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#90309 - 02/16/08 11:21 AM Good lord, we are wimps in the City...
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada

So the microwave at chateau phat died during the week, something grounded out and now it emits huge sparks and massive electical shows inside the faraday cage that is the microwave body - it did this while my wife and daughter were doing something. Anyway, the point is, we all survived for many years without microwave ovens - I do it all the time in the boonies - but let the microwave die in the house, and nope, we're running right out to spend 300 bucks on another one, and there's just no convincing she who must be obeyed that we don't need this.. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
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#90310 - 02/16/08 12:30 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
tahomus Offline
member

Registered: 04/01/06
Posts: 23
Loc: Tahoma, CA
Oh, phat, sorry to hear of your loss (of $300!).

When my kid went to college, we bought her a small nuker.

After her 1st. year on campus, she moved into her own apartment, bringing home items she no longer wanted. Among those items was the microwave!

She decided she didn't want it, saying she eats better food if she cooks it. With the nuker, she tended to eat frozen burritos, and etc. Now, nearly a year later, she still doesn't want it back. It's taking up space in the closet. I'd mail it to you, but the postage would be killer!

I use my nuker to re-heat leftovers nearly every day. In the days when I didn't have a nuker, I'd reheat leftovers in small dishes placed inside a pressure cooker. I think it was as fast as the nuker, but definitely more steps- putting everything together, adjusting pressure, etc. Then someone gave me their old nuker....

I asked her if she ever used her pressure cooker for reheating- she doesn't. (She also hasn't learned how to use her pressure cooker.)

Peace does come at a price!

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#90311 - 02/16/08 01:00 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
NiytOwl Offline
member

Registered: 11/06/04
Posts: 501
Loc: California
(Humorous observation - please don't take personally!)

Hmmm...let's point out here that when you ARE out footin' it in the boonies, your skin-out weight is probably 99% high tech materials. Polypro, PET, Spectra, Nylon, titanium, aluminum, Lexan, silicon, tritium, lithium, etc.. Take those away and we're left with cotton, wool, leather and steel. One could make the point that humans survived for at least a million years without those things, but I get the feeling a lot of us would fight tooth-and-nail for our lightweight gear! So count your blessings and give that little woman the high tech conveniences she wants since she lets you have yours! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

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#90312 - 02/16/08 01:16 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
MattnID Offline
member

Registered: 06/02/07
Posts: 317
Loc: Idaho
lol, sorry to hear about the loss of your microwave. Can't say I can put those things down however. They're nice for a nice quick bite when you don't always have that time to cook. I know of my microwave broke, I'd probably just not eat lunch since that seems to be the only time I use it really. I think it'd be far more ridiculous if they made a mini-microwave that was backpacking(small and compact, not necessarily light). Though who knows, they already might have one out on the market, hehe.
_________________________
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.-Aristotle

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#90313 - 02/16/08 01:43 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
Finkster Offline
member

Registered: 04/10/04
Posts: 28
Check out Craigslist.com there might be someone in your area giving away a used microwave for free.

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#90314 - 02/16/08 02:27 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: NiytOwl]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada

Oh don't worry nity - I'll let the better half have her conveniences. I know what's good for me <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

On the other hand I've often thought about what you say about the high tech materiels on my back, and how different what I'd be carrying woud be if I were doing this a hundred years ago. I'm not so sure I agree with your assessment about weight of these modern doo-dads and how much heavier my skin out would be... I might be marginally less comfortable, but
I doubt by a lot, and I might carry a little more weight.

But the more I think about it, a lot of what I carry is for leave no trace. because in this day and age, there are simply too many of us to do otherwise in many places.

If you throw lnt out the window, I'm pretty convinced I could still hike quite comfortably, albeit with a far different style, on nothing but old school materiels.

Pot - much the same, tin or copper boiler.
stove - none use fires everywhere.
fuel - don't need it - see above.
spoon - regular stainless steel.
clothing - wool - I essentially do this in the winter anyway.
jacket - oilcloth anorak.
small very sharp belt axe - I have one of these. they're "heavy" but worth it in this scenario
1 nice thick heavy wool blanket.
maybe a light oilcloth tarp to wrap it all up in.

