chemhokie
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821
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Member since:
January 15, 2019
Last post:
04/25/2022 05:57 PM ET
Posting History (453)
The Lounge
2 w ago
In Oslo now and only realized after it started why I kept seeing so many
People heading for the palace with soccer shirts and flags. It would have been fun to go see but the crowd was huge.
The Lounge
2 mo ago
The Lounge
2 mo ago
Great info. I will be sticking with the carry on restrictions
Flexibility on the backpack would be helpful
The Lounge
2 mo ago
Baggage question for you frequent European travelers
I have a flight on Lufthansa it states that the personal item and carry on sizes are 40*30*15cm and 55*40*23cm, respectively. I am planning to get a travel backpack and wheeled carry on for this trip.
The question. How strict are they on the personal item size? It will be a soft sided backpack, so as long as it is close and I can squish it under the seat will it matter if it a little over.
Any specific luggage recommendations are welcome as well.
Thanks!
The Lounge
2 mo ago
Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times,
good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.
Or if you prefer -
Hard times create nicotine men. Nicotine men create good times. Good times create weed guys. Weed guys create hard times.
** Edited by chemhokie at 5/27/2026, 10:04:05 PM
The Lounge
2 mo ago
Watched it on a flight. Bawling my eyes out at the end when the flight
attendant came to ask if I needed anything.
The Lounge
2 mo ago
Looks like the expansion tank will be required, but for the 40 gal size,
the direct vent is not. Tankless would solve the expansion tank, but likely require direct vent.
The Lounge
2 mo ago
How much for new water heater installed?
My daughter is going to replace her gas water heater and I am wandering what sort of ballpark for prices she should expect. She will be purchasing a 40 gallon.
The Lounge
3 mo ago
Apparently we have been carpet bombing Mexico and Central America with...
Sterile male flies for decades to prevent their return to the US.
There are a lot of insect baddies that we got rid of when regs were looser such as malaria mosquitoes with DDT. If they come back, it may be much harder to get rid of them.
The Lounge
3 mo ago
I asked it to give me the longest word possible with a given set of letters
Oh boy was that interesting. I had to repeatedly correct it, and then told it here are four words longer than the non-word it suggested. After several rounds of convincing it that it was indeed possible to spell them with the given list, it finally patted itself on the back and said these four are the longest possible.
The Lounge
4 mo ago
The Lounge
4 mo ago
The Lounge
4 mo ago
(A)I can't believe we let people get away with speaking in accents!
Seriously, I am constantly coming across some amazing news story or video, and think wow! Then I realize, its not real... Makes me sad. Are we so short on idiots that we have to generate AI content?
The Lounge
4 mo ago
Spent a week in Anchorage a few years ago. We went there in early May
Not everything was open, but it should be when you are there, including the bears! From Anchorage, we went drive near McKinley (park was still closed) and got great photos. It was completely visible, which is apparently pretty rare. We stopped at several places along the way for some short hikes and also went to Talkeetna. We also took a trip down to Seward, and a glacier that was along the way. Eat as much seafood as you can, especially the halibut.
It was a great trip. But everything I saw recommended bear spray for hikes later in the year. We also saw a lot of moose.
Pics - McKinley, Seward, and some random park south of Anchorage.
** Edited by chemhokie at 3/9/2026, 8:48:55 PM
The Lounge
7 mo ago
The original Top Gear guys where always amazed the we could get less power
out of a bigger engine compared to European cars.
They were obviously biased, but unfortunately I can't say they were wrong.
The Lounge
8 mo ago
Sounds like me. I've been off all week, but actually worked every day.
I work nights, weekends, holidays, and vacations days... I need help. Unfortunately, I don't have the budget to hire anyone else. I think I am on track to lose about 10 days of vacation at the end of the year.
The Lounge
8 mo ago
I'm not a fan of Crocs or decorating them, but I'd like to see these
I'm not sure how they attach, but they might be enough to convince me to get some Crocs..
** Edited by chemhokie at 11/15/2025, 11:26:36 AM
The Lounge
8 mo ago
Saint Louis USPS may be the worst.
Ordered prescription refill, saw it shipped (3rd party shipper) from TX to STL in one day and was received by USPS. A week later, after no change, I reported it missing along with the tracking info that said it was at the STL USPS. They told me it was the 3rd party shipper's fault and I would need to reorder. That same day it came to life and was delivered in a few days.
The Lounge
9 mo ago
My most frequent issue is all or most of the page is blank
It then locks up my browser when I try to go back.
The Lounge
9 mo ago
I only ever use my phone, but it seems to work...
Certainly miss the morning funnies and will be glad to have them back.
The Lounge
9 mo ago
The Lounge
9 mo ago
Hokie travelers, any of you taken a Norway train vacation?
Wife and I are looking at taking a "Norway in a nutshell" rail vacation this summer. Some questions we have:
Do we book a guided trip, scheduled self guided, or just show up and make our own travel arrangements on the fly?
