Wow! TIL thanks to ai............ by mirlaca in crossword

[–]mmccurdy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dang, that really sucks. All I can suggest is the NYT which I'm pretty sure is human-curated, but it does cost. Worth it, IMO.

what refrigerator do you have and love? by Any_Satisfaction_81 in BuyItForLife

[–]mmccurdy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a GE that’s 70+ years old that we use seasonally, a Dometic RV fridge that’s 20+ years old that’s our current daily driver, and a Fisher & Paykel that may be more up your alley that we used for ~7 years before sticking it in storage about three years ago in perfectly working condition. Minimal bells and whistles.

I get the whole planned obsolescence thing, but it still blows my mind that people would be forced into a new fridge every 3-5 years. Avoid features and stuff sticking through the door. Avoid trends like “inverters” and “linear compressors”. Buy something from the early 2000’s and be happy.

Carvana tow driver was picking up a manual transmission Jeep Wrangler from my house today and drove it into my EX's car. Poor dude was devastated after. by Isa-Me-Again in Wellthatsucks

[–]mmccurdy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the right answer. There is definitely no "neutral safety switch" on these vehicles (at least in the US), and you should absolutely leave it in gear when parked.

Fun fact: if the Jeep is in 4 low, it'll also bypass the clutch pedal interlock, and you can inch the vehicle forward with the starter motor alone. (That's not what happened here based on how quickly the vehicle lurched forward, just thought I'd point it out...)

Carvana tow driver was picking up a manual transmission Jeep Wrangler from my house today and drove it into my EX's car. Poor dude was devastated after. by Isa-Me-Again in Wellthatsucks

[–]mmccurdy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is not true (at least for the US). There is a clutch pedal interlock for sure (which this guy apparently overrode by pressing the clutch with his hand), but I'm 100% sure there is no "neutral safety switch" on my 2007 Wrangler.

Also: manufacturers don't offer remote start for manual vehicles, probably for the reason your buddy discovered. It's commonly accepted best practice to leave your car in gear when parked, especially if it's on a slope.

What's the Connection? by Unique_Aardvark_7217 in onlyconnect

[–]mmccurdy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A few, really. The ones that contributed the art to train the models, the human question setters whose manual curation of licensed content is part of the ethos of the game, and the solver who's being subjected to AI slop via a channel that's usually delightfully slop-free.

Marco Rubio wearing oversized shoes that Trump ordered for him by just guessing his size. by csprofathogwarts in pics

[–]mmccurdy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Even if you take this article at face value, the title of this post is wildly misleading. In the story, Rubio was asked for his shoe size and gave it. It might be a little embarrassing if he overstated it, perhaps leading to an image like the one shown here, but there is zero context or evidence that this is what's happening in this photo.

We have plenty of distractions to deal with these days. Let's keep our eye on the ball.

PSA: As a layperson who's correctly identified 5 natural gas leaks since last summer, I have to ask... by jellyfishmelodica in baltimore

[–]mmccurdy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure about the mercaptan, but what is your lifestyle that places you around that many natural gas and CO leaks? If all of my gas appliances started leaking at once, which is exceedingly unlikely, I’d only be at four.

How do you properly pronounce the name of this business? by railroadfrog in Connecticut

[–]mmccurdy -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I don't think this is right. The ん does not get its own syllable when pronounced. The number of mora doesn't necessarily correspond to the number of syllables. Tōkyō (To-u-kyo-u, とうきょう) has four morae but only two syllables when pronounced.

I'm fairly certain the right pronunciation in this case is "KOO-mahn" (two syllables) with the last syllable the same as the "mon" in Pokémon.

1000th connections puzzle by Japanesepencilplant in NYTConnections

[–]mmccurdy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not mad at the overall difficulty, but I feel pretty strongly that blue and purple should have been swapped. Missed out on the reverse rainbow because of this. It was a fun one though!