Stopping to make camp consists of about a half hour to an hour of fieldcraft, finding firewood and performing small localized clearcutting operations of any and all nearby spruce boughs to make my bed and shelter. No the shelter won't be 100% waterproof but I have done this, and believe me, a big wool blanket is really quite warm, even when a little bit wet.
now true, you don't wanna be soaked. but you won't be if you're at all careful. and if you get
a little wet, or the blanket is not warm enough at night - look out nearby wood supply - I've
slept next to a fire I've kept going all night too - and this works just fine in a pinch. particularly when you drag in the large poles and feed em' in lengthwise.

The heaviest thing in the kit is, well, the big old wool blanket. and essientially it's the only thing I don't currently have like this. Them nice 8 point HBC jobbies are expensive!
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#90315 - 02/16/08 05:45 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
billstephenson Offline
Moderator

Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
Thinking about how they did it in the old days is how I ended up getting the burros. I guess I went a few steps past the wool blanket thing huh?

To be fair, I still haven't taken them out on a backpacking trip, but they are carrying my load and then some on day hikes and they're making great fertilizer all the rest of the time. But back to the point, the old timers didn't carry all that much. Pack animals carried the load.

Cooking perfect bacon... I think just that alone makes having a microwave worth it. I could live with out one, but I don't. I like having it. Sometimes I want food really super-duper fast.

In the last year we've switched almost entirely to cooking with cast iron instead of stainless pans. After getting the hang of it we all like it better than even teflon for non-stick cooking. We had to re-season all the old pans our parents and grandparents had left us because we ignored them for so long but that was part of the fun of learning to use them.

Them old timers knew some stuff.

Bill

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#90316 - 02/16/08 06:46 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: billstephenson]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Quote:
Thinking about how they did it in the old days is how I ended up getting the burros. I guess I went a few steps past the wool blanket thing huh?

To be fair, I still haven't taken them out on a backpacking trip, but they are carrying my load and then some on day hikes and they're making great fertilizer all the rest of the time. But back to the point, the old timers didn't carry all that much. Pack animals carried the load.

Cooking perfect bacon... I think just that alone makes having a microwave worth it. I could live with out one, but I don't. I like having it. Sometimes I want food really super-duper fast.

In the last year we've switched almost entirely to cooking with cast iron instead of stainless pans. After getting the hang of it we all like it better than even teflon for non-stick cooking. We had to re-season all the old pans our parents and grandparents had left us because we ignored them for so long but that was part of the fun of learning to use them.

Them old timers knew some stuff.

Bill


Hey, Bill. Burros will keep me on the trail well into my old age. I haven't started using them yet, but they offer me a great assurance of continued mobility for those later years. There are burros just about every where here. We see them every day climbing up and down the mountain past our house, and we hear them day and night in the village below us. They are wonderful, sweet natured animals, and many of the elderly here could not get around without them. I see the animals packing sacks of corn, firewood, big metal milk cans sloshing along tied across their backs, and of course bearing their human passengers with sandaled feet swinging to the little fellow's rhythmic walk. My dad placed burros with his high strung Tennessee Walkers as a calming effect. It worked well.

I grew up with cast iron in the kitchen and I still use it today. Nothing beats cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet. As you probably know, the secret is to first get the empty, but greased skillet hot enough in the oven to make a golden dark brown crust form when the batter hits the smoking hot skillet. There's an art to it, for sure. I have friends from New York that now can make good old Southern Style cornbread like a pro. She carried a big cast iron skillet from New Orleans back home to NYC in her carry on luggage, plus ten pounds of course grist mill ground yellow corn meal. When I start using a burro to pack my gear for me, I'm adding a cast iron skillet to the rig. Brum
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#90317 - 02/16/08 07:01 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: Brumfield]
mockturtle Offline
member

Registered: 06/06/07
Posts: 251
Loc: WA

Quote:
Nothing beats cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet.
Amen, brother! And I don't like sugar in my cornbread, either.

