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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: When Google Fails You: The 2018 General Question Thread
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
quote:
Originally posted by Sparrow:
quote:
Originally posted by Ian Climacus:
Do people still put two spaces after a full stop, or has that gone away in the digital age? I do, and didn't think about it until I saw a tweet on it, suggesting we were Luddites.
That is certainly what I was taught to do many years ago in secretarial college! One space after a comma, and two after a full stop, semicolon or colon.
My current version of Word doesn't like it though, and I keep meaning to go into the settings and force it to do what I want. Does anyone know if that is possible?
It's easy to fix in the final version. Go through and do a global search and replace, subbing in a single space for all double spaces.
If the thing is going to be published, the magazine/book people will go through and force the house style onto your Word doc anyway.
Yes I know about that, but I don't want to have to do that every time I type something. I need a permanent fix!
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Huia:
Thanks, Golden Key. Good to hear that the terminology is the same, as it simplifies matters from this end.
Good. IME, "dowel" is the most common version.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Gill H
Shipmate
# 68
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Posted
Two spacer here. I just can't break the habit, and I think it looks easier to read anyway.
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*sigh* We can’t all be Alan Cresswell.
- Lyda Rose
Posts: 9313 | From: London | Registered: May 2001
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Cathscats
Shipmate
# 17827
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Posted
I don't want to break the habit!
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"...damp hands and theological doubts - the two always seem to go together..." (O. Douglas, "The Setons")
Posts: 176 | From: Central Highlands | Registered: Sep 2013
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Nicolemr
Shipmate
# 28
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Posted
Two spacer here too. I think it's much easier to read that way when you have a long paragraph.
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On pilgrimage in the endless realms of Cyberia, currently traveling by ship. Now with live journal!
Posts: 11803 | From: New York City "The City Carries On" | Registered: May 2001
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Rossweisse
High Church Valkyrie
# 2349
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
... But it's also useful to have a handy lit of people who ought to be informed when you pass away. People like the Christmas-card list, or the folks you play bridge with, or your online hangout here at SoF.
I sent Christmas cards with letters to my father's list both two years ago (when he was in hospice) and in 2016 (after he died). I need to prepare a list for myself,
And I need to step up the decluttering, lest my children curse me when I'm gone.
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I'm not dead yet.
Posts: 15117 | From: Valhalla | Registered: Feb 2002
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Rossweisse
High Church Valkyrie
# 2349
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ian Climacus:
Do people still put two spaces after a full stop, or has that gone away in the digital age? I do, and didn't think about it until I saw a tweet on it, suggesting we were Luddites.
No, we're not Luddites. We just have standards.
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I'm not dead yet.
Posts: 15117 | From: Valhalla | Registered: Feb 2002
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ian Climacus:
Do people still put two spaces after a full stop?
Of course. Civilization has not disappeared completely.
Interestingly, we use Dreamweaver to edit MW reports for publication and to prepare the various MW index pages. Dreamweaver will automatically delete the second space.
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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aliehs
Shipmate
# 18878
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Posted
A comment about Rossweise's advice concerning decluttering:
I am without family where I live; my cousins [of whom I am now the oldest] all live overseas, but we enjoy good communications, and I have been to see them about 2 years ago. I took the family jewellery and distributed them appropriately, or at least as I wished, and asked about the various bits of family memorabilia that I have here, and who wanted what. To my surprise, no one wanted anything, with one exception, a shepherd's crook .[ This cost me an arm and a leg to send, as I couldn't detach the crook from the handle, so it made a very odd shaped parcel].
So, it is all very well to declutter, but I can't and don't want to chuck stuff out or sell it on EBay, while I can still enjoy it,[and do].
I have threatened my friends that I will leave some smallish antiques and paintings with labels on the back, and that they should come and rescue them once I have gone, but my solicitor is my executor, and I haven't told him about this arrangement.
All monies including funds from the sale of the house are going to charities, but it is the disposal of personal items that challenges me.
Any Ideas?
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Now I see through a glass darkly. Maybe I should clean my specs.
sld2A
Posts: 160 | From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2017
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aliehs
Shipmate
# 18878
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Posted
sorry, I was trying to remember and of course it should have been Roseweisse's comment.
