cost?  100 bucks and you have a HUGE ice chest for holding beer for parties or tail gating.  You may have to buy more ice for 10-20 bucks tomorrow also.

[voodoolily]

Why don't you cook it and freeze it? It extends the shelf-life by months. A shitload of work, for sure, but at least you aren't losing food.


Edit: Assuming that everything stays good until they can come fix your fridge so you can pop it in your freezer after you cook it.

I picked up a $75 chest freezer off Craig's List and got it home somehow, but it was too big and heavy to get into the basement and is sitting in the driveway plugged into an extension cord. I could've spent all night cooking (it seriously had crossed my mind!) to stick into the new freezer, but after hauling that beast around and dealing with all the food it was really the last thing I wanted to do. We set the freezer to the lowest setting assuming it wouldn't reach freezing temps, but it did and now our milk and eggs are frozen! And all of the fish I thought I could save had partially thawed and is now refrozen - freezer burn ftl. 

[cmlancas]

I work primarily with seafood at my job, so I get these complaints all the time. People are idiots and refreeze stuff that is clearly marked when thawed: PREVIOUSLY FROZEN and I tell them that freezerburnt stuff really isn't so bad as long as you mask it with heavy flavor. Your pan-seared delicious tuna of amazing probably won't be as good anymore, but at least you didn't lose anything.

From what I've gathered on the boards, you're a pretty good chef, so I'm sure more suggestions for you would just be preaching to the choir.

[WayAbvPar]

That's what Wayabvpar's fridge is for.

Heh. I can't believe we actually had room- our freezer is TINY. We really need a separate one.

[Sky]

We set the freezer to the lowest setting assuming it wouldn't reach freezing temps, but it did and now our milk and eggs are frozen!

I assume you mean fridge? I keep my fridge so I have a small area just at freezing. Inexplicably, the top shelf. Well, by way of explification, I guess it's due to the fan blowing directly over that area. I call it the 'beer spot'. But I also toss things in there for keeping super cold, like fresh cuts of meat. Next to that, at about 34-35 I keep dairy stuff, it keeps really well there.

Alton Brown recommending multiple thermometers in the kitchen ftw. I bought up four nice ones last time I was out by the CIA (lots of good supply stores). Fridge, oven, quick read, baking/timer/cooling electric one with probe.

[Merusk]

3 year old freezer crapping out.. That sucks.  I've seen the pics of your place, it's not like you're mess so the coils were coated in dust.  Hell you seem like the type who actually pulls it away from the wall to clean it every 6 months like you're supposed to.

Sorry 'bout all that food, too.   

Sky - I thought she meant the chest freezer they bought on Craig's List

[Sauced]

And the fucking repair man called in sick!  Awesome.

[schild]

No one noticed my Blondie joke :( :( :(

[Lantyssa]

No one noticed my Blondie joke :( :( :(

I did, but you pointed it out before I could read it and think of something witty to say.

[voodoolily]

When you said Rapture I thought it was some Christ joke. You should come over and let me make you some shiru maguro and soba.

We ate 4 of our thawed corndogs for dinner tonight (don't you love my priorities: "we have corndogs thawing!! Fuck the tuna - must save corndogs!!!1!") and baby broccoli that was fresh, then partially frozen, then cooked with sea salt and lemon. I should just invite some bums over and fix them all the free awesome they can eat.

[Sky]

I should just invite some bums over and fix them all the free awesome they can eat.

Another f13 get-together! ;)

[Ironwood]

Why in the name of Hell put a Port Forwarding tab on there, if it doesn't actually work ?

Fuck Netgear.

In the Ass.

[Signe]

SSH!!!  Quiet you!

[Nonentity]

Why in the name of Hell put a Port Forwarding tab on there, if it doesn't actually work ?

Fuck Netgear.

In the Ass.

I have been a happy Linksys router man for a long time.

SSH!!!  Quiet you!

I don't know why, but I had this overwheming urge to say 'NO U, EAT MY ASSHOLE' in all caps to this.

But I didn't. That's restraint!

[Signe]

I was making a port forwarding SSH Tunnel joke and no one got it.  I know how Schildy feels now.   

[Yegolev]

I was making a port forwarding SSH Tunnel joke and no one got it.  I know how Schildy feels now.   

Subtle.  I like it.

I can easily eat four corn dogs in one sitting.  I should start a Corn Dog Disposal company.

[Furiously]

Can you do it 4 days in a row though?

[Yegolev]

If you are asking 'can I eat four corn dogs a day for four days', then yes.  If you are keeping me from other food, I'll have to go up to eight per day.

[Nonentity]

If you are asking 'can I eat four corn dogs a day for four days', then yes.  If you are keeping me from other food, I'll have to go up to eight per day.

Mmm, corn dog.

Hot dog on a stick.

AWESOME HATS.

The cheese on a stick is great too, but my lactose intolerant body must fight the urge to have gas and acidic burps for the rest of the day if I do that.

