Tell us what's happened to you recently (that's interesting)

Siren · 2010-01-07T18:48:57.000Z

It isn’t exactly something that “happened” to me, per se, because I had an active hand in it.

I’ve lost 33 pounds, and am now at a “healthy” BMI. I’m working on losing 22 more to be squarely in the healthy range.

Demon_G_Sides · 2010-01-07T19:47:37.000Z

Congrats!

RyanMichael · 2010-01-07T20:17:59.000Z

Rward:

For work I have to setup a VPN server in the US. I tested it by logging in to pandora for the first time. I spent the next 30 minutes in the fetal position, wondering about what else us non US internet users are missing out on…
(Unless someone knows of a similar service that isn’t restricted to the US)

I’m afraid of going to hulu in case I get an epileptic fit or something…

On the plus side - I have uncapped internet but it’s limited to 384KB/s…

There’s nothing else based on the music genome project, but you could try Grooveshark and Blip.fm to play custom mixes and music on demand.

Rward · 2010-01-08T01:38:01.000Z

RyanMichael:

There’s nothing else based on the music genome project, but you could try Grooveshark and Blip.fm to play custom mixes and music on demand.

Awesome, thanks Ryan, you’ve made my day!

Marcus · 2010-01-08T03:30:14.000Z

I have actually been using Last.fm for my mixes.

Tankero · 2010-01-08T08:15:30.000Z

RyanMichael:

There’s nothing else based on the music genome project, but you could try Grooveshark and Blip.fm to play custom mixes and music on demand.

Good lord. I didn’t know this existed, and now it’s introducing me to music I had no clue about but instantly love…

I guess that means it works.

Scrax · 2010-01-10T20:49:40.000Z

My dirty poor hippie boyfriend and I were just able to exchange Christmas gifts, and since he is a dirty poor hippie his presents are typically hand crafted. Now I was expecting a nice letter, or maybe a plant he grew, (He is a plant freak and I know of several plants he has grown for other people as gifts.) but instead I am floored by this handcrafted steampunk clock (pictures below):

The main piece was a busted clock he picked up from a local thrift store for 3 bucks. The gears, the doodad on the top right corner, and the thingamajig at the bottom left corner were all picked up from a junk shop. I’m not sure what their original purposes were for. The part at the bottom was where the pendulum use to be. It has a sliding glass door, and he placed the innards of an old alarm clock down there. The alarm clock has visible moving parts and ticks :). He picked up a clock kit from a hobby shop to replace the hands in the center of the main piece, which also move. The gears in the main part of the clock don’t move unfortunately, but that was a little out of his range, and there is enough concentrated awesomeness as there is.

He didn’t even know what steampunk was until I was trying to explain the theme of a book I was reading. I mentioned how I would love to have various steampunkish things, including a clock! So, he googled steampunk, sketched out an idea (amazing how close to his sketch he actually came!), and he made me a clock! I was floored. What a great guy.

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Scrax · 2010-01-10T20:50:46.000Z

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Kool_Moe_Dee · 2010-01-10T21:06:58.000Z

Whoa. That’s pretty cool!

Matt_Bowyer · 2010-01-10T21:16:08.000Z

I cannot say how jealous I am. That is completely awesome.

Hans_Lauring · 2010-01-10T21:28:45.000Z

Athryn:

This – we had to have the fireplace going all night, because it was the only source of heat in the house when I was growing up. We eventually replaced it with a wood stove, but that thing also ran all night in the winter time.

As long as the fire grate is closed and you’re not throwing young fresh logs on it, it will be fine. It’s young logs that are full of sap that spit out embers, and if you have the fire grate open, they’ll leave holes in your carpet :P

An open fireplace actually pulls more heat from your other rooms and right up through the chimney than it heats - of course if you’re right next to it and only care about feeling warm, that won’t matter, but if you want to heat your house cheap or efficient an open fireplace is a rotten solution.

You need a convection insert.

WarrenM · 2010-01-11T05:14:17.000Z

We did a fitness assessment at the gym today and my results aren’t great. I mean, I KNOW I’m in better shape than I was a year ago (when I started this program) but damn … it’s demoralizing sometimes to see how far you still have to go. This stuff takes a long time!

My body thinks that it’s 48 which is 9 years too old and my BMI is way too high. I can only imagine the state things were in when I started this, 60 pounds ago. Oy! :)

Robert_Sharp · 2010-01-11T05:38:12.000Z

Hanzii:

An open fireplace actually pulls more heat from your other rooms and right up through the chimney than it heats - of course if you’re right next to it and only care about feeling warm, that won’t matter, but if you want to heat your house cheap or efficient an open fireplace is a rotten solution.

You need a convection insert.

True, unless you can close the door in the room with the fireplace. In other words, it’s pretty good for keeping ONE room warm. But it’s certainly not meant to warm your house, without an insert. A wood burning stove, OTOH, is pretty good!

Nellie · 2010-01-11T07:36:06.000Z

The GF took me out on my Birthday to Bristol’s only Michelin starred Restaurant. We had the 10 course tasting menu and I can honestly say that I’ve never had food like it, absolutely amazing. One thing watching guys of these calibre on my favourite food porn shows, another to have it put in front of you and get to eat it too.

Griddle · 2010-01-11T10:04:12.000Z

Holy fuckballs Scrax, can you post the initial drawing he made too? I’d love to see what he drew.

Raife · 2010-01-11T10:07:45.000Z

Wow Scrax, that’s amazing. Was it one of those situations where you felt your gift was totally inadequate in comparison?

Athryn · 2010-01-11T10:26:37.000Z

Hanzii:

An open fireplace actually pulls more heat from your other rooms and right up through the chimney than it heats - of course if you’re right next to it and only care about feeling warm, that won’t matter, but if you want to heat your house cheap or efficient an open fireplace is a rotten solution.

You need a convection insert.

Well let me perfect my time machine and I will go travel back to the 1980’s and tell my parents that. :P Like I said, at some point in my childhood we converted the fireplace into a wood stove.

Scrax · 2010-01-11T11:33:27.000Z

Raife:

Wow Scrax, that’s amazing. Was it one of those situations where you felt your gift was totally inadequate in comparison?

Yes! I started to worry when around Christmas time he said that he couldn’t give me my present yet, because “It wasn’t ready.” What the hell does that mean? I was still hoping it was just a plant, but my wheels were spinning.

I had already bought him his gift, but I was like, " Oh God! What if it’s terribly thoughtful?! I’ll have to be like…let me take that gift card back…"

It wasn’t really a gift card, but still, anything store bought really can’t compete with something like that.

I forgot to mention that the “hook” the clock hangs from is a converted door jam.

kerzain · 2010-01-11T21:59:59.000Z

I might be going to jail because of this.

AndrewMyers · 2010-01-11T22:11:08.000Z

kerzain:

I might be going to jail because of this.

…why do you need to pass a background check before they put you in jail?