But a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ![[Angel]](graemlins/angel.gif)
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Now I see through a glass darkly. Maybe I should clean my specs.
sld2A
Posts: 160 | From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2017
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Not a lawyer, and I don't know much about wills; but maybe say "any personal belongings not otherwise designated should be given to (charity name)".
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Pangolin Guerre
Shipmate
# 18686
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Posted
No - be much more precise than that. Label things as you intend, but catalogue them as to who gets what, and give a copy to your solicitor so that he/she can amend the will accordingly. Alternatively, dispose of items in advance, if that's possible. (That has the great advantage of making your intentions clear and indisputable because you have presented one and all with a fait accompli.)Perform the "What could go wrong?" mind experiment, assuming nothing about people's good behaviour. Similarly the proceeds from the sale of the house. Specify the charities clearly and the precise proportions they are to receive from the proceeds of the sale. Your solicitor should know to do this, but keep him/her up to speed on your intentions.
My mother's will was a masterpiece of clarity and simplicity, and my sister and I agreed on the division of the furniture, jewellery, and art in my mother's presence. Drinks all around.
[ 04. February 2018, 05:42: Message edited by: Pangolin Guerre ]
Posts: 758 | From: 30 arpents de neige | Registered: Nov 2016
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Well, it was my way of keeping it as simple as possible.
Certain specific things would be designated for certain recipients--and I'm thinking just a few things (or even 1) for who I pick.
Anything else (other than papers, which should be handled separately) would be given to a charity I would name--one which has a hauling truck. No further sorting needed. A lot of books, and some household stuff.
I don't have family as such--a few estranged folks. So I don't have to go through the fuss of wrangling over who gets what. (Whew!)
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
On the Styx thread about Ship mugs, I had enquired about microwavablity of said precious recipients of life-giving fluids.
Having now, as a friend said, finally arrived in the ... 1980s ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) , and got myself a microwave oven (!), a question:
Can you actually make tea in that machine?
So far, I'm playing around with max setting (800W) and up to 2 mins for reasonably hot water (the bag - yes, I know, sadly no loose leaf tea for me! - is put in later), but I find the reasonability to be rather at the low end of the acceptable.
Any suggestions? (Re-heating a cuppa is ok for me, and truly a nice feature, but this here is about the first brew.)
Thanks. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
[ 08. February 2018, 09:54: Message edited by: Wesley J ]
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
I've never put my Ship of Fools mugs in the microwave but I do regularly drink hot coffee from them and wash them in the dishwasher.
I make tea by boiling a cup of water in the microwave (not, admittedly, not Ship of Fools mugs) and then steeping a teabag in the water. But hey, I'm American.
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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BroJames
Shipmate
# 9636
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Posted
I would have said that for tea ‘reasonably hot’ water won’t do. You need to make sure it’s thorougly boiling. Then take it out of the microwave and add the tea bag promptly, ideally cover (otherwise it will cool too quickly) and allow to brew. Then remove tea bag and add milk etc. if you use it.
Posts: 3374 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2005
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
Yep. I love to hear and then pour the 'rolling boil' of the kettle (which is a whistling one on the stove for me)!
From what I've read about microwaves, they will not 'boil' your water, but bring it to just below that. I think that must be the sudden tiny bubbly effect for a very reasonably high temperature I've noticed in a water-only SoF mug. For my appliance, that seems to happen at 2 mins 30 secs at max setting. I guess I can live with that; it also means that the mug itself gets quite hot, perhaps a bit more so than when using kettle-boiled water. Bag follows then, milk and sugar later, if desired.
Hm. Though I must say I somehow miss the sound of the boiling kettle and the whistle compared to the so sexy and 'modern' (for me!) miniature-wave device. And I miss putting in the bag before the water. But it does stop when it's done; the whistling stove kettle had me quickly and prematurely de-shower myself more than once!
![[Paranoid]](graemlins/paranoid.gif)
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
The water will boil in the microwave. Having tried this years back. The water will look still but if agitated with boil over. Sometimes explosively.
As an 8-10 cup a day tea drinker not a tea bag drinker, the water should be just still for black teas, about 80°C/180°F for green and yellow teas, just slightly more than green for oolong, slightly less for white.
