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Where is the Random Thread of Randomness stuff that doesn't belong in other threads thread?

Volpone said:
And I understand that I'm fully in grumpy old man mode here, but I'll say that if you can drive a car from 2009, you can get into a 1963 car and drive that seamlessly. I'll warrant that if you were from 1963, driving a 2009 car would be relatively seamless. Oh, there's things like CD players and shoulder belts but the interface is basically the same. Radio and climate in the center, gauges behind the steering wheel. I guess the wiper fluid and headlight dimmer might stump them for a bit. A 2020 car has a completely different user interface from earlier cars. It would be interesting to see an 18 year old from 2025 get into a 1963 Grand Prix and try to operate it. Just not a '63 Grand Prix owned by me.
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There is something of a push by at least a few car manufacturers to go back to physical knobs and stuff for at least climate control and radio stuff. Who thought having a central touch screen would be a good idea anyway?
 
I will say, I've never driven a "3 on a tree." God gave me the opportunity once, but I followed my head, not my heart.

Since this is the Random Thread of Randomness and it is a good story, I will share it. When I bought my first house, out in Oregon, a friend gave me his...1982? Nissan pickup, saying I'd need it for the renovation. Now there were two problems with this: The house had a 1 car garage, a 1 lane driveway, and a fence all the way around the property with a 1 car wide gate. So either the Nissan would have to be parked in the yard like a redneck (or on the street in front), I'd have to pull it out and put it back every time I wanted to take my car out of the garage, or the old pickup would be in the garage while my (at the time) relatively new Mustang sat out in the driveway. Secondly, it was missing a tooth or two on the starter motor, so there was about a 92% chance it would start fine. And an 8% chance it wouldn't start. So when I was done fixing up the house I got rid of it. Then the next time I needed to buy a sheet of plywood I realized that no matter how clever you are, it is impossible to fit one into a Ford Mustang. So when I decided to get into real estate investing, I needed a work vehicle. I got a van because I could use it for hauling hardware, I could haul my motorcycle in it, I could use it for in-town moves, and I could even use it for camping. Plus, I could make it look like the A-Team van. It took 2 years to find an appropriate A-Team van, but when I did, I wound up finding a 1988 GMC G1500 Vandura with a sliding door--the actual A-Team van (just 5 years newer). By this point I was in Kentucky and had a 2 car garage and a driveway with space for 2 cars.

When I was buying it, I was determined not to tip off the seller that he had an A-Team van. Once he had my money and I had a notarized title he mentioned he had a friend that did vinyl wraps and he'd thought about doing it up as the Mystery Machine. At that point I told him you needed a '67 Chevy van for the Mystery Machine, this was the A-Team van. He did try to trick me into mailing him the title a few days after that but I didn't bite on that. Anyway, I pointed out that there was no way you were ever going to find a '67 Chevy van in this day and age.

Fast forward a bit and I'm killing time on CraigsList and what do I find for sale in the town across the river? A goddamn '67 Chevy van (with 3 on a tree tranny)--for a very reasonable price. At the time I was buying my first rental property and there was a sign shop on the way to my Realtor's office. And what did they have parked out front? A van with a Mystery Machine vinyl wrap. I stopped in to swag what this would cost and it was sorely tempting. Technically I *could've* done it. But then I'd have had 2 vans and a car for a 3 car garage and no money to renovate my new house so I passed on it, but part of me is sad I didn't build a Mystery Machine. God clearly wanted me to. But I didn't listen.
 
Colonel Kira's Left Tit said:
There is something of a push by at least a few car manufacturers to go back to physical knobs and stuff for at least climate control and radio stuff. Who thought having a central touch screen would be a good idea anyway?
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Which brings me to another gripe: Modern software. Facebook. Google. Windows 2000. 25 years ago software just quietly did what you asked it to. It waited and then when you wanted to see what your friends had for lunch or a recipe for how to make it, BAM! it gave you exactly what you asked for. Now software's like "HEY! You should join this group! HEY! You should try this out! HEY! Click on this!" It's like a toddler or something--"MOM! MOM! Lookit! Look what I'm doing! Mom! Moooom! You're not looking! Mom! Look!" "Shut up you little fuck, I'm trying to merge with traffic." Modern cars are like Toddler Knight Rider. "MICHAEL! LOOK! Look Michael! Click me! Look at the screen! NOw! Michael! LOOK!"
 
Volpone said:
Which brings me to another gripe: Modern software. Facebook. Google. Windows 2000. 25 years ago software just quietly did what you asked it to. It waited and then when you wanted to see what your friends You had for lunch or a recipe for how to make it, BAM! it gave you exactly what you asked for. Now software's like "HEY! You should join this group! HEY! You should try this out! HEY! Click on this!" It's like a toddler or something--"MOM! MOM! Lookit! Look what I'm doing! Mom! Moooom! You're not looking! Mom! Look!" "Shut up you little fuck, I'm trying to merge with traffic." Modern cars are like Toddler Knight Rider. "MICHAEL! LOOK! Look Michael! Click me! Look at the screen! NOw! Michael! LOOK!"
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You have achieved official Cane Shaker™ status. Welcome aboard the Enterprise!
 
Here's my deal right now. I'm both slightly tipsy AND baked, and I need to wrap a couple of presents I'm bringing to a baby shower tomorrow. Yes. Me. A baby shower. I don't think I've ever gone to a baby shower before, but at least it's in a brewpub.
 
Cast iron. This should be short and tight, but because I'm writing it, we'll start around...1994. Maybe earlier. If you're going to live, you need a skillet, a frying pan. 12" is about right. In the early '90s, a friend I mostly hate right now and his long-term girlfriend he broke up with gave me a nice teflon/Silverstone skillet that has served me well. In recent years the lining has been coming off because a roommate in the early 2000s ignored the rule of using a plastic spatula. But I kept using it. Because fuck. I'm an old white guy. Something other than Teflon pan lining is probably going to kill me. Asbestos. Whatever. Anyway, it all became a moot point when the handle broke off. Yes, I could, conceivably weld/solder the handle back on, but in the mean time I just put it on the shopping list. And the supermarket had 12" skillets. They had a shitty cheap Kroger Teflon one and, for a moderate amount more, they had a cast iron Lodge Skillet.

Lodge cookware is made about 4 hours down the road in Tennessee. And hipster douchebag foodies probably swear by them. Back in the early '90s, after college, I moved to the Twin Cities and my amazing Aunt let me live with her, rent free, until I lined up a job and found an apartment. She had a...7" cast iron skillet. And I made a point of using it a lot. She also had an avocado green china cabinet that I often said I would refinish. So when she died, she left me the china cabinet (which I did refinish and looks quite nice in its natural red oak) and the skillet.

Now an old, random 7" cast iron skillet is nice. It's fine. It does some things a lot better than a teflon lined steel pan can do. But it doesn't wow you. Still, I splurged and shopped local and got the Lodge skillet and God-damn! It is nice. It is fucking magic. It hardly needs oil or cooking spray and once you get it to cooking temperature you can practically turn it off when you pour the eggs for your omelette into it because the mass of iron retains the heat so well. And it doesn't stick to the pan at all. Very slick (no pun intended). On top of it all, when you're done, after you've filled your belly and it has cooled down enough, you basically wipe it out with a paper towel and put it away for next time. You can add some water and spritz it with Pam to retain the seasoning, but you really don't need to. It is about the most basic and primitive cooking utensil and it is so much better than the most state of the art expensive one.

Again, I hate to sound like a foodie douchebag but damn, the hype is real. If you find yourself in need of a frying pan, treat yourself to a Lodge pan, You'll be fucking amazed. It's magic.
 
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