Stupid/Small Questions Megathread

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FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Do restaurant chains like Chili's, Applebee's, TGI Friday's, etc, actually employ cooks/chefs in their kitchens who legitimately prepare the food? Or do they serve you what amounts to basically glorified TV dinners?

# ¿ Sep 9, 2010 02:42

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 20:59

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Wyatt posted:

Not that it counts for much, but yes, there are actual cooks.

Cooks like McDonald's has cooks, or cooks that actually take raw product and turn it into food? I'm not expecting 4-star chefs, but they present themselves as something more than fast food.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2010 03:02

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

dayman posted:

Did a Google search and didn't see anything. I recently moved into a new apartment where they apparently allow smoking. The tenant in my apartment did not smoke but our neighbors across the hall did (thankfully, they've since left) and our neighbor below us does as well. Since it's started to get cool and we don't have a fan circulating air from the outside the smell of stale cigarette smoke permeates our living room constantly.

I've weather sealed the interior door leading to the hallway, but something tells me the smell is coming from inside the living room. Most likely through the holes in the floor for the heating pipes. I did a little research on my own and so far I've tried:

-Air freshener which I don't like because they pollute the air further. Pretty much only use them when guests come by.

-Citrus peel. Pretty much didn't do anything to reduce the smell.

-White vinegar in a flat bottomed dish. This worked decently well, but I'm afraid there's a constant influx of the smell because as soon as I put it away the smell returned. It also made the immediate area smell like vinegar which isn't much better.

Does anyone have experience with masking/neutralizing cigarette smell? Our apartment itself is clean so it's not about getting it out of fabrics. It's more about taking care of the influx of smell from the apartment surrounding us. Thanks!

TL/DR: Trying to get neutralize/effectively mask cigarette smell in my new apartment.

I lived above smokers for 2 years. You can eliminate the existing smoke all you want, but as long as more smoke is coming in, you're pretty much screwed.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2010 17:02

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Are there any free rendering plugins for Google SketchUp? Not like a free trial, but legitimately free.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2010 20:20

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

I heard this remix/mashup of Snoop Dogg's Vato one time, but the backing music had been replaced with some type of Latin American ranchera/mariachi style music. Does anyone know what this song is?

# ¿ Oct 9, 2010 02:37

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

jackpot posted:

If there's a better forum for this, let me know.

I'm looking for a cheap webcam setup that'll let me put a camera somewhere (transmitting over wifi), then send images/video from it to a website. I know there's a billion ways to do this, I've just never messed with it before; it's a present for my wife, we're going out of town and I'd like to point it at our cats' favorite sleeping place.

You can try Orb. It might be more than you need though. It will do your webcam, audio files, video files, photos, tv tuner, anything you want really.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2010 15:14

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

My friend is in boot camp in the navy. Are there rules about what I can send him in the mail? Can I print out goatse and send that to him? I don't want him to get in trouble.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2010 20:44

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Do you think the people in the Mickey Mouse/Goofy costumes at Disney World smile underneath the suits when they pose for pictures with the tourists? It seems like a natural response to smile when posing for a photo, even though no one can see your face.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2010 18:10

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

I found 3 larval stage carpet beetles in the last two days. Two of them in the bathroom, the other in the bedroom. There's no carpet in the bathroom, maybe they were thirsty.

What should I do? I am a clean person! I have no pets and everything gets vacuumed, mopped, dusted, at least once a week.

# ¿ Nov 2, 2010 17:13

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

fishmech posted:

Standard spacesuits weigh 185 pounds, and the HEV suit is basically a spacesuit, so it probably weighs the same.

HEV suit probably cancels itself out because it's powered and gives you jumping abilities.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2010 16:13

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

change my name posted:

I know this was probably answered in the movies, but why was jarjar binks ever given a position of power?

I don't know if you have a corporate office job or not, but often times they promote people to management positions because they have no legally valid reason to fire them, and they can do less damage in the management position.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2010 07:36

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Is aftermarket 3rd party printer ink any good?

# ¿ Feb 12, 2011 15:53

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Is it typical for restaurant management to hold the wait staff responsible for the bill in a "dine and dash" situation where the customer leaves without paying the bill? Is this legal in the US? I can't possibly see how that could be. If this is in fact illegal, can someone direct me to some information regarding this?

# ¿ Mar 26, 2011 16:07

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Baron Bifford posted:

In medieval times, everybody drank ale rather than water, even children. I'm told this was because there was no clean drinking water available. As part of the brewing process, the water in ale must be boiled, which makes it healthier by killing germs. But medieval people didn't know about germs, so how could they know that boiling water made it safer to drink?

Process of elimination. Drink out of the latrine - poo poo all over myself. Drink ale - good to go.

# ¿ Mar 28, 2011 16:06

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

What was that old Windows95 game where you basically rode around in an arena on a jet engine and shot grappling hooks at the other players to destroy them?

# ¿ May 13, 2011 17:37

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Golbez posted:

First: We have a thread for that.

Second: Rocket Jockey?

Yes!

