UBlink wrote:You think you've aged? Our daughter completed her FSA and managed to pop out 4 grandBlinks in her spare time. I'm tired just thinking about it.

The actuary society? That's a ton of work, study, and expense. When did she have "spare time"?

EDIT: Sparky!

UBlink wrote:You think you've aged? Our daughter completed her FSA and managed to pop out 4 grandBlinks in her spare time. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Quite an accomplishment.

polarbear22 wrote:Quite an accomplishment.

Smoker for around 200 bucks plus tax. That's the same brand as I just got, just newer and way fancier. It's even got a remote so you can monitor the time/temp and change them from inside. Cool!

bhodilee wrote:Smoker for around 200 bucks plus tax. That's the same brand as I just got, just newer and way fancier. It's even got a remote so you can monitor the time/temp and change them from inside. Cool!

Good thing I don't have room for that.

North316 wrote:Good thing I don't have room for that.

good price for a beginner smoker (which lets be real, very very few of us are going to invest the time/effort to get a big smoker). I put five pounds of ribs and 8 chicken breast halves in mine. It'll hold enough for a small BBQ. You just set the temp the time you want to cook and you walk away. Come back every 45 minutes for the first three hours to add wood chips and its that easy. I LOVE my smoker.

For me, the window is useless though. that thing is gonna get grimed up so fast it's sad and I'm just not gonna spend the necassary time to clean it EVERY TIME. Hell, I hate cleaning the racks!

I wonder if I could put my racks in the self cleaning oven and clean em both??

bhodilee wrote:
I wonder if I could put my racks in the self cleaning oven and clean em both??

I wonder. My self cleaning oven says to take out the oven racks when you're going to use the self clean feature. I've always thought that was pretty stupid.

chemvictim wrote:I'd like to take a short trip to do some wine tasting and also go see some trees. I'll be driving from Reno and I'm sure there must be some cool forests around, between here and wine, or nearby. Does anybody have suggestions? I've never been to Twisted Oak, so if I could head down that way and also go to a park and do some nature worship that would be good. Or anywhere within 4 hours or so, really.

From Reno I'd head to Tahoe then west on US-50. When you get to Placerville (about 2 hours from Reno) I believe there's a winery or two close by. Then you can turn south on Hwy 45 and get to Amador and all the goodness that is there, including Scott's tasting room and such. Going another hour or so south will get you to Hwy 4 and Vallecitos, where you can meet up with El Jefe and check out the local stuff. En route you've got tons of options for nature. US-50 is definitely the fastest way down there from Reno, but Hwy 4 is pretty. Camping near Bear Valley (if that's your kind of thing) can give you options for a nice day hike in the Sierra too. If you head out Hwy 4, I also recommend a stop at Brice Canyon winery. I liked their Cab Sauv enough to buy a bottle, and they were pretty nice there.

ddeuddeg wrote:I wonder. My self cleaning oven says to take out the oven racks when you're going to use the self clean feature. I've always thought that was pretty stupid.

Maybe the high temps for self-cleaning could damage them. But yeah, sounds stupid.

MarkDaSpark wrote:Maybe the high temps for self-cleaning could damage them. But yeah, sounds stupid.

that's what I always figured and why I haven't done that with the smoker racks. The old smoker racks fit int he sink so I'd just do hot water and soap and let it soak over night. These dont' fit in the sink so I gotta clean em by hand. I just use the grill brush, not terrible, but not real easy either. I want effortlessness! I wonder if I could like season them with vegetable oil?

Why are the people on Juvie so stupid? It really hurts my brain.

bhodilee wrote:Why are the people on Juvie so stupid? It really hurts my brain.

Which is why I usually avoid those forums.

MarkDaSpark wrote:Which is why I usually avoid those forums.

there was a time you could get good product info, now, maybe you still can, but it's too painful to find.

