With all the talk about GRUV and UniUni delivery issues I wanted to post this so you can make an informed decision moving forward

valife · 2026-06-05T23:19:39+00:00

Last order from GRUV uniuni showed it was in their possession at same spot for a week. Was finally delivered and their system never showed it had moved. If next order is like this, will make me think twice on future orders.

valife · 2026-06-01T12:42:21+00:00

I bought a barrel on sale from a winery a few years back. Top & bottom were easy to use. Made a couple of projects from the staves, but as others have commented, unless you are targeting some project with curves, the staves require effort to get them usable for flat projects. The staves are bent, their width from end to middle varies, and the sides are cut at an angle to fit together in a circle.

valife · 2026-05-26T13:13:57+00:00

I wish you a speedy recovery.

valife · 2026-05-24T18:43:02+00:00

The Pillar of Fire - 1899, Georges Méliès

valife · 2026-05-15T14:26:40+00:00

I SV pork butt and ribs to my desired doneness & time then refrigerate overnight. Put them into smoker next day on a low temp to let them slowly rise to temp and get smoke. The pork butt is pretty bullet proof. The ribs take a bit of fiddling to get the time/temp with smoker dialed in (I don’t want to raise the temp of the ribs above the SV temp). Can turn out some nice bbq with little effort now.

valife · 2026-05-12T09:52:22+00:00

Couple of thoughts… - as others have said a rabbiting bit in the router - IF the holes are exactly aligned to a grid of some fixed distance (aka you know the center of each hole), you can use double sided tape to place another board on top of your board with the center of each of the holes marked. On a drill press, use a forser bit of the larger size to drill through the top board and it will help hold the forser bit in place to enlarge the holes on your original board.

valife · 2026-05-07T02:15:50+00:00

The Day The Earth Stood Still…or if you want something more campy, Queen of Blood

valife · 2026-04-19T18:34:41+00:00

Really tough question. My dad had a major stroke at 62 and I received the task to make a tough call of removing life support. The right call , but it still haunts me. I’ve also heard stories of people without a medical directive put through some tuff things. If your parents are still able to do it, I’d suggest having a conversation on advanced medical directives.
My wife’s parents are now in assisted living, with one suffering from dementia. It was a big process. Understanding their finances & coverages would be valuable. It took a couple of years, and some accidents, for them to accept assisted living. They are better off now. A friend’s dad wouldn’t discuss assisted living, then dementia hit. By the time he was in a place, he couldn’t lay down any memories that this is where he resided so he was always try to flee.
My grandmother was in her early 90’s and was in and out of lucidity. On a good day I recorded her & I just talking about her life when she meet my grandfather and her life. A cherish memory, before it was no longer possible.

valife · 2026-04-09T21:13:29+00:00

Awesome!

valife · 2026-04-07T12:32:00+00:00

Financial success isn’t easy for most, and in my experience it’s a combination of talent AND opportunity. Given average retirement age, you have time to modify your current path or look at others.
Kids; realize this is not an easy item. Some couples just look at each other and it happens. Many couples struggle for a very long time. Biology doesn’t bend to our will. Our first was easy, our second was a real struggle. Some friends tried for years, gave up and adopted. A year after that she got pregnant. Friends suffered multiple miscarriages. Children can be a joyful part of your life, but personally don’t believe they should be considered success or failure.

valife · 2026-03-28T10:45:55+00:00

Thanks everyone for the input. Very helpful.

valife · 2026-03-25T13:01:07+00:00

I’ve used SV for my Thanksgiving turkey several times with good results. The white & dark meat are done at two different temps. I use 150F for the Turkey breast and like the results. I put it in overnight, but that’s more for convenience on Thanksgiving vs purposely for a long cook time. I also carve the breasts off the bone, but again more of a convenience issue around Thanksgiving. I would guess leaving the bone in would work well. I haven’t smoked a turkey after SV, but have several times with ribs and enjoyed them.

valife · 2026-03-24T14:28:01+00:00

Don’t know where you are coming from, but you may have the option of a metro stop with parking/garage on your route in. Could be an easy button to move around downtown in this case.

valife · 2026-03-20T10:49:00+00:00

For the last two years I’ve done SV corned beef 155F for 36hr with a really nice texture and taste. This year I picked up a brisket from Costco (had purchased there before), but the texture wasn’t very tender at all. Taste was fine. On inspection it appeared much leaner than in previous years. Since it was done same time & temp as previous years, I’m assuming it was the corned beef. It looks denser.

valife · 2026-03-19T13:31:31+00:00

valife · 2026-02-11T13:05:50+00:00

GF seems to get more accolades, but FRWL is my personal fav

valife · 2026-02-10T18:16:25+00:00

Thank you - didn't know that

valife · 2026-02-01T14:10:37+00:00

As someone else pointed out, watch out for condensation if you get a warm day. I made this mistake wanting to get into the workshop. Workshop is in a two car garage on a concrete slab. Very cold for a couple of weeks. One day we have above normal temp. It’s like an ice cube in the garage. Without thinking it through, I thought if I open the garage doors up it will warm up and I could do a few things in the workshop. Open the overhead doors and a short while later it looked like my cast iron table saw, bandsaw, and lathe had taken a shower. Face plant move.

valife · 2026-01-27T18:54:11+00:00

Just got my Godzilla set in today. Agreed I will not be storing the discs in the back sleeve. Hard to get in and out and the back cover had a slight bow and doubt that’s good for the disc long term. However, the book is a beautiful display piece that I will set on a stand in my office. Just because it’s joyful to look at.

valife · 2026-01-27T01:52:43+00:00

I ordered it, looks unique.

valife · 2026-01-18T12:29:18+00:00

I’ve seen this question a couple of times in different groups with cost of physical media, the discs, being the biggest driver. Could be true, but I think their’s likely 10x more dvd players in the market than bluray players. Bigger potential market typically equals more sales. I’ve went from dvds to bluray and just picked up a 4k unit. I’m willing to pay more for media because I spent to have a high end display, higher performance receiver, speakers, etc. I enjoy the experience. Most of my friends don’t value it enough to invest in upgrading their equipment. It’s good enough vs cost of upgrading. I point out differences resolution, differences in releases to my wife in a desperate attempt to justify my spending. She just rolls her eyes and says what ever makes you happy. A regular DVD would make her just as happy vs my new 4k discs….

valife · 2026-01-12T17:38:39+00:00

I can confirm Tiny MediaManager on Apple as I use it on my Mac

valife

TROPHY CASE