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#90318 - 02/16/08 07:51 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
Ah, the old microwave. Reminds me of when I was thinking about using one to heat water in a distiller. This was a senior design project, and the catch was that the water had to be boiled by human power only. In my early brainstorming for ideas, I was thinking about a microwave. So, I found a microwave blog for microwave engineers, and asked them the beginner questions of energy efficiency etc. They helped me realize early on that a human powered microwave is not a great idea. But, the funny thing I found on the blog was some guy trying to show the error of all these microwave engineers. He claimed that microwave food was bad because of the radiation. He sighted "case studies" of people dying, like someone dying from microwaved blood (some person needed a blood transfusion, the doctor microwaved the blood to room temp, the patient died afterwards, the death was blamed on the microwave, not the fact that the person needed a blood transfusion for some reason). The whole thing reminded me of our di-hydrogen monoxide discussion. Moral of the story, I guess it is hard for some people to understand what really is "radiation". <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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#90319 - 02/16/08 08:57 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: mockturtle]
billstephenson Offline
Moderator

Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
I was just reading somewhere about after greasing the pan and heating it up, you sprinkle corn meal on the bottom and sides before pouring in the batter. That's to keep it from sticking.

I sure do love corn bread and beans <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Bill

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#90320 - 02/17/08 06:07 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: mockturtle]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Quote:
Brumfield wrote: Nothing beats cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet.
OregonMouse wrote: Amen, brother! And I don't like sugar in my cornbread , either. [/quote]

Brumfield wrote: My, I hate sweet cornbread. If I wanted cake, I'd bake a cake. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I've even seen people put sugar on their grits instead of salt, black pepper, and butter, they must've been from NEW YORK CITY, or Canada, <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> or some other non-Southern gourmet eatin place like that. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Brum
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#90321 - 02/17/08 06:28 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: billstephenson]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
BillStephenson wrote:
Quote:
I was just reading somewhere about after greasing the pan and heating it up, you sprinkle corn meal on the bottom and sides before pouring in the batter. That's to keep it from sticking.

I sure do love corn bread and beans <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Bill


Brumfield wrote: There ya go, Bill... I can tell you're a true cornbread connoisseur. I use a little cornmeal and wheat flour mixed together. Just sprinkle it on the bottom and also around the inside edges of the greased hot skillet just before pouring in the batter, helps it not to stick and gives it a special floury surface to the crust. When I take the baked bread out of the oven I always have a big ole spoon of butter ready to dollop on top and shove it around while it melts all over that hot bread. The butter settles about a quarter of an inch into the cornbread giving it that wonderful buttery flavor that makes fresh-baked bread just to die for. It also keeps the bread from drying out while it sits out on the stove-top all day tempting everybody that walks by.

You should taste the beans here cooked up with fresh local herbs and spices from the street market. Of course I aways start my beans out with a pound or two of browned lean ground beef, then add the onions, lots of garlic, spices, herbs, chili peppers...YUMMMM!! ! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Brum

PS: I cook Szechuan too. But, good old cornbread and beans is just hard to beat!
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#90322 - 02/17/08 07:17 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
Bearpaw Offline
Moderator

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 1732
Loc: Tennessee
You're paying 300 bucks for a microwave!?!?! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Was it a double convection oven or some such concoction? I haven't paid more than $30-40 for a microwave in my life. I realize there isn't a Walmart around, but I've always grabbed the simplest one available the handful of times I've needed to buy one, I think three times in the last 12 years. I have one in my home and one in my classroom, and they're both working fine. My classrom one cost about $25. I hope you don't need to pay $300 to nuke a burrito...............
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#90323 - 02/17/08 07:32 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
chaz Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Tennessee
What's so amazing to me about people using a microwave is, even though it's faster than any other type of cooking/warming, some people are pissed that they have to wait even 10 extra seconds. It wouldn't bother me if we didn't have everything in an instant. Some things are worth waiting for.