The price for loose teas is more up front, but you get 225 cups per pound. You have to be careful in tea shops. They hang onto dried out old leaves and charge far too much. I've mail ordered tea for decades.
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
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Posted
You can make tea in the microwave but I consider the result highly inferior to using the kettle. Kettles are now widespread in France since tea has become fashionable but this wasn’t always the case and the go-to for many French people was the microwave.
In my experience, it always leaves a layer of foamy scum on the top of the tea.
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Rent my holiday home in the South of France
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Wesley J:
From what I've read about microwaves, they will not 'boil' your water, but bring it to just below that. <<snip>> I somehow miss the sound of the boiling kettle and the whistle.
Depends on the power of the microwave, I think. Mine brings water to a rolling boil that continues for seconds even after the cup is removed. And old age has robbed me of the ability to hear the tea kettle whistle anymore. ![[Waterworks]](graemlins/bawling.gif)
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
The microwave is useful for heating up SOUP (in a mug, rather than a pan!) if the Episcopal Stove is taking too long (or I can't bear to wait any longer).
I have been known to boil water, and teabag, in the ping! machine, but yes, it does seem to leave a scum.... ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
The scum may be minerals in the water. (I'm known to take my own water on road trips to make tea with, if the water is suspected to be inferior)
Boiling tea in water. Yes, I do this when making chai, though it's 50% fake milk (almond usually), which is lovely on a frigid winter's day. (we're in the mid -30s this week)
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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Qoheleth.
Semi-Sagacious One
# 9265
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Posted
What's the most appropriate way to refer in print to those Indian cities that have changed their names in recent years?
quote:
Ms X served as a Mission Partner with the CSI in Madras (Chennai) for 37 years.
The place was Madras all the time that she worked there, becoming Chennai in 1996.
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The Benedictine Community at Alton Abbey offers a friendly, personal service for the exclusive supply of Rosa Mystica incense.
Posts: 2532 | From: the radiator of life | Registered: Apr 2005
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
"Chennai (formerly known as Madras)" is how I, as a translator, would put it if I put the old name at all. Which I would do if my audience was more likely to have heard of Madras than Chennai and I felt they needed educating.
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
And I, as someone who needed educating on this ![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif) would be grateful that you did so.
Huia
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
The whole art of being a good translator is pretending you always knew things that you have just learned through what you have just read ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
[ 10. February 2018, 08:12: Message edited by: Eutychus ]
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
This has come up in the course of writing a story about vampires. As you know from Bram Stoker, one may defend against vampires with the paraphernalia of Catholicism -- crucifixes, holy water, etc.
My question is: Is there a Protestant equivalent? Would reciting the Westminster Confession of Faith be sufficient to repel a vampire, or do you need a real physical artifact? Which would be a problem, since the Reformation cleared out all those relics and crucifixes and stuff.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
Protestants still accept the cross (minus the corpus). I suppose if you brandish that, or perhaps the Bible (King James, of course), at a vampire it would put it to flight.
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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Robert Armin
All licens'd fool
# 182
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Posted
Read the 39 Articles! That should settle their evil vampire ways.
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Keeping fit was an obsession with Fr Moity .... He did chin ups in the vestry, calisthenics in the pulpit, and had developed a series of Tai-Chi exercises to correspond with ritual movements of the Mass. The Antipope Robert Rankin
Posts: 8927 | From: In the pack | Registered: May 2001
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Nicolemr
Shipmate
# 28
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Posted
I think it's in the Roman Polanski movie "Fearless Vampire Killers" that a vampire who was Jewish in life is presented with a cross and says something along the lines of "Oy vey, have you got the wrong vampire".
(Just checked on IMDB.com and yes, that's the line)
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On pilgrimage in the endless realms of Cyberia, currently traveling by ship. Now with live journal!
Posts: 11803 | From: New York City "The City Carries On" | Registered: May 2001
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
There was an X-Man comic where Kitty Pryde (Jewish) holds a cross before Dracula. He laughs and brushes it aside and grabs her by the throat, because she has no belief int he cross--but Dracula then gets burned anyway because she is wearing a necklace with the Star of David.