How early do we need to book?
Must do/see?
The Lounge
11 mo ago
The Lounge
11 mo ago
The Lounge
1 y ago
The Lounge
1 y ago
There was a local news story of the drivers having some fun with the cars.
Before delivery they were racing, donuts, etc. especially if it was more of a performance vehicle.
For a truck, I would probably give it a good inspection before accepting delivery.
The Lounge
1 y ago
10/15, said I would be fine. Agree some of those questions are iffy
Onions and garlic do not have jagged leaves
The Lounge
1 y ago
I watched both when they originally aired, no reruns
I must have been in prime mental capacity at the time as I have remarkable recall for the Seinfeld episodes. However, I only have a vague memory of a few of the Ray episodes.
All of which makes me wish I could reformat to reclaim wasted memory...the amount of trash I have in storage is remarkable!
The Lounge
1 y ago
The Lounge
1 y ago
NYT recipe?
I have looked at several of those. They often are one of the top Google results. Without fail they are 5* with thousands of reviews. Everyone loves it, no bad reviews, yet I did not like it... This has led me to believe that the NYT recipes have fake star ratings and reviews.
And just to clarify, it is not about me not liking the recipe, it is that no one else disliked it.
** Edited by chemhokie at 5/5/2025, 3:16:41 PM
The Lounge
1 y ago
If you get a bunch all at once you can make hot sauce, just cut them with a
Mild pepper or some other fruit/veg. Recipes abound.
Or dehydrate them (I use my oven on the lowest setting) and turn them into chili powder. All the capsaicin fumes makes for an interesting experience.
The Lounge
1 y ago
The Lounge
1 y ago
Everytime I see one of these articles, I think...
Great, our heroic stone age ancestors spent all that time fighting to eliminate an existential threat to our existence, and now we bring it all back.
Sounds like the plot for a series of really great B-movies!
The Lounge
1 y ago
Found a good use for Chatgpt
A hi-ya erupts,
stomach churns, it spills its woe,
no joy in this flow.
The Lounge
1 y ago
The Lounge
1 y ago
Correct, not a telescope. It is for wildlife, range target đ¯ etc
I also upgraded to a heavy duty Bushnell tripod.
The Lounge
1 y ago
Spotting scope setup
@EDGEMAN After looking at dozens of digital eyepieces for my spotting scope, I finally gave up and purchased a new phone adapter. Seems to work really well, and the little fob for taking photos without touching your phone even works.
** Edited by chemhokie at 2/14/2025, 8:52:24 PM
The Lounge
1 y ago
The Lounge
1 y ago
The Lounge
1 y ago
The holder is almost impossible to get on straight
There are lots of electronic ones that look just fine, but they all require an app made by no name Chinese company. No thanks.
The Lounge
1 y ago
Wifi eye piece recommendations needed
I would like to by a wifi eye piece that I can attach to my spotting scope to take pictures while bird watching. I have a phone adapter thing that holds a phone to the eye piece to take photos with, but it is so clunky that I am rarely able to get a clear photo with it.
Any suggestions? The Amazon has dozens that all appear to be the same Chinese make with different names and useless reviews.
The Lounge
1 y ago
Yes. I started looking for a new job a week after starting.
There were numerous issues right off the bat, including no budget to build out what the hired me for.
At about 6 months after several rounds of telling the CEO that the project was not working (his concept was flawed), I was told my salary was going to be cut 28%. Two days later I emailed my resignation letter and walked out.
He subsequently fired the other person on the project and tried to get me to come back. Ha!
Took 3 months to find my next job, but it definitely worked out. This will likely be my last job unless my current employer realizes how incompetent I am!
The Lounge
1 y ago
Full disclosure, my dad retired from USPS and our regular carrier is great
But.
I remember my dad complaining about Cliff Claven. He might be above average now.
The Lounge
1 y ago
How bad is the USPS?
Prescriptions ordered beginning of the year. Shipped from San Antonio to St Louis by third party shipper in one day. The tracking number indicates it was received and scanned by the USPS here in town. Stayed there a week with no additional scans. I submitted an inquiry with the tracking number and next day received a reply that it was resolved, because it wasn't scanned, they never received the package. What? I double check the tracking number, definitely says received at USPS, and wait what's this, also that it just moved to the distribution center. A week after that, I finally received it.
This from a 250 year old org that was effectively founded as a government mandated monopoly. But so bad of late that they have spawned two approx 100 billion dollar companies, and compelled a "catalog" company to take up shipping their own packages.
** Edited by chemhokie at 1/23/2025, 7:58:25 PM
** Edited by chemhokie at 1/23/2025, 8:00:01 PM
The Lounge
1 y ago
Hard to tell from that pic, but looks like the street was a firebreak
The left side of the pic looks undamaged, maybe the houses on the right side benefited? But otherwise echo the new construction comments below.