u/MartyFunkhoosier

Bought the “Happy Gene” bottle with Chinese writing on it but I’m curious if there is a story behind it?

Seems like once every summer I have a housefly invasion and that invasion is now lol. I have no idea where they come from. I don’t have garbage lying around, no fruit/veggies out on the counter, no potted plants indoors, I don’t leave patio door open, etc. They congregate on the kitchen window right above the sink and on the sliding glass door to the deck which is five feet away, but I’ll swat 5-6 of them and 10 mins later there will be 10 more. Ideas where they may be coming from? They’re regular house flies, not fruit flies.

If you’re a bike rider and didn’t know, you can get 32oz-sized water bottle cages that are just like regular metal bottle cages, just bigger. There are quite a few options but my favorites are Tanaka’s “8 moves” bottle cage. Comes in quite a few nice colors and is well made. You can also add a Voile strap to keep the bottle from rattling and to keep it totally locked in over rough stuff. Best prices I’ve seen in the USA are from Soma. Probably best for people who want to stop for a minute to hydrate. Fiddling with a Voile and uncapping a Nalgene would be a bit much while continuing to pedal, but for us “just out for a fun ride” folks these are awesome.

Update: may have solved my own question. The Hudson Essentials is the style I am looking for, is stainless steel with no coatings, plastics, etc and is on sale on their website for $30. I’m not familiar with that brand but it checks all the boxes.

I have had my current citrus press (the kind that two halves with a hinge on one side and you flip it open to load the chamber and then swing the top half back over and squeeze the handle together to press the fruit) for a long time but it is coated or painted and the coating/paint is starting to chip and that doesn’t breed a lot of confidence. For a single use kitchen item I actually use mine a lot so I’d love to find something that isn’t coated in anything and would be a last purchase for me. Any brand recommendations? I think I prefer the idea of this squeezer style vs the dish with a cone thing in the middle, although I can’t say for sure. I don’t do a super high volume or anything, it’s usually 1 lemon or a couple limes at a time.

I have had my current citrus press (the kind that two halves with a hinge on one side and you flip it open to load the chamber and then swing the top half back over and squeeze the handle together to press the fruit) for a long time but it is coated or painted and the coating/paint is starting to chip and that doesn’t breed a lot of confidence. For a single use kitchen item I actually use mine a lot so I’d love to find something that isn’t coated in anything and would be a last purchase for me. Any brand recommendations? I think I prefer the idea of this squeezer style vs the dish with a cone thing in the middle, although I can’t say for sure. I don’t do a super high volume or anything, it’s usually 1 lemon or a couple limes at a time.

Looking for real, truly broasted chicken. Broasting is a process of frying chicken in a special broasting machine which is basically a pressure cooker + deep frier. I think it’s more common in the northern Midwest but hoping somewhere in the metro makes this style of fried chicken, thanks!

Looking for a good quality very lightweight hoody primarily for use when on planes but I guess also for just light chill working at a desk. I’m NEVER cold but on planes I can get chilly and I’m a big guy and not flexible so I always just start the flight wearing my hoody or I’ll never get it on otherwise. If I fall asleep I’ll wake up burning hot and sweating. It has been that way my entire life if I take a nap in any circumstances. So I’m looking for a very lightweight hoody. I prefer 100% cotton for this but not committed to it. MUST have zipper and hood. I don’t want it to be like sun hoody lightweight but I do want it to be lighter than an average sweatshirt. Must come in XXL regular size for fat guys and bonus points if it seems like it would work for someone with long torso. I’m currently using Amazon lightweight hoody and that’s still heavier than I want. Also they’re short in the torso, especially after washing and don’t come in longer lengths. I know this is very specific, thanks in advance!

Sorry for this question and, yes, I do know how to use Google but I’m totally unfamiliar with the LA metro area and am clueless. In town for a conference with nothing to do tonight and wondering if there’s a show to catch in the Brea area (let’s say 15-20 mins Uber from there)? Genre not important, or if this is too stupid of a question, can you name any venues I should look up that may fit the criteria? Thanks in advance!

I’ve owned a Quick Mill Carola Evo for 6-7 years and every shot seems to be biased out of the right side of the portafilter (using a naked PF). The counter must slope a little bit in that direction. Other than the aesthetics of the shot pulling right from the center, is it worth shimming the machine to be level?

Bought some fenders at a bike swap today because I hate myself and I’ve run into an issue with the hole in the chain stay bridge where the front part of the rear fender should mount. I have an OLD 1x1 I bought used in 2007, so probably the first year they were made as Surly 1x1s and not Rats, and I can’t seem to thread a bolt into the chain stay hole. The seatstay bridge accepts a standard M5x0.8 bolt like a water bottle boss would use and I assume the chain stay bridge should do the same. Granted I’ve never had anything threaded in there and this is an old bike so it may just be gunked up or need to be chased. Which brings a second question, if I chase the threads, am I supposed to do that from the wheel side of the chain stay bridge or the bottom bracket side, in which case I would never be able to get a tool in there to do it. I might just get a narrow zip tie and zip tie it, but any help much appreciated. I didn’t realize this was Planet Bike’s “EZ” fenders that strap to the fork legs and seat stays and they’re actually a PITA compared to ones that just use the fender mounts. I run a Troll fork on this bike and between the million braze ons and the disc mount I’m not sure these are the right thing, but I bought them for $40 so I really want to make them work.