This sort of ties in with the approach taken in Doctor Who's "The Curse of Fenric." The object isn't important--its the faith. A Communist soldier is protected from the vampires (although they weren't called that) because he has faith on the Communist Revolution. And it is suggested that the Doctor protects himself by reciting the names of his past companions--those whom he has faith in.
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"We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Yes, that's also a common feature, which I may well use. But does it have to be something physical? Is a generalized belief in the Communist Party sufficient, or do you need your Lenin pin? (And, if the Communist Party would do, would Star Wars? What about SoF?)
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Rossweisse
High Church Valkyrie
# 2349
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
... Would reciting the Westminster Confession of Faith be sufficient to repel a vampire, or do you need a real physical artifact?...
Well, it would repel me - but I'm not a vampire.
I would think a regular cross or a Bible would do the trick.
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I'm not dead yet.
Posts: 15117 | From: Valhalla | Registered: Feb 2002
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ArachnidinElmet
Shipmate
# 17346
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Hedgehog:
This sort of ties in with the approach taken in Doctor Who's "The Curse of Fenric."
Yes, and the vicar who has a bible in hand but no faith comes to a sticky end.
There's a Buffy episode where Willow wonders why a Star of David doesn't work against vampires, but they don't come to any conclusions.
Also the scene in The Mummy (1990s) where Kevin J O'Connor tries to ward off the Mummy by showing him a cross and when that doesn't work working through various symbols before trying a Star of David which the 'ancient Egyptian' recognises.
I think it's a recognisable trope, but no two people can agree what the rules should be. Post-Dracula crosses rather than crucifixes are more in use. You don't have to be Catholic to cross two candlesticks a-la-Peter Cushing.
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'If a pleasant, straight-forward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle manoeuvres' - Kafka
Posts: 1887 | From: the rhubarb triangle | Registered: Sep 2012
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Gill H
Shipmate
# 68
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Posted
It comes into the German musical ‘Tanz der Vampire’ too. The Jewish innkeeper becomes a vampire and laughs when someone tries to use a cross to stop him.
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*sigh* We can’t all be Alan Cresswell.
- Lyda Rose
Posts: 9313 | From: London | Registered: May 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Also in the film "Love At First Bite". Dracula is having a restaurant dinner with his romantic rival (RR).
RR is talking D towards a confrontation, and suddenly pulls out a Star of David necklace from his shirt, in great triumph.
D flinches, reflexively, then takes a closer look. "I think you should find a nice *Jewish* girl, and leave [name] alone".
Really good scene in a fun movie.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
BTW, good cast in "Love At First Bite"--especially George Hamilton as Dracula.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Nicole--
quote:
Originally posted by Nicolemr:
I think it's in the Roman Polanski movie "Fearless Vampire Killers" that a vampire who was Jewish in life is presented with a cross and says something along the lines of "Oy vey, have you got the wrong vampire".
(Just checked on IMDB.com and yes, that's the line)
Thanks for this. I heard and used the line quite a bit, decades ago, but I don't think I knew the source.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Brenda--
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
This has come up in the course of writing a story about vampires. As you know from Bram Stoker, one may defend against vampires with the paraphernalia of Catholicism -- crucifixes, holy water, etc.
My question is: Is there a Protestant equivalent? Would reciting the Westminster Confession of Faith be sufficient to repel a vampire, or do you need a real physical artifact? Which would be a problem, since the Reformation cleared out all those relics and crucifixes and stuff.
Brenda, are you familiar with the book "Sacred Space", by Denise Linn? Her professional specialty is clearing and protecting spaces, using feng shui and many other methods. I remember there's a Jewish method of using...um, kosher salt and vodka, flaming, to clear out a bad spirit. I don't remember anything specific to vampires, but there might be something, and she may list other resources.
There's also "Sister Karol's Book of Spells and Blessings". Karol Jackowski is an RC nun, and basically considers prayer, magic, etc. to all be part of the same thing. The edition I have is really beautiful--done up like a prayer book, with a hard cover; gilt-edged, quality paper; and ribbon markers. I don't think there's anything vampire specific; but there are ways to make bad things go away.
Oh, and do a search on "deliverance ministry", for the Prot. fund./char. angle.
Good luck!
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870
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Posted
Question for any of the ship’s sparks.
