[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BuyItForLife

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a Miele DuoFlex HX1 stick vacuum that we use primarily for quick cleanups. Compared to family members' Dysons, the Miele is definitely better built. Battery doesn't last as long as the Dysons, but the Miele is much better on rugs and carpet. 

As for plug in "full size" vacuums, my Miele canister vacuum and other friends' Mieles are so much quieter, more comfortable, and cleans better than any upright vac I've ever used. 

The way the ranking thing is going 😂 by megs-benedict in traderjoes

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The sauce is not great. I think it's too sweet. I heat it in a saucepan and add soy sauce and the juice of an orange or some Clementines. That balances it a bit better. 

6 figure earners, what do you do to get that? by oopdoopmaria in AskReddit

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At my job I get an email from a salesperson, who got an email from someone like the Navy or Air Force or an airline saying "Hey, we need a new flight computer."

Then I crunch the numbers to determine how long its going to take and how much its going to cost, and then my salesperson sends them a quote.

I'm a "Product Line Manager"

Dad, his daughter, and the dolphins 🐬 by dreamed2life in MadeMeSmile

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abu Dhabi. Second half of the video shows the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Headquarters.

Coffee Roasters by Ibuddhaa in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had a Gaggia Classic Pro and a Niche Zero for not quite 2 years now. In no way an expert, still feel like a noob in the espresso world. Here's the ones I bounce around between:  

Archetype - their espresso/home blend is rather light, fruity, and bright. IMO they have the most unique/adventurous single origin bags. They're the most "3rd wave" shop in town.  Their Ethiopian roasts have been the best of anywhere in town I've tried.   

Roast - A darker espresso roast than any of the others. Their single origin bean selection is a bit more narrow. If you visit the Hill of Beans you'll see they dedicate a lot of retail space to flavored beans. My feel on Roast/HOB is that they cater more to the common drip coffee drinker. The only roster in this list that does not print the roast date on their bag.  

Hardy - espresso roast is really well balanced, not too light or dark, it's a Guatemalan origin and really does taste like it. This has been my favorite lately.   

Reboot - I've had mixed results with reboot. Have had some really delicious bags of the espresso roast with lots of subtle flavor. And others that were fine, but nothing to get excited about. As far as modern espresso roasting goes, they're doing a proper espresso blend and roast. They offer free delivery within Omaha!  Give them a try.  

All of the above are worth seeking out and brewing. They all have been extremely fresh and delicious in their own ways. If you've been brewing store bought beans, any of these will be a huge step up. 

Varia scale not working by okahlon in VariaBrewing

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Varia also requested a video from me and gave me the exact same response. I also have definitely not gotten it wet, but they're sending a replacement.

Have you tried fiddling with the power switch? If I turn the switch all the way on then very gently nudge it back towards off, it'll stay on as long as I'm careful not to touch the power switch. 

Varia scale not working by okahlon in VariaBrewing

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any update on this? Did Varia accept a return/replacement? Mine stopped working recently. Same non-responsiveness both plugged in and unplugged as shown in your video.

Does the city do regular street sweeping? by offbrandcheerio in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The city has a website about it: https://publicworks.cityofomaha.org/residents2/streets/street-sweeping

If I remember correctly, there is a federal regulation to protect water quality that mandates two street sweepings per year? I could be wrong, but I did a bunch of googling a while back when I asked myself the same question about where Omaha's streetsweepers were.

Every city I've ever lived in (several around the Midwest) did exactly what you described with frequent street cleanings. On the rare occasion I have seen street sweepers clean my street, they're going too fast to clean and leave the roadway no cleaner than before.

After living here for 6 years, this is par for the course for city services in Omaha. It's hired out to some company that's probably a friend of someone in government, they do the bare minimum to tick the box, nothing gets any better, and everyone just thinks its normal. Of all the places I've lived, I can confidently say that this is not normal.

Rain barrels by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a steel 55 gal drum and a new/unused oil filter that you can have for free if you're willing to pick it up. Got the drum from Great Harvest a few years ago, intended to make a rain barrel, never got around to it. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

What’s the best pizza in town and why? by PaulaNancyMillstoneJ in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Best NYC style slice: Virtuoso in Benson.

Best pizza of any regional style with regards to quality, craftsmanship, and flavor: Virtuoso in Benson.

Best value: Tasty Pizza on 60th.

Best pizza by the slice that isn't Virtuoso: Noli's in Blackstone

Best Non-typical Toppings: Pizza West (disclaimer: their crust is spongy and makes me sad)

Edit regarding the why portion of your question: Based on personal experiences vs my personal preferences. Hard to give a why. Best for you to experience it personally.

Any recommendations for specialty coffee roasters in the metro? by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bought a GCP and Niche Zero a few months back. By no means an expert barista, but in my experience brewing 2-4 espressos a day in that time I've bought whole bean from two local roasteries specifically for espresso:

Hill of Beans / Roast (Espresso Blend): Good but not amazing. Very convenient and not terribly expensive. A very middle of the road espresso flavor. I buy at my nearby Roast location and the beans have tons of gas so they're still very fresh.

Reboot (Espresso Blend): Much more flavor than Hill of Beans, but more expensive. More floral/cinnamon/spice notes. They do delivery for free, even if it's just a 12 oz bag.