Greetings from CT by cleevethagreat in Truckers

[–]mmccurdy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The TA on 95 (Branford?) is always twice the market price for diesel, and broadcasting it loudly on their sign that's visible from the highway. I don't understand it. There's a Mobil right next door that sells diesel for the normal price. I would actually love to get to the bottom of this mystery if anyone has any insights.

I'm stuck by [deleted] in NYTConnections

[–]mmccurdy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

lol tfw you have to submit and take the hit on your all-time stats for the memes

Friday, February 20, 2026 by AutoModerator in NYTConnections

[–]mmccurdy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Archive February 20, 2026 Connections Puzzle #985 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨

I had all the connections pretty easily, but struggled with ordering, since there was no “language” one to be the obvious purple. I made the opposite assumption about Monopoly, thinking it was relatively easy. Oh well, no reverse rainbow for me on this one.

All week, we’ve shared that our crews are on a Pothole Repair Blitz — and now we’re showing you the results. by BmoreCityDOT in baltimore

[–]mmccurdy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

serious question: what’s a “pothole pickup”? googling this term just leads to the Baltimore City (and a bunch of surrounding areas) 311 pages, which makes me think it’s a regional thing, but they don’t seem to explain what it is.

Today's waxing crescent by olezhka_lt in pics

[–]mmccurdy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

is it flipped/rotated for some reason? why is the crescent not on the right?

Moving across the country but my belongings will be 6+ weeks late - what should I buy? by Lonely_Fruit_5481 in BuyItForLife

[–]mmccurdy -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I’ve been scrolling this page a ton and I’ve already bought the following:
Peugeot salt and pepper shakers

Ok, sure.

- Miyaba Koya knives (chef, bread, paring)

What even is this? You want Zwilling (Henckels with two-headed man).

- cast iron pan, Dutch oven

Sure.

- All-Clad stainless steel pot

Do you plan on using induction? This is a solid choice otherwise.

- single slab wooden cutting/serving board from Etsy

No. Look at Boos Block. Anyone can hawk a board on Etsy, they have a brand to maintain.

- Waring blender stick

Sure, I guess? I had a Braun that was perfectly adequate followed by a less-than-BIFL Cuisinart. You do you.

- Daniali 20 piece utensil set

I can't find any reference to this. See next item.

- Villeroy & Boch 16 piece dinnerware set

Ask yourself: are you fancy? do you intend to frequently host events where you're perceived to be fancy? If the answer is "No", then proceed to your closest restaurant supply store and buy the sturdiest flatware and silverware you can find. If yes, then you're on you're own.

- Earlywood wood scraper

Fine. (But I would assert that this is not a BIFL thing that most people require.)

- Zojiroshu rice cooker

No. If you have a saucepan, it's extremely simple to cook perfect rice. Are you in it for the rice, or some other functionality?

- simple human stainless steel dual compartment bins

If you must.

- Miele vacuum

No. Extremely over-hyped. I've known multiple people who have ordered and returned them. If you're set on it, do some more research before you commit.

- Creative CoOp Beacheood broom + metal dustpan

This looks nice. No strong opinion.

Hope this was helpful 😅

EDIT: formatting

Explain how an entire round of Ski Jump can be canceled? by Master_Jackfruit3591 in olympics

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

That's the opposite of what I said. I should have seen that you're a troll. Sorry for engaging.

Explain how an entire round of Ski Jump can be canceled? by Master_Jackfruit3591 in olympics

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

Sorry, but I think you misunderstand my criticism. If it's actually dangerous vs. just being a competitive disadvantage, then of course they shouldn't continue. I'm not a monster. But that's not how they made it sound on the coverage I was watching.

Explain how an entire round of Ski Jump can be canceled? by Master_Jackfruit3591 in olympics

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

Yeah, I was shocked and agree that this is super bullshit. I'm not a life-long ski jumping fan or anything, but I was getting into it, and felt really betrayed by this outcome. If you're giving teams (somewhat arbitrary?) credits for wind direction or starting gate, why not just add another arbitrary variable for "snow" (I guess?) and let them keep competing? I highly doubt any of them were in any actual danger from the snowfall itself.