[Furiously]

They do make pills so you don't feel like you are about to explode you know?

[Nonentity]

They do make pills so you don't feel like you are about to explode you know?

Wait, what? They make pills for lactose intolerant people SO I CAN EAT CHEESE?!

PLEASE INQUIRE WITHIN I AM INQUIRING WITHIN

[Furiously]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactobacillus_acidophilus

I like these...

[cmlancas]

If you suffer from canker sores, these things are a godsend.

[Nonentity]

Nice. Good thing I am in walking distance of 'The Vitamin Store' and a whole foods.

[Evildrider]

If you are asking 'can I eat four corn dogs a day for four days', then yes.  If you are keeping me from other food, I'll have to go up to eight per day.

Mmm, corn dog.

Hot dog on a stick.

AWESOME HATS.

The cheese on a stick is great too, but my lactose intolerant body must fight the urge to have gas and acidic burps for the rest of the day if I do that.

They have awesome cherry lemonade too.   

[Signe]

Evel Dick PWNS Big Brother.

[voodoolily]

Woo, slow day on f13!  I wanted to update everyone on our kitchen drama by sharing the following information (which is going on my blog):

So our kitchen crisis continues. The fridge is still dead, the part (a fuse) is on order and maybe we'll be civilized again by NEXT FUCKING TUESDAY. Wednesday night while trying to clear shit out for the fridge guy I managed to stop up the garbage disposal with a jar of old pickles and like 2 cups' worth of cooked tuna. I poured a half a can of Red Devil down the drain (that's 100% sodium hydroxide powder) and waited an hour. Still nothing. Go to the store for some Liquid Plumr Caustic Extreme and when we returned both sinks were completely full of vile, hot half-digested tuna-pickle water (I, being a genius, ran the dishwasher while we ran to the store and it filled the sinks). So I open the under-sink cupboard and tap the pipes a little, and WHOOSH they explode drano-tuna-pickle water all over me and the kitchen. I am wearing flip-flops and shorts and hafta sprint to the bathroom for a hazmat-type shower. Every towel in the house ("except our nice ones!!" I scream at the husband) is on the kitchen floor and I am furiously mopping, sobbing and cursing at the top of my lungs until midnight.

Turns out the pipes had been jury-rigged with $3 pvc pipes by the guy who sold us the house, and the inspector had missed it. We had to have the entire under-sink plumbing redone (at a cost of ~$600), and the clog still has not been fixed. The plumber never made the service call for a dude with a snake to come unplug it (I found out this morning when I called to see where the fuck he was already) so we can't even use our sink until tomorrow. I had to wash dishes in the bathtub. May as well have been the fucking Ganges.

So since I had apparently arbitrarily taken the day off work for the plumber who never showed, I had time to completely disassemble the fridge's interior, take everything out back and hose it all down and let it air out in the sun. I scrubbed out the fridge with lavender-scented cleaning product to get the rotten shrimp paste smell out and put a couple of bundles of rosemary and some boxes of baking soda in there.

Then I scrubbed the dried-on tuna-pickle puke out of the sinks (without being able to turn on the water!), swabbed down the counters and swept and mopped the floors and so the kitchen at least looks back to normal. The fridge is still smells a wee bit past-due but at least it doesn't smell like the inside of a coffin.

[Merusk]

Turns out the pipes had been jury-rigged with $3 pvc pipes by the guy who sold us the house, and the inspector had missed it. We had to have the entire under-sink plumbing redone (at a cost of ~$600), and the clog still has not been fixed. The plumber never made the service call for a dude with a snake to come unplug it (I found out this morning when I called to see where the fuck he was already) so we can't even use our sink until tomorrow.

Fuck that noise.  You can snake it yourself and redo the pipes. It's vile, yes, but it's a shit load cheaper.  If you spent $200 on buying a snake (which every homeowner should have anyway, so you can give small clogs a shot before deciding "fuck it's too deep, NOW I have to call a plumber.") plus parts AND a book to teach you how to properly prime and fit the pipes I'd be surprised.

[Selby]

Plumbing is one of those things I completely suck at.  I bought a snake and snaked the shit out of our bathroom sink as it wasn't draining very fast and I had to have emptied all 50' of it in there with no clog and the thing STILL was slow.  Two months later I get fed up and was a phone call away from a plumber when I take the stopper out and decide to use an old toothbrush to see if the clog was up THERE.  Yup.  12" of hair and dental wax came out.  The sink runs so much better now.

I did the water softener thing after our old one started leaking and was FURIOUS at the shortcuts the guy who installed the existing one took when it came to shutoff valves and tapping in for drains.  I had to spend the better part of the day re-plumbing the under sink area and it runs great too.  And of course plumbers out here never bother to show up until 6:30 at night and stay until 10:00PM and blow circuit breakers in my house multiple times running their electric snake...  I hate plumbing problems.