Totaly random tips and tricks.

The cookie was a solid 7 out of 10 on the chocolate-chip-cookie goodness scale.

Only a select few know about this scale. It is highly classified and should only be mentioned in whispers with great reverence.

There is also a Pizza Goodness Scale. But that is usually directly proportional to the reading on the current Beer-O-meter.

If you are at a concert. When the band leaves the stage don't leave your seat.

Unless, before leaving they say, we'll be back in XX amount of minutes.

If they say that. Feel free to get a beer, go for a smoke, or grab a hotdog.

If they don't say that. stay in your seat.... Unless the house lights come on, the band is likely coming back out..

I went to see ZZ-TOP Saturday night.. (Great Show BTW until the encore but not ZZ TOP's fault).

ZZ-TOP left the stage, (probably to smoke a joint). 3 minutes later they came back to the stage..

Unfortunately, a huge amount of people headed for the exit thinking the show was over....

When ZZ TOP came back to the stage everyone stopped in the Isle-ways and stood there. Instead of attempting to return to their seats.. It would have been a clusterberkeley if something major happened with people everywhere except their seats. It also would have been a clusterberkeley if everyone who thought the concert was over tried to return to their seats...

ZZ TOP. Played one short song then left the stage for the night. (probably told to wrap it up by venue management).

I was pissed, the majority of fans that were not morons, were pissed... Also I'm sure ZZ TOP was pissed... They smoked a joint and didn't get to perform after refreshing their buzz...

Rufledt wrote: I put that book in there, and after a couple minutes the popcorn wasn't popping at all. I opened it up, the popcorn was cold, and the book was hot enough that when I touched it, some of the plastic-y cover stuck to my fingers like green, non flaming napalm.

You had a really crappy microwave, then. All of the energy was focused on the bottom of the unit.

I knew someone who mapped out a microwave's focal points with houseflies. Install houseflies in microwave, turn on. The flies crawl around until they get to a hot spot and then fall dead.

Out of wire nuts? Cant find the soldering gun to make a rat tail work well enough? Western Union splice it. Will work with stranded wire in a pinch of you twist it first. NASA considers it acceptable to use if you also solder it, so you know its good. This type of splice is stronger than the wire.

Knurled wrote:

Rufledt wrote: I put that book in there, and after a couple minutes the popcorn wasn't popping at all. I opened it up, the popcorn was cold, and the book was hot enough that when I touched it, some of the plastic-y cover stuck to my fingers like green, non flaming napalm.

You had a really crappy microwave, then. All of the energy was focused on the bottom of the unit. I knew someone who mapped out a microwave's focal points with houseflies. Install houseflies in microwave, turn on. The flies crawl around until they get to a hot spot and then fall dead.

Yeah it was the dorm building microwave. It was about as hi quality as the rusty bathroom stall dividers, and the radiators that somehow would blow cold air into my room.

On that note, here's another college dorm tip- radiators shouldn't blow cold air. In fact, they shouldn't blow anything. If they do, you probably have a hole in the wall where the steam pipe comes in. Plugging that will help you not freeze to death, especially when living in a concrete building in Wisconsin in February.

When adjusting your lathe's 4 jaw chuck use two chuck keys opposite each other and a dial indicator to keep from going insane going back and forth and back and forth one meelion times to center the work.

Set the indicator on the high spot, turn both keys until half the difference from lowest to highest, rotate, repeat.

disclaimer I just worked this out for myself on Sunday to counter a blind rage that was beginning to overtake my sanity. Set up time was taking an eternity. I'm sure an actual machinist has some clever way to do this without having to grind 8mm key stock into a makeshift 2nd chuck key ;).

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: When adjusting your lathe's 4 jaw chuck use two chuck keys opposite each other and a dial indicator to keep from going insane going back and forth and back and forth one meelion times to center the work.

There is a reason I have never mounted my 4 jaw chuck. The three jaw is just so easy to use.

Well that and that I just remembered I had a 4 jaw after looking into the compartment for the first time in 6 years.

ditchdigger wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: When adjusting your lathe's 4 jaw chuck use two chuck keys opposite each other and a dial indicator to keep from going insane going back and forth and back and forth one meelion times to center the work.

There is a reason I have never mounted my 4 jaw chuck. The three jaw is just so easy to use. Well that and that I just remembered I had a 4 jaw after looking into the compartment for the first time in 6 years.

Well, in my case... my 3 jaw does not open wide enough to swallow a 3" round stock so in order to drill the holes for the live/dead centers I had to put the "big chuck" on.

fasted58 wrote: Knead Vaseline into the lint, it adds fuel and extends the burn. Stores the same as just lint in small plastic containers like film canisters or baggies.

Throw a magnetized sewing needle in the film canister too. BAM! Instant compass.

Inspired by the Zombie Canoe IKEA thread, which will likely be on the first page for the next 3 months!!!!

I have assembled and disassembled my fair share of IKEA products.

The Assembly is usually ok, the instructions generally are good (sometimes not).

However disassembling is often difficult (since the instructions have long since been tossed).. I have used You Tube to assist many times..

