Question of the Day

[Scarlet]

Or, almost every day.

This thread will be for random, simple questions I have about stuff. Some stuff I should probably know, or could Google. But I want to hear your responses. Sometimes it will be stuff I am actually looking for answers on, sometimes it will be to ask opinions. And I encourage others to ask questions as well. So let's start!

Is there a difference between an autobiography and a memoir?

 

[Kepler]

Your autobiography is your story of your life. Your memoir is what you thought about other people's lives.

 

[Scarlet]

Today's question:

Do you throw eggshells in the garbage disposal or in the trash? I used to throw down the garbage disposal but after replacing my disposal for the third time, the plumber told me I should throw in the trash. Along with peels from cucumbers and potatoes as those are both starch and would tend to clog things up.

 

[SJHovey]

Today's question:

Do you throw eggshells in the garbage disposal or in the trash? I used to throw down the garbage disposal but after replacing my disposal for the third time, the plumber told me I should throw in the trash. Along with peels from cucumbers and potatoes as those are both starch and would tend to clog things up.

Interesting. We've always thrown eggshells in the disposal (the same with cucumber peels and potatoes too).

 

[St. Clown]

Today's question:

Do you throw eggshells in the garbage disposal or in the trash? I used to throw down the garbage disposal but after replacing my disposal for the third time, the plumber told me I should throw in the trash. Along with peels from cucumbers and potatoes as those are both starch and would tend to clog things up.

I've always thrown all of those things in the garbage due to the reasons your plumbers have stated. Also, most people don't really operate their disposals correctly anyway, so it probably tends to gum up the works even more. Instruction manuals for those devices say you're supposed to run cold water first, turn on the disposal, then slowly add food. When you're done, your disposal is supposed to run for another 15 seconds after that, and then the cold water continues for another 15 seconds. Most people simply don't know or can't be bothered. I wish I had one these days.

 

[Scarlet]

I've always thrown all of those things in the garbage due to the reasons your plumbers have stated. Also, most people don't really operate their disposals correctly anyway, so it probably tends to gum up the works even more. Instruction manuals for those devices say you're supposed to run cold water first, turn on the disposal, then slowly add food. When you're done, your disposal is supposed to run for another 15 seconds after that, and then the cold water continues for another 15 seconds. Most people simply don't know or can't be bothered. I wish I had one these days.

That's interesting. I will start doing that. I do run cold water when I do run it and I also do let it run for a few seconds when stuff has been, well, disposed. But I will do it for longer. Thanks!

 

[Kepler]

Today's question:

Do you throw eggshells in the garbage disposal or in the trash? I used to throw down the garbage disposal but after replacing my disposal for the third time, the plumber told me I should throw in the trash. Along with peels from cucumbers and potatoes as those are both starch and would tend to clog things up.

Egg shells -- trash. But I didn't know about the peels so now I will start doing them too.

I have also had problems with garbage disposals so now I know. Big Disposal has evidently kept this hushed up for years, so watch your back.

 

[Kepler]

Also, most people don't really operate their disposals correctly anyway, so it probably tends to gum up the works even more. Instruction manuals for those devices say you're supposed to run cold water first, turn on the disposal, then slowly add food. When you're done, your disposal is supposed to run for another 15 seconds after that, and then the cold water continues for another 15 seconds. Most people simply don't know or can't be bothered.

I didn't know. The only thing I never do is run the disposal dry. Because running water is like transmission fluid! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[St. Clown]

I didn't know. I have always run water (didn't know it had to be cold) while operating the disposal. The one thing I never do is run the disposal dry. You know, like transmission fluid! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I only learned it after having the first disposal in my prior house burnout after something like 3 years of use. I went to replace and talked to a guy at the store. He said it happens all the time, and told me to read the operating instructions. I did, and it was really eye opening. The second unit still broke, but that was a mechanical issue. The next one, however, that one was a champ. Waste King, 3/4HP magnetic drive. It would chew through anything, and was a breeze to install.

Pretty much any advice I have to give regarding household or automobile maintenance I learned by first doing it wrong and being informed by somebody smarter.

 

[LynahFan]

That's not just houses or cars. "Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement."

Completely not sequitur, but another one related to judgement that I like is, "A superior sailor is one who uses his superior judgement to AVOID having to use his superior skills." That one applies to a lot more than sailing, too.

 

[Kepler]

"A superior sailor is one who uses his superior judgement to AVOID having to use his superior skills." That one applies to a lot more than sailing, too.

My engineer dad quoted this to me the first day we sailed his blue jay.

 

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

That's not just houses or cars. "Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement."

Completely not sequitur, but another one related to judgement that I like is, "A superior sailor is one who uses his superior judgement to AVOID having to use his superior skills." That one applies to a lot more than sailing, too.

UND had that quote with the word pilot substituted for sailor hanging up in Flight Ops while I was there...

 

[Scarlet]

Today's question:

When you guys play either PowerBall or MegaMillions (assuming you do), do you pick your own numbers or do a quick pick? I'm always torn on that. The jackpots are super high this week so I definitely want to get some tickets.

 

[MissThundercat]

I pick my own.

 

[St. Clown]

Today's question:

When you guys play either PowerBall or MegaMillions (assuming you do), do you pick your own numbers or do a quick pick? I'm always torn on that. The jackpots are super high this week so I definitely want to get some tickets.

Auto-pick. I have a hard enough time picking my nose in a timely manner.

 

[Scarlet]

I wonder if there has been any kind of study that shows how winning ticket numbers were picked. Like, does it lean one way or the other. I always say I want to pick my own, but when I buy, it's usually a spur of the moment thing and I don't have the time or motivation to think of numbers so I just go with a quick pick.

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

I wonder if there has been any kind of study that shows how winning ticket numbers were picked. Like, does it lean one way or the other. I always say I want to pick my own, but when I buy, it's usually a spur of the moment thing and I don't have the time or motivation to think of numbers so I just go with a quick pick.

I hardly ever play, but when I do, I am in basically the same boat as you. I see a sign showing that the jackpot is some ridiculously high number...I do the math suggesting that the odds are in my favor (i.e. the odds of winning, multiplied by the cost of the ticket < jackpot), and I grab a ticket.

 

[St. Clown]

I wonder if there has been any kind of study that shows how winning ticket numbers were picked. Like, does it lean one way or the other. I always say I want to pick my own, but when I buy, it's usually a spur of the moment thing and I don't have the time or motivation to think of numbers so I just go with a quick pick.

If you research it, there are studies that show the most common winning numbers that appear in jackpot-style lotto games.

 

[Kepler]

UND had that quote with the word pilot substituted for sailor hanging up in Flight Ops while I was there...

I suspect it is a favorite of race car drivers, jockeys, alpine skiers, motorcyclists, truckers, anything where there is adrenaline, skill, and lethality.

 

[SJHovey]

I hardly ever play, but when I do, I am in basically the same boat as you. I see a sign showing that the jackpot is some ridiculously high number...I do the math suggesting that the odds are in my favor (i.e. the odds of winning, multiplied by the cost of the ticket < jackpot), and I grab a ticket.

Is it even possible to get a jackpot that high anymore?

Their webpage indicates that your chances of drawing the correct number are 1 in 292,201,338. So I assume most people figure that if the jackpot got to about $293 million, the odds favor buying a ticket. But that would be back when the ticket was $1, but now it's $2.

Also, I believe that after taking the cash discount and paying taxes, you get about 41-42% of the jackpot total.

I've always assumed, since the ticket went to $2, that you'd need a jackpot of about $1.4 billion to make it a mathematically correct play, but I could be off on that.