u/Sevenninetwosix

I’ve driven by it a bunch of times and been curious but thought it was just a novelty. Finally stopped in today and it was actually fantastic! Whether you already love Indian food or if you are a beginner looking for an approachable way to try it. Everything was delicious. Don’t sleep on this place.

Highly recommend the naan taco with paneer or the butter chicken quesadilla but everything that the people I dined with was great.

tl;dr- The people at Sloss Furnace went out of their way to help an out-of-state customer purchase and ship something meaningful from their gift shop.

Full post- My family and I visited your city last summer for the Drum Corp International show. It was spectacular. The next day, we visited Sloss Furnace where took a really cool guided tour and got to see the way that pig iron was made. We stopped by the gift shop and my daughter picked out a shrimp paperweight(?) that had been cast by one of the artists there.

Fast forward to today.

My younger brother's beloved dog passed away and I wanted to get him something special to remind him of the good times they had together. Several years ago, while a construction crew was working on his house, one of the workers would bring shrimp for lunch and throw the shells under one of the bushes in his yard. The dog would run out there and eat them [not exactly vet recommended, but the dog never suffered any ill effects]. For weeks after construction completed, the dog would run out to the bush every day and check for shrimp from what they lovingly called "the shrimp bush". I knew I wanted to get my brother a cast shrimp like my daughter had purchased so there would always be a shrimp under "the shrimp bush" to keep alive the memory of a happier time with the dog.

I got on the internet to find one and it turns out that cast iron shrimp do not seem to exist outside the work of this single artist who sells at the Sloss gift shop. I live 3 hours away and cannot just swing by and pick one up in person (as much as I would love to come back and tour again). I know this seems like a silly or ridiculous thing but if you've ever lost a pet you understand the desire to keep their memory alive.

I called Sloss this morning and explained my situation and the people who work there were so kind. They had one shrimp in stock and agreed to mail it for me at a price which I struggle to believe they are not losing money on.

When they answered the phone they could have easily said, "Sorry, we only do in-person retail sales" and I would not have blamed them. Instead they went out of their way to make this happen for me and I am eternally grateful. I hope to have a chance to come back and visit again sometime. In the mean time, if you are local and haven't been- the guided tour is worth more than they charge for it and the people running the place are some real ones. Thank you Sloss Furnace. Stay awesome!

I understand this sub is mostly people who already own, or intend to purchase kayaks of their own so maybe you aren't my target audience, but if you booked a tour while visiting the very vacation-able city nearby...

Outside of being an avid paddler of my personal kayak(s), I am also employed as a kayak guide who leads tours on a lake in the southeastern US. We launch hybrid kayak/canoe style boats out of a state park and paddle a 4 mile lollypop route. Our customers range from locals looking for a date night to international travelers who are in town visiting a major cultural attraction city not far from here.

When I was hired I was given a .pdf of some info to share with guests, but [respectfully to whoever created it] it was kind of lacking. I have a degree in education and used to teach science and social studies including the history of the area so I have ditched most of the "The lake is X acres and has X miles of shoreline" for more engaging stories about King George III's Proclamation of 1763 and the early longhunters who crossed the Appalachian range. I do include info about the timing and reasons for the dam which created the lake, and I take questions about anything from ancient pre-history to modern events that customers may want more into about.

Are there any other recreational/lake/casual kayak guides here- what do you talk about?

If you were booking a guided tour what would you want to learn about the area?

Best "tour guide jokes"** that you have heard on other tours that I might add to my tours?

** I tell guests it will be paddling up hill on the way out and down hill on the way back, I mention that as an old man looking back on all the people I've lost over the years, it makes me wonder if being a tour guide was the right career path, and of course I close with "You will receive an email asking if you'd like to leave a review about your tour experience, if you enjoyed the tour my name is SevenNineTwoSix, if you didn't enjoy it my name is [other random name]."

I truly want to give my guests the best experience and have them walk away feeling the money they spent was worth it for what they received.

I am a itinerant teacher (I do not have a classroom that is "mine" and move between multiple rooms/buildings). I teach 3D design using computer software to groups of children. I need to mirror my computer screen onto a larger screen so that my students can see what I am doing. This setup needs to be portable so I can set it up and take it down repeatedly. I tried to do some independent research (which is like drinking from a fire hose) but I am still a little confused about what the absolute minimum viable setup might look like.

To get an idea of what this will be used for- Imagine you are using MS Paint or Inkscape on a laptop and you need some 9 year old kids to see where you are clicking and what shapes you are making on the screen. I don't need ultra-high resolution or an immersive experience like you might for a home theater, I just need them to be able to see clearly enough to follow what I am doing from maybe 10-12 feet away in a room that is not completely dark. I will be purchasing this with my own money for reasons which are not relevant to the answering of this question but as a result, finding the cheapest thing that will work is a primary concern.

Per the wiki-

• Maximum budget- Trying really hard to stay under $500 all in but the closer to $free.99 the better.
• Screen size- Maybe 80-100" I need less "movie theater" and more "powerpoint presentation at the office"
• Distance from back wall or preferred mounting position to screen wall- Projector will sit on a table maybe 6-10' from the screen (it could be closer if needed)
• Seating distance to screen- 8'-16' (each room is a little different)
• How will you mount? (ceiling, rear shelf, table) Sitting on a table.
• Usage: Movies, TV, Games, Sports, etc.- Mirroring a laptop screen to demonstrate software use.
• Room type: Dedicated, Mixed use, Living room.- Classroom(s)
• Ambient light, through lighting or light leakage from windows? Moderate. It is certainly darker than the outdoors, but windows with translucent blinds and multiple computer screens illuminate the room.
• Room colors: Walls, Ceiling, and floors.- Various, classrooms with anchor charts, posters, artwork, etc.

Final thoughts- I know the people who frequent this forum are knowledgeable and well-meaning when they encourage buying high quality products rather than focusing solely on price. I respect and appreciate that. However, the issue is that as a specialty teacher who makes startlingly little money plying my trade, there simply isn't enough return on what I am doing to justify spending four-figures on more equipment. I currently drag around a small flat screen TV for this purpose and while it is janky and sub-optimal, it is paid for and if the only answer is "Anything less than a $1,000 projector and a $200 screen is garbage that simply won't work" then the real answer is "You need to keep using your little 30-something inch flat screen." My students and I do not care about the blackest-blacks, the whitest-whites or the highest definition, they just need to be able to see a cursor moving and clicking stuff. I come from a cycling background and I would much rather see someone with a smile on their face putting in miles on the cheap bike they got at walmart than exclude someone from the hobby because anything less than a $1,500 bike shop bike is unacceptable. I think that is what I'm hoping for here -not the greatest projector ever- but the minimum viable option that can get me going and help me learn what I might want in my next projector when this one is due for replacement or upgrade later on.