# ¿ May 13, 2011 17:42

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

I took the day off to wait for a washing machine repair man from Sears, and I find out halfway through my 4 hour window that I have been overbooked and therefore cancelled. Can I send Sears an invoice for time lost from work? If so, how?

# ¿ May 25, 2011 20:22

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Do Verizon/Comcast track which television shows you watch?

# ¿ Jul 20, 2011 19:23

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Why can't I put a lens on my laser and turn it into a powerful flashlight?

# ¿ Sep 1, 2011 20:28

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

SIHappiness posted:

Don't ever overestimate the amount of money a movie star makes and the amount he or she spends.

Bruce Campbell has a great bit in his Autobiography where he talks about how "you too can earn like a movie star" and uses his $500,000 salary for Army of Darkness as a basis for comparison. 10% to your agent, another 5% off to a business manager, about 34% in taxes once you factor in the marginal nature of tax brackets, and the fact that it might be the only movie you work on that year all adds up to not as much as it sounds like (in Bruce's example, he also owed 50% to his wife because of a recent divorce.)

According to the Wiki, Drew Barrymore commanded $10-$12 million per role in 2006. She seems to do about 1 to 2 movies per year, but the second one is usually a much smaller bit that I'm guessing she does for the "art" more than the paycheck. Her more recent movies haven't done quite as well as the ones leading up to that article, either, so it might be a bit lower. If we use $10 million as a basis:

$6.67 million after taxes.
$5.57 million after the agent gets paid (assuming 10% to agent - she might have a better deal).
$5 million after business manager gets paid.
State taxes need to get in there, too.
And this all assumes an absence of other "staff," e.g. publicists and the like. Granted, a smart accountant would get some of those expenses for agents and the like deducted, but she's still bleeding out money from that paycheck before she ever spends a dime on "herself."

Yep, $4.5 to $5 million gross per year sounds pretty sweet. I'd be all over that, no doubt, but consider:

According to a quick google search, her most recent home purchase cost $7 or $8 million. You don't usually pay cash outright for a house like that, so she's probably rolling with what I quickly calculated at a $50,000 to $75,000 a month mortgage payment depending on the term; that's to say nothing of the property taxes on a property like that.

Also figure that she can't just live like the rest of us do - part of being a movie star is projecting that famous image. She visits famously expensive hair salons, her clothes are way pricier, cars, etc. all add up.

So yeah, if she has smart people working for her, she's not burning up her money, but she's also not living an ultra-frugal lifestyle. A good deal of that cash gets spent "maintaining an image" that helps further her employment. On top of all of that, there has to be the inevitable understanding that at some point the roles may start drying up and she'll need to live on what she's banked.

Finally, don't ignore the appeal of exposure to people with the kind of mindset likely you often find among movie stars. There's a possibility that, separate from the money, she just wants to see her face out there EVEN more.

That brings it all back around to a more clearly explained version of what others are saying: She's probably getting a hefty paycheck for not a lot of work. Yeah, in a world where you have unlimited funds it might not be worth it, but even a movie star doesn't live in that world.

Why doesn't she incorporate in a tax shelter island, and have her firm contract her work out to the movie company. She gets paid a small salary from the firm. Her agents, managers, and staff are all paid from the firm. All of her property and other things become the firm's assets, which she is allowed to use. Everything else she does - really anything photographed by the paparazzi as its publicity - becomes a business expense. Taxes suddenly don't become an issue.

# ¿ Sep 3, 2011 23:58

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Why is The Lord of the Rings basically The Wizard of Oz?

# ¿ Nov 5, 2011 04:47

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Huntersoninski posted:

Um...there's a wizard and...a bad witch? I don't know, I have seriously never heard that comparison in my life and am kind of at a loss for a clue as to how one could be made.

I mean, there's a journey. And then the hobbits go home.

I don't know.

Well Dorothy is Frodo and the slippers are the ring, and there's a crew of adventurers. The Tin Man has an axe like Gimli, and the Cowardly Lion is basically a king without any subjects like Aragorn. There's talking trees, a Good Witch, a dark forest. They climb up a mountain to get to the Wicked Witch's castle, not unlike the Morgul Pass. There's a big gate to the Witch's castle, along with marching guards. The Flying Monkeys are basically the Nazgul. Emerald City is Minas Tirith. I'm sure there's a few more things.

edit- Munchkins are hobbits, clearly.

FogHelmut fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Nov 5, 2011

# ¿ Nov 5, 2011 05:01

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

What is a reasonable amount of wood to bring to a camp site for 2 nights of camping? Assuming 10 people camping.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2011 21:04

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Is/was Mr. T married? I can't seem to find anything about that.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2012 21:28

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

I've heard this at a couple of weddings - the DJ's seem to have this playlist for when people are getting to their seats before the bride comes out. It's a bunch of classic rock songs covered in orchestra versions - I absolutely recall hearing "Wasted Years" by Iron Maiden in the mix, but I cannot find it anywhere. Also they played an acoustic version of Outkast's "Hey Ya" and it wasn't the Scrubs version. I definitely heard the same playlist at two weddings, and not the same DJ because the weddings were about 3000 miles apart. Does anyone know these songs I'm talking about?