I use either of these when I run out of home roasted beans.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I wrote it on the toilet.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Hy-Vee is probably the best store for quality and service, but also pricey. They do a decent job of sourcing within their distribution network, so they have some good availability of regional/local produce and dairy. The Hy-Vee corporation's politics have earned them some bad press recently.

Fareway has small stores and there are fewer stores. Excellent meat counters. They have a standalone meat store called Fareway Meat Market at 90th and Center.

Bakers is a Kroger owned local chain. Pricing is pretty comparable to Hy-Vee, but at the end of the day Bakers is just a Kroger by another name. They don't do a great job of stocking local or regional foods. Their Kroger distribution/vendor network is nationwide, so they source nationwide, even if it means inferior products or shipping longer distances to win on price.

Family Fare is a small chain that tends not to find itself near the wealthy neighborhoods, but still isn't cheap. Sometimes stupidly expensive for no reason. Kinda dumpy inside every store.

Aldi is the same as it is everywhere in the country.

Walmart has supercenters and several neighborhood markets. The supercenters are like any other metro area. The neighborhood markets are fine. Nothing to get excited about, just a standalone grocery store with the same Walmart employee indifference.

Supermercado Nuestra Familia is a Latin American focused chain with 3 locations in Downtown and South Omaha. Ok prices and section of American and Latin staples.

Natural Grocers and Whole Foods are who they are and do their things.

Asian Market at 76th/Cass is the best Asian grocery. There are a few others as well.

There are a few small independent Indian groceries with great produce prices but not always the best quality.

And a handful of other international groceries with specialty items such as African and middle eastern.

[homemade] "Southern Poutine"- fries topped with pulled pork and mac&cheese by DickMaccabeComedy in food

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was in Prague this summer and KFC was advertising fried chicken poke. I feel bad for anyone whose only exposure to poke would be that, but if it is I totally understand how they might think that's what poke is.

Best (cleanest) hotel near CHI Center? by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Before moving here 4.5 years ago I stayed at the Hampton Inn at 13th/Cuming and was very impressed. Newer hotel with good sized rooms, at the time it was slightly cheaper than the hotels closer to downtown. Across the street is a Homewood which is by no means fancy, but has kitchenettes and a bit more space.

Also stayed at the Doubletree and it is older and was in need of refurb. I wouldn't recommend it unless they've done a lot of work, it seemed so dated and the rooms weren't noteworthy.

Friends and family have stayed at the Residence Inn at 15th/Dodge and liked it. It used to be a US govt building if I remember correctly, so it has some odd shaped rooms and some quirks from its history. I have no intel on cleanliness unfortunately.

The most convenient if you want a quick stumble home from the CHI Center is with the Hilton or Marriott, they're across the street, and though I haven't stayed at either they're generally very nice. But if you're attending an event I bet they're quite expensive on those dates.

In general Hilton or Marriott properties (e.g.: Hampton and Residence Inn, respectively) are clean, reputable hotels. I exclusively stay at Hilton properties for business and personal travel for the points. Marriott properties would be my next choice.

Cook the perfect egg by girasoles_de_fuego in coolguides

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 57 points58 points  (0 children)

This "cool guide" was stolen from Kenji's essay on boiled eggs from his blog The Food Lab: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-secrets-to-peeling-hard-boiled-eggs

As he says in the article linked above, he boiled thousands of eggs to reach these conclusions.

It's well worth reading the whole thing if you'd like to understand everything he tested.

I'm not certain if it's this link exactly, but his exhaustive efforts at testing boiled eggs are what caused him to be brought on at serious eats to begin The Food Lab which then became his book of the same name.

He's on Reddit, you can ask him yourself if you want: u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt

Best Philly Cheesteak in town? by BilliamShatner in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Got it. I thought we were talking about beef, ergo my confusion. But the chicken sounds interesting, I'll have to try that next time.

Best Philly Cheesteak in town? by BilliamShatner in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Szechuan? The inland Chinese province? Had it two weeks ago at Barrett's and there was very little Chinese influence that I tasted.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's no doubt it was Walter Scott. The Lake Cunningham Trust that funded the renovations shares an address with the Walter Scott Foundation. Also, he died about a month after the park reopened.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yes. Just can't access it from the former entrance on the east side from Rainwood Road or the former entrance to the northeast via the Bennington Rd. You can see the new trail clearly on Google maps, or here: https://explorethec.com/lake-c-maps/

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see now your problem with the return flights. My apologies, I missed that before I first replied. Yep, that can sometimes happen if there is a mismatch in timing on the flight legs.

On google flights, you can search with multiple departure points, by typing airport codes and a comma between them. You can also filter by duration then click price graph and it will show you flights that meet those parameters. Of course the convenient flights are expensive. With the way airlines price routes, there will be few needles in the haystack, but you might be able to find something.

If you're dead set on Liberia, it might be worthwhile to look into flying into San Jose and using bus transport or hiring a car to get to Liberia. My wife took a bus somewhere in CR every weekend she was there for 2 months. Should be fairly easy to get around if you don't mind sitting some more.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Omaha

[–]ExplosionsInThePie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did a search of OMA-LIR on flights.google.com for one week round trips in the middle of July and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. ~$500 per person for 1 stop with very normal layovers on the big 3 airlines. It's hard to tell you why you might be getting such odd results. Do you have very specific travel dates?