2012 Wine Spectator Video Contest Finalists.

For those who went on the rpm newbie tour, the amusing Gun-Bun Merlot video we watched in the tasting room is one of the finalists. You can vote for your favorite video.

ddeuddeg wrote:I wonder. My self cleaning oven says to take out the oven racks when you're going to use the self clean feature. I've always thought that was pretty stupid.

It's probably because of the heat the self-cleaning cycle generates. On that cycle, the oven will get to about 800 degrees. That could cause heat stress weakening on the fine joints on the metal racks. Considering steel building girders start to twist and deform at 1000 degrees, it's not a far stretch to think the heat will damage the racks.


Also, most gas grills don't normally get above 600 degrees, unless you have some serious burners

cjsiege wrote:It's probably because of the heat the self-cleaning cycle generates. On that cycle, the oven will get to about 800 degrees. That could cause heat stress weakening on the fine joints on the metal racks. Considering steel building girders start to twist and deform at 1000 degrees, it's not a far stretch to think the heat will damage the racks.


Also, most gas grills don't normally get above 600 degrees, unless you have some serious burners

Hi CJ! It was great meeting you and inshadows and hershelk and kkv on Friday. Hope you enjoy the wine.

Happily am back home. Pretty cool/weird to think I saw the US capitol and my state capitol all in one day, not to mention a packed clinic this afternoon.

ddeuddeg wrote:I wonder. My self cleaning oven says to take out the oven racks when you're going to use the self clean feature. I've always thought that was pretty stupid.

I didn't know about this. I hope I haven't damaged mine.

cjsiege wrote:It's probably because of the heat the self-cleaning cycle generates. On that cycle, the oven will get to about 800 degrees. That could cause heat stress weakening on the fine joints on the metal racks. Considering steel building girders start to twist and deform at 1000 degrees, it's not a far stretch to think the heat will damage the racks.

Yeah, when I worked in a steel plant, I used to know those details. I also learned the hard way that the difference between red-hot iron and gray iron that looks like ambient temperature is a couple of degrees Fahrenheit. An instantaneous bump against one of those not-quite-red-hot bars results in a nasty third-degree burn.

chemvictim wrote:I didn't know about this. I hope I haven't damaged mine.

I have always kept the racks in my oven when cleaning... actually the directions say to take them out after cleaning and rub some veggie oil on the side so the rack slide easily..

ddeuddeg wrote:Yeah, when I worked in a steel plant, I used to know those details. I also learned the hard way that the difference between red-hot iron and gray iron that looks like ambient temperature is a couple of degrees Fahrenheit. An instantaneous bump against one of those not-quite-red-hot bars results in a nasty third-degree burn.

ouch!!

bhodilee wrote:Smoker for around 200 bucks plus tax. That's the same brand as I just got, just newer and way fancier. It's even got a remote so you can monitor the time/temp and change them from inside. Cool!

Thanks. I was getting set to order, but mentioned it to my wife. She thinks we have no place to store a smoker. Something about the dumpster that was delivered yesterday, ya ya ya.

So keep posting these as you see them. Eventually, she gives up.

chipgreen wrote:2012 Wine Spectator Video Contest Finalists.

For those who went on the rpm newbie tour, the amusing Gun-Bun Merlot video we watched in the tasting room is one of the finalists. You can vote for your favorite video.

Did anyone check these out? I ended up voting for the musical one from Italy but they were all good. I think Napolean Wynomite would be my 2nd choice, followed by the GunBun video, then probably the lady from Argentina and the girls from Taiwan. I thought the "Awkward" video started out great but lost steam halfway through - still, a cool and funny concept though.

polarbear22 wrote:Thanks. I was getting set to order, but mentioned it to my wife. She thinks we have no place to store a smoker. Something about the dumpster that was delivered yesterday, ya ya ya.

So keep posting these as you see them. Eventually, she gives up.

it's the size of a dorm fridge and turns out delicious food. and if you get the 20 dollar cover you can just leave it outside.

bhodilee wrote:it's the size of a dorm fridge and turns out delicious food. and if you get the 20 dollar cover you can just leave it outside.

Love it. We can enable anything in the Pub.