# ¿ Jun 29, 2012 02:18

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

MILTONS COD posted:

Is there some sort of limit to how much weight a human can put on in one day? Obviously your stomach capacity means you can only ingest so much. But it you sat and spent the whole day eating butter or mayonnaise or something incredibly calorie dense and drinking olive oil, would every calorie you take in be absorbed?

You would need to balance your diet properly with other foods so you don't just poo poo out a liquid torrent of undigested oil and grease.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2013 15:34

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Hoops posted:

How much does a ticket for regular American sports (NFL, NBA, Baseball, NHL) cost? Like, the league averages for a standard, average seat.

NFL: Average ticket price $78.38
MLB: Median ticket price for all games $39.96
NHL: Average ticket price $61.01
NBA: Average (weighted) ticket price for a non-premium seat $50.99

Of course, ticket prices can range greatly across sports and teams. Fore example, there was a story about a Philadelphia 76ers fan purchasing 18 tickets for under $1 on StubHub, a third party ticket selling website. For the NBA finals, tickets can be in the tens of thousands of dollars on these third party sites.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2013 21:49

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

I use a mouse pad, certain surfaces don't reflect the laser well. Those wrist bar things always chaffed my wrists from sliding across them. Maybe if you like wrist calluses they're good. I just have a basic mousepad, it was $1 at Ikea.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2013 16:44

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Someone from the Census Bureau has been leaving notes on my door about taking a survey for the Consumer Price Index. Am I required by law to take this survey, or can I choose not to?

# ¿ Jul 3, 2013 12:33

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Does anyone make a reasonable keychain sized knife/bottle opener? I don't want to look like some goon walking around with a huge leatherman. I was thinking something along the size of the Buck Metro, or smaller, but less goofy looking.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2013 20:11

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Are there any direct health benefits in eating "organic?" Or is it just a way to feel good about the environment? I don't mean substituting Frosted Flakes for organic kale, but rather a direct food-to-food comparison.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2013 16:49

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Thanatosian posted:

This is a really complicated issue. First off, it depends upon what you mean by "organic." Different organizations use different certifications. If we're going with the USDA's "organic" label, there are three different levels of "organic:" "100% Organic" is made entirely with organic ingredients; "Organic" is made with at least 95% organic ingredients; "made with organic ingredients" contains at least 70% organic ingredients. In order to be considered an "organic ingredient," the production process for the ingredient can include synthetic chemicals only off a particular list, and must not include certain non-synthetic chemicals.

That being said, most of the health argument for organics comes from avoiding carcinogens which are added in the production process to foods. However, there has been some debate as to whether or not the USDA's "organic" label has been so watered-down as to be effectively meaningless, as the list of allowed substances keeps getting expanded at the behest of large agricorps. Certification is carried out by certifying agencies, some of which have been established by industry groups, others of which are NGOs which have grown out of the organic movement. Some of the other certifiers have more stringent standards than the USDA.

And organic isn't just about how healthy the food you in particular are consuming is; a lot of it is about the environment. Yeah, the fact that the corn you're eating doesn't use any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizer may or may not make much of a difference to you, however, on a macro scale, our use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer has a pretty devastating effect on the environment; the dead zones along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico are largely attributed to this large-scale, corporate farming.

In the interests of full disclosure, I'm super-liberal, and can't loving stand agricorps, so you would probably hear a different take on it from someone drinking the opposing brand of Kool-Aid.

I'm all for sticking it to the man. I don't trust the "organic" label enough to justify it as a factor of cost. Okay, maybe local farmers are less likely to use stuff that's kinda dubious than Big Organic, but who's to say?

# ¿ Jul 22, 2013 17:29

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

If I don't use iodized salt, am I getting iodine in my diet via meats/vegetables/restaurants/other processed food sources?

# ¿ Jul 24, 2013 13:31

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

hooah posted:

I've for a wired smoke detector that's making this strange electronic fart sort of sound every minute or so. Since it can't be low on battery, what's wrong?

Wired smoke detectors often have a backup battery.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2013 12:39

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Do chatrooms still exist? Like late 90's AOL? I know there's IRC, but I mean in the sense that it's more of a generic internet population, while IRC attracts a particular tech-savvy crowd.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2013 16:54

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Is there a general camping thread? I did a search and only found something about motorcycle camping in AI.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2013 14:48

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Do people legitimately pay $7 for a beer in San Francisco? Or did I just go somewhere terrible?

# ¿ Aug 17, 2013 00:54

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

randyest posted:

First time in a city?

Yeah, depending on the beer and the place major metro areas are $5-10 for a beer or more.

I can expect to pay $3-4 for equivalent beer in Philadelphia. There are a few especially douchey places where it can be $5+, but this place in San Francisco seemed pretty normal.

# ¿ Aug 17, 2013 07:32

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Why does seapunk exist? Am I being trolled?

# ¿ Oct 10, 2013 20:57

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 20:59

FogHelmut: Dec 18, 2003

Is traffic around Los Angeles as horrible as normal the week after Christmas? I gotta figure there's a lot of people on vacation that week. I'm considering landing there around 5 PM.

# ¿ Oct 29, 2013 22:18

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Stupid/Small Questions Megathread

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