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#90324 - 02/17/08 07:39 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: Brumfield]
chaz Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Tennessee
Fix me a plate, I'm on my way <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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Enjoy your next trip...

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#90325 - 02/17/08 10:19 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: Bearpaw]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada

My daring better half insists on the over the range combination microwave hood thingy. thus making two 80 dollar units into a 300 dollar unit. and so that when one dies they both go...

Don't get me started. I know what a microwave costs <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
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#90326 - 02/17/08 10:36 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: Bearpaw]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Quote:
You're paying 300 bucks for a microwave!?!?! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />



Shhh. Knock it off, Shawn, I 'm trying to sell phat my micro for $300. Brum <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
_________________________



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#90327 - 02/17/08 10:44 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
Dryer Offline

Moderator

Registered: 12/05/02
Posts: 3591
Loc: Texas
Quote:
My daring better half insists on the over the range combination microwave hood thingy.


Ours is like that. The surprising benefit is that the transformer and magnetron were MUCH beefier, halving cooking times, with double the wattage. Plus, you get a nice light and a good fan. You get what you pay for. You'll like it.

Canadian $300? I paid about that in U.S. buks.
_________________________
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#90328 - 02/17/08 10:49 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: Dryer]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Quote:
Quote:
My daring better half insists on the over the range combination microwave hood thingy.


Ours is like that. The surprising benefit is that the transformer and magnetron were MUCH beefier, halving cooking times, with double the wattage. Plus, you get a nice light and a good van. You get what you pay for. You'll like it.

Canadian $300? I paid about that in U.S. buks.


Yeah, CDN $284 for the higher model GE spacesaver.... Hooray for a low US dollar <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

And yes, it's pretty and fits in the kitchen better. But I could buy a 60 dollar wal-mart microwave, a new quilt and a GG virga for that money <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


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#90329 - 02/17/08 11:05 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps ...worth waiting [Re: chaz]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Chaz wrote:
Quote:
What's so amazing to me about people using a microwave is, even though it's faster than any other type of cooking/warming, some people are pissed that they have to wait even 10 extra seconds. It wouldn't bother me if we didn't have everything in an instant. Some things are worth waiting for.


Brumfield wrote:
Wisdom of the ages, well spoken, Tenable Tennessean ! Brum
_________________________



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#90330 - 02/17/08 02:02 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: Brumfield]
mockturtle Offline
member

Registered: 06/06/07
Posts: 251
Loc: WA
Quote:
Amen, brother! And I don't like sugar in my cornbread , either.

Actually, it was I who said it, not Oregon Mouse. But maybe she doesn't like sugar in her cornbread, either! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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#90331 - 02/17/08 02:10 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: mockturtle]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
Just to be on the record: I don't like sugar in my cornbread, either! Nor would I spend $300 for a microwave!
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#90332 - 02/17/08 02:16 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: OregonMouse]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Quote:
Just to be on the record: I don't like sugar in my cornbread, either! Nor would I spend $300 for a microwave!


And for the record, I don' t like sugar in my cornbread either! but I love the stuff..

and I didn't spend $300 on a microwave. I did however just get back from spending $279 on
a microwave/range hood combo thingy to replace the one that died.. grrrr..
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


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#90333 - 02/17/08 04:38 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: phat]
billstephenson Offline
Moderator

Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
Quote:
I did however just get back from spending $279 on
a microwave/range hood combo thingy to replace the one that died.. grrrr..


I do feel yer pain. We spent about the same a few years ago to replace one like yours. Ours just up and died, no fireworks or sparks or nothing. At least you got a little excitement with it's last hurrah. Think of all the time on the trail you could buy for $279.

No... Wait, don't think about that.

