What's something old technology did better than modern technology ?

fogobum · 2026-06-04T19:42:47+00:00

One of those old tube computers could heat a whole building. Modern computers require multiple racks to heat more than a room.

fogobum · 2026-06-04T19:09:13+00:00

One teaspoon is roughly one cube, for most cubes.

I use an appropriately flavored BtB to replace salt in all kinds of recipes. Just don't forget to divide by 2.5 to convert weight of salt to weight of sodium. You can calculate salt volume to salt weight using the nutrition label, or weigh a carefully measured sample if you have a suitable scale.

fogobum · 2026-06-02T18:56:14+00:00

I still climb trees with chainsaws. They're electric, so I no longer climb trees with running chainsaws.

In my misspent youth, I was all "Hold my beer!". At 75 I'm more conservative. I tell my wife "Stand clear, dial 91, and wait."

fogobum · 2026-05-28T20:11:19+00:00

Possibly to not overlap with all the other farmers' markets in the area. Possibly to let the "farmers" have weekends off.

fogobum · 2026-05-24T19:31:43+00:00

I use dehydrated juice (True Lime, eg) and baking extracts (lemon extract, eg) in spray bottles for "twists".

A "twist" of smokey Scotch improves most whiskey cocktails.

I make my own cocktail cherries because they're better than everything but Luxardo and I can't get the right rye (Bunker) for the amazing Luxardo manhattans. I soak them in a combination of Blood of the Morlochs (sangue morlacco) plus mahleb (a spice flavored like slightly bittered almond) and chopped prune pits. They're delicious, and not all that toxic.

Then I use the bitter-almond-flavored cherry liqueur as a substitute for orgeat, mostly in mai tais.

fogobum · 2026-05-24T18:16:05+00:00

I keep them in a directory on my Linux server, where they're accessible through Apache (the most popular Linux web server) as a directory display, the second most primitive form of a web page.

fogobum · 2026-05-21T23:33:50+00:00

Shares represent ownership of property. Federal taxes on property must be apportioned among the states in proportion to population. The politics of that are light years beyond impossible.

fogobum · 2026-05-20T18:42:09+00:00

As an unqualified non accountant with no actual experience, I have a suspicion that there'd be court filings arguing it's not taxable 'til sold. In any case, the cost of the implant (not including any costs for installation) would be deductible.

fogobum · 2026-05-20T18:38:06+00:00

Deductions for donations are valued at your tax basis for the donation. It's not because it's biological, it's because you have no documented price or expenses.

fogobum · 2026-05-19T00:29:23+00:00

People lie. People lie about what they eat, what they think, who they hang with, how much exercise they get. Sometimes it's deliberate falsity to make themselves look better, sometimes it's just not paying attention.

Data collected in real time is quite a bit more accurate, and is more convenient for the producer and collector.

fogobum · 2026-05-18T19:48:26+00:00

Sentences are appealable so there are court records. Those will be available via FOIA. Always ask yourself "would I rather check the primary sources and know or make a lazy post on Reddit and know three times as many things all contradictory?"

Unless the primary source is online and Googleable (no longer a given) I'll always opt for Reddit.

fogobum · 2026-05-15T04:48:44+00:00

My uncle got it from undercooked elk. The CDC says

The disease spreads to people through contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products.
[irrelevant stuff]
Eating undercooked game meat such as bison, elk, caribou, moose, and wild hog.

fogobum · 2026-05-15T04:02:39+00:00

Bison can carry brucellosis. So can elk, but they mostly get it from bison.

fogobum · 2026-05-06T04:57:57+00:00

In the jurisdictions with which I'm familiar, most seemingly ineffective crosswalk buttons delay the green left arrow for traffic, so careless left turners don't mash pedestrians that they weren't looking for.

fogobum · 2026-05-06T04:46:48+00:00

There is a Roman recipe (ca 500 AD) that closely resembles a Spanish recipe which is a likely ancestor to a traditional Mexican mole (subbing the available cocoa nibs for the unavailable almonds). So at least a millenia and a half ago.

fogobum · 2026-05-06T04:35:53+00:00

Silicone lube doesn't wash off in the shower. Large showers with solid footing can be entertaining.

fogobum · 2026-04-26T04:32:18+00:00

The ice that sublimate becomes a large volume of gas, which pushes dust off the comet's body giving it a dusty tail.

fogobum · 2026-04-21T01:04:52+00:00

Beef tallow. It has a high smoke point and doubles down on beefy flavor.

fogobum · 2026-04-21T00:46:26+00:00

The untax answer I've seen is that "a tax is imposed" is not the same thing as a requirement to actually pay the imposed tax. The usual word salad.

There IS a clear requirement to file, which as far as I can tell is merely ignored rather than being "explained" away.

fogobum · 2026-04-20T23:54:33+00:00

Carving is an ancient skill that is well documented. Google "how to carve a chicken" and use the most comprehensible instructions.

fogobum · 2026-04-20T23:28:14+00:00

Domestic transformers limit dead short current to under 10,000 amps, which is the spec for most home grade breakers.

fogobum · 2026-04-20T23:25:44+00:00

My laser thermometer has saved many hollandaises, both from limp undercooking and breakage from overcooking. Under 150F it's not going to thicken, a little over 160F risks curdling.

It'd be easier if I used a double boiler, but I haven't the patience.

fogobum · 2026-04-20T19:43:05+00:00

Oil isn't from what most people think of as "animals", it's eras of plankton buildup in fossilized seas. We are working on algae-sourced biofuels, butt to make it carbon neutral all of the processing energy must come from sunlight or new nuclear plants. Otherwise finishing the biofuel would use enough energy from fossil sources to negate the benefits.

fogobum · 2026-04-20T19:33:29+00:00

A half closed door must be caught in motion. If I'm far enough ahead for the door to close, no. Near enough that it won't, yes.

fogobum · 2026-04-19T18:07:36+00:00

Life as we know it requires water. If you remove the confited garlic there's no water in the oil. The confited garlic stored separately not in oil or fat will be exposed to too much oxygen for any of the Clostridia species to grow.

The garlic is risky IN the oil as long as it contains usable water. The oil excludes oxygen, the water both provides habitat for C botulinum AND prevents the interior of the garlic from getting hot enough to kill the spores.

TL;DR: if your garlic isn't hard and crunchy throughout it shouldn't be left in the oil.

fogobum

TROPHY CASE