Thanks for your comments about where to go wine tasting and tree hugging. I think I will head down to Twisted Oak and make a few stops along the way. Plans are still fuzzy, not sure how much I can cram into each day. Neilfindswine had recommended a few wineries around Placerville but naturally I've forgotten.

I'm sooo looking forward to getting away from work for a few days. I'm approaching extreme burnout, and at the worst possible time - the end of the fiscal year! Wheeeee!

Helping your kid do homework can be trying. Helping them when it's in German, and you don't speak any, can be an agonizing experience!

otolith wrote:Helping your kid do homework can be trying. Helping them when it's in German, and you don't speak any, can be an agonizing experience!

So again, why did you choose to send them to German school??

Good luck.

polarbear22 wrote:So again, why did you choose to send them to German school??

Good luck.

So I could learn it along the way? heh

Also, by 8th grade, my kids will be trilingual. Not too shabby.

otolith wrote:So I could learn it along the way? heh

Also, by 8th grade, my kids will be trilingual. Not too shabby.

I'm barely monolingual.

coynedj wrote:I'm barely monolingual.

I can barely speak English, used to be able to speak Spanish, but can speak doctor pretty well.

otolith wrote:So I could learn it along the way? heh

Also, by 8th grade, my kids will be trilingual. Not too shabby.

wow!! trilingual?!!


edit: I guess I am trilingual also... I speak English, mom and gym class.....


edit #2.... really? gym class is filtered?

otolith wrote:So I could learn it along the way? heh

Also, by 8th grade, my kids will be trilingual. Not too shabby.

They'll be able to smart off in multiple ways.

Plans changed slightly...had planned on staying 2 nights but now limited to 1. We're going to drive down to Twisted Oak on Saturday and enjoy the Spaniard dinner. If we get an early enough start we might visit a winery or two along the way. Then on Sunday I think we'll visit Calaveras Big Trees SP and any others we might encounter along the way! Super excited! This weekend is my "birthday weekend," as I like to say. 35 and counting! My dear husband is very nice about enduring my birthday weekends, but I think he'll enjoy this too.

chemvictim wrote:Plans changed slightly...had planned on staying 2 nights but now limited to 1. We're going to drive down to Twisted Oak on Saturday and enjoy the Spaniard dinner. If we get an early enough start we might visit a winery or two along the way. Then on Sunday I think we'll visit Calaveras Big Trees SP and any others we might encounter along the way! Super excited! This weekend is my "birthday weekend," as I like to say. 35 and counting! My dear husband is very nice about enduring my birthday weekends, but I think he'll enjoy this too.

Spaniard Dinner = Awesome. Say hi to el jefe for me

polarbear22 wrote:What school? Daughter is at Portsmouth.

Aberdeen, wayyy up north with the Scottish folks.

polarbear22 wrote:Thanks. I was getting set to order, but mentioned it to my wife. She thinks we have no place to store a smoker. Something about the dumpster that was delivered yesterday, ya ya ya.

So keep posting these as you see them. Eventually, she gives up.

Sounds like you need to schedule a BBQ...

mommadeb1 wrote:wow!! trilingual?!!


edit: I guess I am trilingual also... I speak English, mom and gym class.....


edit #2.... really? gym class is filtered?

Haha, I was wondering who'd type gym class. I could see yoga... then edit #2 explained.

mommadeb1 wrote:wow!! trilingual?!!


edit: I guess I am trilingual also... I speak English, mom and gym class.....


edit #2.... really? gym class is filtered?

I can butcher many languages. Nest Pa?

edthebedhead wrote:Aberdeen, wayyy up north with the Scottish folks.

Is she going to be able to understand anyone? I've yet to meet a Scot I could understand. I've always loved listening to them talk, but I never really know what they're saying.

chemvictim wrote:They'll be able to smart off in multiple ways.

Especially if Dad doesn't speak German ..

polarbear22 wrote:Especially if Dad doesn't speak German ..

No, that'll be their secret language one another. ;)