Think about all the time you'll save up to use on the trail because you weren't waiting as long for food to get hot <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Bill

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#90334 - 02/17/08 05:23 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
kevonionia Offline
member

Registered: 04/17/06
Posts: 1322
Loc: Dallas, TX
hey phat:

don't go off on that Canadian $ thing again . . . <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
- kevon

(avatar: raptor, Lake Dillon)


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#90335 - 02/17/08 05:48 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
Glenn Offline
member

Registered: 03/08/06
Posts: 2617
Loc: Ohio
Hey, Phat:

If it will make buying the microwave go down easier, I've got a Virga (long) that you're welcome to.

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#90336 - 02/17/08 06:18 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: mockturtle]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Quote:
Quote:
Amen, brother! And I don't like sugar in my cornbread , either.

Actually, it was I who said it, not Oregon Mouse. But maybe she doesn't like sugar in her cornbread, either! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


They need to fix this thing.. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Earthling swears that my posts are his most of the time. Brum
_________________________



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#90337 - 02/17/08 06:20 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: OregonMouse]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
OregonMouse
Quote:
Just to be on the record: I don't like sugar in my cornbread, either! Nor would I spend $300 for a microwave!

Brumfield wrote:
I will never get this microwave sold if ya'll keep badmouthing the deal. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Brum
_________________________



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#90338 - 02/17/08 06:24 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: phat]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Quote:


and I didn't spend $300 on a microwave. I did however just get back from spending $279 ona microwave/range hood combo thingy to replace the one that died.. grrrr..


Brumfield wrote: I just saw Eric posting on a different topic that he's buying a $300.00 micro. Same wife thingy as causation too. Brum
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#90339 - 02/17/08 06:54 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Spousal compromises [Re: billstephenson]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
BillStephenson wrote:
Think of all the time on the trail you could buy for $279. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Bill

Brumfield wrote:
Isn't it funny how we men daydream about all the great gear we could have bought with money spent on house repairs or car breakdowns. All the while our spouses are thinking of all the "lovely" household decorative stuff they could've ordered online with the money we spent on our gear. My wife can get away with hiding a new dress or two among the old stuff and pawning it off on me as being old. I just ignore the NEW tags hanging under her arm. After she hangs it back in the closet I go read the evidentiary tags, total up what she spent, and order something NEW online for the same amount... for me. She doesn't always notice the small stuff when it comes in, if I beat her to the door, so I don't feel obligated to mention every little item.

But my new hammock stuck out like a BIG OLE sore thumb when I stretched it out across the garden the first time. When she asked me where it came from... I don't think she believed me when I quoted her previous remark and said, "What this old thing" <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Brum <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
_________________________



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#90340 - 02/18/08 11:38 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
JAK Offline
member

Registered: 03/19/04
Posts: 2569
In our city we recently had a boil water order, due to high levels of turbidity from a major rainfall that could lead to the city water treatment being less effective etc. Anyhow, I don't have a serious beef with the city being cautious and issuing a boil water order in response to high turbidity. What gets me is everyone rushing out and buying bottled water. After all, it was a boil water order, not a buy plastic order. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

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#90341 - 02/19/08 09:08 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
alanwenker Offline
member

Registered: 02/04/03
Posts: 812
If my vote were counted, that is, I am eligible to vote but the vote isn't registered with the local authorities, I would get rid of the microwave and the dishwasher.

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#90342 - 02/19/08 09:57 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: alanwenker]
JAK Offline
member

Registered: 03/19/04
Posts: 2569
I've always wanted to have a place with just enough dishes and stuff to cook one meal and serve maybe 4 people. Keep it simple, minimalist, as with hiking. Toss the rest.

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#90343 - 02/19/08 09:57 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: alanwenker]
Glenn Offline
member

Registered: 03/08/06
Posts: 2617
Loc: Ohio
You may not realize it until you try it, but you will also be getting rid of at least half your house (but not half the mortgage), your better car, your dog, most if not all of your ready cash, and - if she gets a really sharp attorney - the "family jewels." <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My advice is like the old country song: cheaper to keep'er.