Go to You Tube. Search the Model you are trying to assemble, or disassemble. There is likely a video that suits your needs. Many Posted by IKEA. If disassembling, go to the end and watch backward in segments..

Also, listen for satanic messages. IKEA loves to hide satanic messages when watching their videos backward!!! (sarcasm please don't sue me!!)

Finally. If you buy from IKEA. Write the name of the product in a inconspicuous place. This will help when it comes time to look up dis-assembly instructions.

You can use the highest CCA (300 amps IIRC) lawn mower battery meijer will sell you (30 some odd bucks) at 10pm on a thursday in a beater civic (due to budget constraints for a proper battery) if you move the ground cable from the shock tower to one of the fuse box bolts(pos/neg is flipped, there's plenty of slack in the pos cable), flatten the little bolt holding tabs on the ends of the sheetmetal terminals and bolt the flat section straight to the mower battery tabs using stock bolts. Hold down with 3 50lb zip ties made into a chain looped though the hold down holes. Cranks up strong.

Raking leaves, bagging them and disposing of them?? That is so 1983.. And a lot of extra work.. As a kid I always wondered why my parents did this... Why didn't they just run them over with the lawnmower??

As a Homeowner.. That is what I do. When cutting the grass. I run that E36 M3 over... I have a rake, but only use it to move leaves to a place where my mower can easily mow them.. I have never had any problems with my lawn, or mower at all.

Yes, It takes a few extra minutes mowing the lawn.. But it takes way less time than raking and bagging leaves.. Added bonus; A week later, when more leaves fall run them over with the mower again..

More lawn care tips.. If you fish, and use worms.. When you come home from fishing. Dump excess worms on your lawn In the shade .. Worms are one of the best things you can have under your lawn.. Let's face it you wife will be pissed if she finds a container of worms in the fridge. Might as well put them to work for you improving you soil, instead of pissing off your wife..

I have a yard vac.

I watch people in my neighbourhood rake leaves, bag them, pay to get rid of them and then buy mulch for the garden to keep the frost from killing the plants.

Then in the spring, they get rid of the mulch and buy compost for the garden.

I vacuum and mulch my leaves, dump the mulch on the garden for the winter.

Next spring I suck it up and pour it into the composter. Last years compost goes in the veggie garden.

I like my way better.

In reply to Trans_Maro:

That what I do! Great minds think alike! Or is it schizophrenic minds? No no, definitely great minds... yeah, great.

One I just came up with- When you need soemthing to quickly brush snow off your full size van, use one of these:

I got the whole windshield in one swipe, the hood in another, and the whole roof in 20 seconds. It won't work for ice, but for snow it's perfect, and I'm sure you guys have them.

New trim, flooring, wallpaper, paint.. Lay a even bead of silicone along the seams to hide any uneven transitions from one to the other. Makes a E36 M3ty job look good!!

Spoolpigeon wrote: Always banana to mouth, never mouth to banana.

LOL

In a pinch.. You can recharge more than one deep cycle battery with one charger at the same time..

I have done it with no adverse results.

To do it; you connect jumper cables to the appropriate terminals of the batteries (Positive to Positive, Negative to Negative, as if you were boosting a car). Then hook the charger to one (only one) of the batteries..

The charger treats it as one real big 12 volt battery.

I recently bought a electric Golf Cart for use at the cottage...

When working on the battery bank; Buy a few rubber mats to cover the batteries you aren't connecting/disconnecting..

I haven't learned this the hard way.. (at least not yet). I just don't want to drop a ratchet or wrench between terminal posts... I learned this from a Golf Cart Message-board (Yes they exist). There are Lots of them!!

drsmooth wrote: I just don't want to drop a ratchet or wrench between terminal posts...

That's how John "Plasma boy" Wayland (a big name in electric drag racing) got his nickname
http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/

drsmooth wrote: In reply to novaderrik: The rubber made tote cost way less than a litter box from a pet store, and it it is at least 3x larger. Which is important if you have several cats, or a plus sized cat. If you only have one cat. It is a bonus, since it won't have to be cleaned every day!

LOL at plus sized cat! Yeah, we have one of those.

Unless you are recording a motion picture; There is never a Female member of the human species on the other side of a glory-hole!!!

I have used this many times.. If you need to use a symbol not on your keyboard such as a ¢ sign. You can do it with your keyboard, but will likely have to look up how to do it.. If you have to look up how to make the symbol on the keyboard, you might as well look up the symbol itself.

Use your favorite search engine type in "cent symbol", then copy and paste the symbol. Or copy and paste the symbol from here..

If it is a symbol over top of a letter. For instance MOTÖRHEAD... Or Mötley Crüe.

Look up the name MOTÖRHEAD, or Mötley Crüe. Without the Umalats. Then copy and paste the whole name or just the letter you need with the Umalat over it.

Or, if the symbol isn't part of one of the two greatest musical groups in the history of the worlds names..

Search "make accent marks on computer". Then sift thru the crap, until you are able to copy and paste what you want.

If you blow your nose, but have no mirror available to check for "remnants". Turn the video on your cellphone. Record your nose from different angles. Review the video...

Also, according to a stripper.. Women can also use it to check makeup when it is raining.