A few weeks ago, a bulb blew quite spectacularly. I went to turn the light on and there was a momentary bright blue flash of light that lit up the whole flat. It tripped the circuit breaker and the bulb had a distinct scorch mark on it. Now, though, any bulb I try in that fitting doesn’t work. Yet the same bulbs work in other light fittings. I’m wondering if the fitting itself might somehow be dead. Is that possible?
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I try to be self-deprecating; I'm just not very good at it.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAlethiophile
Posts: 3791 | From: On the corporate ladder | Registered: Jan 2012
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Honest Ron Bacardi
Shipmate
# 38
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Posted
Yes it's definitely possible. It's also happened to me on a mains socket I had to replace. In that case there had been an arcing event which had caused the metal contact to burn out. You can also get tracking occurring (where the scorched plastic of the fitting starts to conduct current through the carbonised track).
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Anglo-Cthulhic
Posts: 4857 | From: the corridors of Pah! | Registered: May 2001
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Electricity is not a good thing for the DIY person. Hire a professional, unless you are very certain of what you are at. (And if you were, why would you be here asking us?!?)
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Honest Ron Bacardi
Shipmate
# 38
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Posted
Wise advice, Brenda. (Even more so in the case of would-be amateur gas-fitting).
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Anglo-Cthulhic
Posts: 4857 | From: the corridors of Pah! | Registered: May 2001
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Honest Ron Bacardi:
Wise advice, Brenda. (Even more so in the case of would-be amateur gas-fitting).
Gas is about the only thing I don't want to mess with (well, I've changed the ignitor in my oven, and a few bits and bobs in the gas dryer, but nothing that involves opening up a gas line and then sealing it again.)
I know how to, and could probably do it perfectly safely and so on, but I don't really want to.
For Sipech, yes, I agree that your light fitting is probably toast, and needs replacing. It'll take someone who knows what they're doing just a few minutes to replace it.
ETA: A suitably explosive subject for post 5000?
[ 13. February 2018, 21:05: Message edited by: Leorning Cniht ]
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sipech:
Question for any of the ship’s sparks.
A few weeks ago, a bulb blew quite spectacularly. I went to turn the light on and there was a momentary bright blue flash of light that lit up the whole flat. It tripped the circuit breaker and the bulb had a distinct scorch mark on it. Now, though, any bulb I try in that fitting doesn’t work. Yet the same bulbs work in other light fittings. I’m wondering if the fitting itself might somehow be dead. Is that possible?
Are there any other fittings that are on the same circuit? Check all the plugs in the room if all of the lights work. My experience is that sometimes some things are on the same circuit you'd not expect. With older homes they sometimes simply run wires from one fitting to another and not establish a new circuit. It's unlikely that this light is all alone. If it alone does not work, your light fitting is probably the problem.
Checking wall plugs: just carry around a small lamp and plug into all of them. If they all work, it's probably the light. But then you can turn off the breaker which popped when this light failed and recheck each plug-in fitting. Then you can see which are on the same circuit as the failed light. My 2¢ or .02d
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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simontoad
Ship's Amphibian
# 18096
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Posted
Back to Tourism USA. Back in 2016, we had a month travelling around America. We didn't enjoy the food, which surprised us. The standout place was Bryant Park Grill in New York , where I would happily eat for the rest of my life.
We took a casual approach to eating last time, which was possibly a problem, but I think that many times we just ordered incorrectly, or misread what type of place we were in, and had our hopes dashed.
For instance, I had a steak at a place in Sutter Creek - an upscale tourist town it is fair to say. They asked my how I liked it cooked - great sign - and I said rare. The steak I got was huge and cooked to my instruction, but it was gristly and tough. It would still have been that were it cooked to medium or well done, but I think the faults of the cut would have been less obvious. It was also quite a fatty cut - good for well done, not so much for rare. So I think I misordered by asking for rare in that instance, but also that I didn't realise that I was in a place that would serve what I regard as a cheaper and poorly prepared cut of meat.
Our next trip will be in November. We'll be going from LA to the Grand Canyon, possibly via a Mexican border town, then up to Sacramento via Death Valley and Yosemite, then over to the Monterrey area for Thanksgiving with my Yankee family and then up to San Francisco, from where we fly home.