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#90344 - 02/19/08 10:22 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: JAK]
billstephenson Offline
Moderator

Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
I've always liked "Stuff". Gizmos, gadgets, tools and toys. My home office is crammed full of it. In fact, I pretty much have everything, so now I really don't need anymore stuff, I just need to use it.

Most of my stuff is not new, none of it's expensive, or highfalutin', but I have just as much fun with it as if it were.

Bill

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#90345 - 02/19/08 01:06 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: Glenn]
alanwenker Offline
member

Registered: 02/04/03
Posts: 812
Correct good sir. This is why I've learned to live with casting votes which ultimately are registered, but not counted.

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#90346 - 02/19/08 01:44 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: alanwenker]
Glenn Offline
member

Registered: 03/08/06
Posts: 2617
Loc: Ohio
I have an unbroken 37-year record of voting just like you do.

Actually, Karol and I have a very good arrangement. I handle the important stuff (international affairs, the weather, federal tax policy and the like.) She handles everything else.

Sad but true: they say women marry men hoping they will change; men marry women hoping they won't. So much disappointment.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

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#90347 - 02/19/08 07:40 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: Glenn]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Quote:

Actually, Karol and I have a very good arrangement. I handle the important stuff (international affairs, the weather, federal tax policy and the like.) She handles everything else.


See there you got it all wrong. I went to school to figure out how to play with toys (computers). My darling wife went to business school to be a chartered accountant.

So, in the spirit of the "liberated women" in the 1960's who would announce that they do their own
finances, I am a "liberated man" - I don't do chequebooks, taxes, banking, or any of that nasty stuff <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> My wife even managed to renew our mortgage twice without me setting foot in the bank. (I hate banks!) She was amused when the bank manager jokingly asked her if she really had a husband.. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> then they changed bank managers and the forced me to show up in person to sign it the last time. I was so unimpressed..

However, I like you, know exactly how to vote. and usually have a pretty good handle on how much I can ask for absolution for as opposed to asking permission ahead of time <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


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#90348 - 02/19/08 08:14 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
brownwetdog Offline
member

Registered: 03/20/05
Posts: 116
Loc: Sawtooths, Idaho
Phat (and all),

Here is another way to view how resourceful we are instead of wimps in the City. What is really nice about all our backpacking equipment is how useful it is when the power goes out. It does that here about twice a year. Dear Husband and I put on the headlamps, light the candle lanterns, pull out the whisperlight stove, and some extra camp food, and we are set. And if its winter we pull out the extra down sleeping bags. We are very near the river, so could fetch water and purify it as needed. We tell each other that having our camping gear makes us prepared citizens and we are just doing our civic duty! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> Carol

p.s. And I am totally with your wife on the expensive range/hood for the microwave.

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#90349 - 02/19/08 08:22 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps- Burrows & Cast Iron [Re: chaz]
Earthling Offline
member

Registered: 02/22/03
Posts: 3228
Loc: USA
Quote:
Fix me a plate, I'm on my way <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


Make that 2 plates I'm coming with Charles! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, go figure, they have to wait all of ten minutes to eat something in 3 <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> I know the types, you see them everywhere there is a line, pushing and creepin up on everyone else in line <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
PEPPER SPRAY AIN'T BRAINS IN A CAN!

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#90350 - 02/19/08 08:58 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: alanwenker]
kevonionia Offline
member

Registered: 04/17/06
Posts: 1322
Loc: Dallas, TX
Quote:
I've learned to live with casting votes which ultimately are registered, but not counted.


I did that here in South Florida back in '00. Look where it got us.
_________________________
- kevon

(avatar: raptor, Lake Dillon)


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#90351 - 02/19/08 10:48 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: kevonionia]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Quote:

I did that here in South Florida back in '00. Look where it got us.


Democracy - remember - it's only strength is it gets you what you deserve.

I say replace it all a good old time tested SWLIPDS[1] based system of government. No hanging chads or bending robots from the future disintegrating boxes of votes there...