Was torn earlier today because I wanted to see Stygian Bough tonight even though I really don’t k ow their music or the other bands’ stuff very well. But Friday night? Come on! Reason I was torn is I’ve been traveling for work a lot and my house was a mess of weeds outside and I’m gone again next weekend and it’s supposed to rain all weekend. I thought it would be one or the other and I need to be a responsible 50 year old. Knocked that yardwork out fast after work and still made it to the show 😁

Obtained a 26” wheeled baby blue Disc Trucker last year and it has quickly become my favorite bike. Previous owner rode the heck out of it which I love to see, but there are a decent number of places on the frame where small bits of paint are gone. My guess is he had some frame mounted bags that eventually just abraded through the paint. What’s the best way to deal with these to protect against rust? They’re not paint chips, but more like small areas that someone took fine sandpaper to. I guess the obvious would be to sand them and fill in with primer and paint but is there an effective and less involved way? I don’t mind how they look, so if I could, for example, lightly sand them to clean/prep the area and use something to clear coat over them easily that would be fine with me.

I’ll be in Wilmington for work this coming weekend and I should be done around lunch time on Sunday with a flight out late, like after 9pm. I’ll have a car and I’ve never been to the area. I would love to see the beach but probably wouldn’t lounge around for long, maybe walk for a while and get my legs wet though. Any lighthouses in the area? I like craft beer, good food (I’m in the Midwest so seafood and fish would be nice), strolling nice old downtown/shop areas. Pretty open to suggestions really. What would you recommend for a nice Sunday afternoon and evening in the area? Also any recommendations for a good local coffee roaster? Sorry if these tourist q’s are annoying!

Wanted to ride some urban gravel on my bike and got blocked heading out of the Bottoms by a parked train, got blocked again coming back from the Current stadium and had to double back to the River Market and take the streets over the trains, then hit a THIRD train after descending back down into the Bottoms. I’ve never had this happen to me. Was today a crazy train day or was it the time (1-2:30pm) or what? Usually I do this ride earlier in the morning. Made my ride a lot longer and on the plus side I got to see the goats cleaning up the Riverwalk trail, but still.

Averaged out over the year I probably attend about 1 show per month, maybe 2. I really like the artwork on t shirts and I like wearing band shirts, but they’re adding up. Fast. I’m 51, have no kids, and they’ll probably get thrown in the garbage when I die. For a while I went with the posters, but they can get expensive, most shows don’t have them, they’re a pain in the ass to carefully protect for the whole show, and even when I DIY matting and framing is expensive and I don’t have the wall space to sustain that for very long either. I’m not a battle jacket person, I don’t want random shit like a bottle opener or other cheap merch. I will likely never own a record player/stereo setup worthy of vinyl and starting to buy CDs again after selling off hundreds of them when the promise of digital was going to change the world isn’t an option. I want to downsize and de-clutter, not go the opposite direction. At this point in my life I’d rather take all that money and buy like a single awesome jacket or some other high end, buy it for life clothing piece or etc than amass all these shirts, as much as I love them.

I know a lot of what bands make is from the merch so I feel kind of shitty going to a show and not buying something, but I also don’t want to wake up in a few years with 5 big tubs of band shirts I’m having to store. Anyone else struggle like this and what did you decide to do?

I have a Titanium Ecozilla that I’ve owned… I don’t even know… 20-25 years. Thing is going strong except I can tell the threads for screwing in the crown are just about gone. I have always been a responsible watch owner, I probably have 20-25 mechanical Seiko and Citizen divers and I know to back the crown off with light pressure until the thread “clunks” before screwing in, etc etc. My question is is this something repairable? I don’t k ow the anatomy of these watches at all, so is there a pet that can be replaced by a watchmaker or if this seemingly last row or two of threads disappears then is the watch is toast?

Picked up a very lightly used Surly front rack and I am trying to mount it on my Ogre but the seller did not include the unicrown plates (the ones with three slots in them). The available hardware isn’t working for me so before I order the unicrown plates I figured I’d see if anyone had some lying around they aren’t using and would want to send them my way? I’ll happily pay the shipping.

This summer is going to be great… Melvins, Conan and Whores mid July and Faetooth returning to town in September. I’ve been procrastinating buying my tickets for two months because that’s just what I do (I thought) and when I went to get my Melvins ticket the show was sold out (big surprise, it’s a small club on a Friday or Saturday night). I proceeded to get my Whores and Conan tix and then thought “you know, you should probably check Ticketmaster…” and lo and behold, I had already purchased my Melvins and Faetooth tix when the shows were announced lol. Whew!

Trying to find this from the West Bottoms is tough if you don’t know where it is already. This extension goes from the base of the Town of Kansas bridge in the River Market to the West Bottoms at Woodswether and Liberty. Mural painting is going on today, pretty cool! Gravel is very loose, skinny tires will have a tough time. Be careful, it wants to slide sideways and take your front tire out!

I’m a 51 year old fat ass who works too much and has two elderly dogs at home, so leaving again after getting home from work is not an option at this time in my life. I live in a horrible weather part of the country and know myself very well enough to k ow I won’t ride a trainer in the winter to keep my ass hardened and my legs slightly trained. As such I fall apart all winter and then spend all spring and summer getting my butt used to the saddle and trying to get in slight shape riding once per weekend. Miserable all summer and then when I just start feeling decent it’s cold again. LOL

But as bleak as it sounds I have been putting off finding my kit, getting my tools and etc together for my bike bag, blah blah and the weather is mild today and I’m meeting someone to buy something halfway toward my favorite bike trail, so today is the day I’m finally getting off my ass and I’ll do some nice and easy slow miles and just have fun.