We both know that American cooking is great, really great. We just need help trying to find it. We consider quality in ingredients and preparation to trump volume of food. For example I had an exquisite young parsnip, roasted, that I am still raving about from Sunday lunch. It was next to a strip of slow-cooked beef that melted off the fork and was a marvel in itself, but I think I shall dream about that parsnip tonight.
Any recommendations would be appreciated. Also, are there any high-quality franchises we should look out for, or any sort of weird code words you think we should know about. Also, what resources are good for finding a quality place? I am leery of trying to get into a first tier restaurant, because while it is no problem here to walk into such an establishment in the clothes you mow the lawn in, I fear there may be a tighter code in the USA. I am definitely a food wanker, but I will only wear a suit at a funeral. Also, we booked a place from home when we went to England and missed the booking by not quite knowing travel times or exactly where the place was. I don't like doing that. I absolutely LOVE going into a place full of suits with stains on my shorts and t-shirt.
What a ramble. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
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Human
Posts: 1571 | From: Romsey, Vic, AU | Registered: May 2014
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
California is the most casual state in the union. The most you will ever need is a necktie, which is easily carried in your jacket pocket. I guarantee you that people only wear suits when they are being buried. Bring something warm, however -- in the mountains and even at the Grand Canyon it'll be cold.a
Do you follow the various online restaurant rating sites? They are very reliable in a crowd-sourcey way; a place that is adored by many will be fairly certainly good. It's easy to arrive in a town and survey the top ten or twenty eating places on Yelp or something, and make your pick. California is highly tech-savvy, so everything is ranked on the websites. There are some for the devoted foodies.
I would avoid all chains if you can manage it, unless you positively yearn for the experience.
One of the top burger places worldwide is near Calistoga CA, if you are going up the Napa valley. Also in Napa is French Laundry, which is not a laundry but one of the best restaurants in the region. If you are in San Francisco get to Alice Waters' restaurant in Oakland -- make a reservation as soon as you can because it's a small place.
I'm going to San Francisco in a couple weeks, and I'll let you know where my siblings are taking me for dinner. They live there and are up to date on the latest and greatest.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by simontoad:
Our next trip will be in November. We'll be going from LA to the Grand Canyon, possibly via a Mexican border town, then up to Sacramento via Death Valley and Yosemite, then over to the Monterrey area for Thanksgiving with my Yankee family and then up to San Francisco, from where we fly home.
Are you passing through Phoenix? If so, we'll need a Shipmeet!
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Pangolin Guerre
Shipmate
# 18686
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Posted
Simontoad, if you have the slightest interest in going to The French Laundry, make your reservations well in advance and start saving, like, now. Seriously. The waiting list is long, and dinner for two is about US$750+tax+gratuity, depending what you're drinking. And let's face it, if you're paying that much for the food, you're not going to be getting crap wine to go with it - not that you'd be able to there, so my estimate is lowballing. Thomas Keller is the most famous serious chef in the US. Lay your hands on a copy of Michael Ruhlman's The Soul of a Chef - it has a section on Keller. For those truly serious about food, it will bring tears to your eyes, not out of gluttony or envy, but at the shear, humble beauty of it.
Posts: 758 | From: 30 arpents de neige | Registered: Nov 2016
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simontoad
Ship's Amphibian
# 18096
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Posted
Thanks very much for the advice guys. The French Laundry sounds like a place to think about as a cuisine highlight. I treasure those aspects of a trip for a very long time, and fine the experiences well worth the investment. I worry about the booking aspect given our experience in the UK, but it is a factor only. I know booking is essential unless you are Kylie Kwong in Sydney and don't mind people lining up on the street in front of your place.
I find the experience of matching wines in a fine dining restaurant one that enhances my enjoyment of the meal to a certain point. After that, I sometimes catch myself wolfing down the dish and forgetting to appreciate the skills on display. I also start to slur my words a little. I hold my drink about as well as George Papadopoulos.
Pigwidgeon, thanks very much for the shipmeet suggestion. We will be passing close to Phoenix for sure. I'll be able to be more certain as our timetable works itself out.
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Human
Posts: 1571 | From: Romsey, Vic, AU | Registered: May 2014
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