-Phat

------
[1] Strange Women Lying In Ponds Distributing Swords.
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


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#90352 - 02/19/08 10:56 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: brownwetdog]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Quote:
We tell each other that having our camping gear makes us prepared citizens and we are just doing our civic duty! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> Carol


Ahh but of course. this explains the box of alcohol stoves and collection
of backpacks, tents, tarps, hammocks, pads, bags, fleeces.. etc.. I'm just
doing my civic duty!

I'll have to remember to try that line on her... (He thinks with boundless male optimism...)
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


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#90353 - 02/20/08 04:41 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: phat]
Glenn Offline
member

Registered: 03/08/06
Posts: 2617
Loc: Ohio
One of the things that's made our system work so well is that we've got the best President and Congress money can buy. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

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#90354 - 02/20/08 10:32 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: Glenn]
Glenn Offline
member

Registered: 03/08/06
Posts: 2617
Loc: Ohio
Just finished voting (absentee) in the Ohio primary. It felt a lot like shopping in a Russian department store: the shelves appear full, but there's really not a whole lot to choose from.

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#90355 - 02/20/08 11:27 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: Glenn]
Earthling Offline
member

Registered: 02/22/03
Posts: 3228
Loc: USA
In my lifetime, I would just once like to see a write in candidate win the Presidential election; and the person having been a blue collar worker and regular family type. Not the professional grifters that keep trying to get photo ops every chance the rest of us get mired in the muck of everyday living <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
PEPPER SPRAY AIN'T BRAINS IN A CAN!

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#90356 - 02/22/08 09:27 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: kevonionia]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Quote:
Quote:
I've learned to live with casting votes which ultimately are registered, but not counted.


I did that here in South Florida back in '00. Look where it got us.


That's what happens in Florida when you depend on some wimp named Chad to get your vote across. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Brum
_________________________



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#90357 - 02/22/08 09:49 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps in the City... [Re: Brumfield]
Glenn Offline
member

Registered: 03/08/06
Posts: 2617
Loc: Ohio
It probably didn't hurt that Chad's boss's name was Jeb.


Edited by Glenn (02/22/08 09:50 AM)

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#90358 - 02/22/08 09:53 AM Re: Good lord, we are wimps - NoVote08 [Re: phat]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
[Phat wrote: "Strange Women Lying In Ponds Distributing Swords"

Brumfield wrote:

Phat, you and Monty may be on to something here! Right now we should establish some Killer Rabbits outside all voting booths. That way none of these scary choices would get voted in. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Brum

Run away, run away!!!


<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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#90359 - 02/24/08 07:37 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps - NoVote08 [Re: Brumfield]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
Nice pic Brum. Sometimes I think you have too much time on your hands. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

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#90360 - 02/25/08 02:48 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps - NoVote08 [Re: finallyME]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Quote:
Nice pic Brum. Sometimes I think you have too much time on your hands. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


You noticed? Yes, the dry season here is my in-office time. I own E-Commerce businesses, which include Domain Name registrations, Web hosting, and online merchant banking systems. I spend my office days watching the servers, and backing up my stateside tech support team. I also spend a lot of time answering emails about questions sent to my religion web sites.

I'm at my desk an average of 10 hours a day with a few breaks, and during any down time I keep track of the news on BBC, Reuters, and Debka. For fun I browse TLB and my other favorite outdoor sports websites.

I build web sites and am a graphic designer, so I have a lot of tools to play with if I get bored... thus the goofy pictures. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Brum
_________________________



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#90361 - 02/26/08 06:51 PM Re: Good lord, we are wimps - NoVote08 [Re: Brumfield]
Earthling Offline
member

Registered: 02/22/03
Posts: 3228
Loc: USA
Barry, since my old computer may die at any time (which we all know Paddy, JimShaw, and some others ARE praying for <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />) I leave it on 24/7 and so it entices me to post everytime I come back in the house from outside <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> hard to get stuff done....I fell like a moth to a flame <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Help me Jesus! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
PEPPER SPRAY AIN'T BRAINS IN A CAN!

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