joshfrink's Profile

A word of caution that hasn't been said yet: In Texas (and I imagine other states) labware is considered a controlled substance. Basically it's illegal to own for personal use (whether that is as a kitchen measuring cup, pencil holder, or another non-illicit use). There is a form to fill out with the Department of Public Safety, essentially saying "I own this and I'm not a criminal".

Make sure you get it painted by a professional. The "DIY" paints chip after a year or two and the stains turn black. My dad made a pretty good living removing those paints and stains. And make sure the professional is a real professional, not a fly-by-night "professional".

IKEA has a sharpener that works really well (though I haven't had is long enough to test the edge's durability). It was $7, and I sharpened all my knives and my mom's knives in about 15 minutes.

I love the painting of Abe Lincoln with a smirk and a blue bow tie. At least that's what it looks like to me. I'd love to know where it came from!

This article says Gypsum (what makes up standard sheetrock) is used to loosen heavy clay soil, but it doesn't say if it's the same form of gypsum used. http://www.ehow.com/list_5980747_gypsum-dangers.html

Gypsum is also used in brewing as a water additive for really soft water (1/4 tsp per gallon according to the Beer Craft book). Something about putting sheetrock in my water makes me cringe and this small of an amount won't make a dent in the sheetrock you'd have after a rennovation.

According to the people at Batteries Plus, alkaline batteries do not need to be recycled. In fact, they don't take them. I brought some in and the guy just gave me a confused look.

This is something I learned from my father as well. It's incredibly useful if you're working on a roof or moving cords a lot. Sometimes it's more dangerous to lose power to a power tool than to use the tool itself. The overhand knot method/picture in the Lifehacker article is much simpler and works perfectly/

When I was little we got free bacon samples at a grocery store. We asked how they made it so well and she said "we resuse the old bacon grease".

A few weeks later, I wanted to make bacon. Remembering what she said, I decided vegetable oil was a suitable substitute for bacon grease. (Oil, grease, what's the difference to a 12 year old?) So I put vegetable oil in a pan, and let it heat up. Plopped the bacon into the hot oil and it caught fire immediately with 2 foot flames. Somehow, scared out of my mind, I found a lid and covered it. Disaster averted

We had somehting similar down here in Texas. They were big mice (or maybe everything's just bigger in Texas) and smart too. We tried everything to get rid of them. Kill traps, live traps, sticky traps, oils, repellents, CO2 powered hand guns, our dog would even stay up all night and listen/hunt for them but we still had mice. We had to re insulate and sheetrock walls because of them. Finally after I think 2 years my dad gave up and tossed poison in the attic. A week later, no mice. The whole process was really inhumane, but they've found your home to be a warm place out of the elements and they're not going to just leave.

A lot of the versions break the cereal like a lot of people have said. The hotel incarnation is especially bad. It's more like a paddle-wheel.

If I got one as a gift, and it was something more akin to the coffee bean dispensers at the grocery store then I would definitely use it. However, it's not something I would by for myself as my current method works just fine.