I started by doing 5 reps each of 5 different dumbbell moves. I’d do those for a week, then increase by 1 rep until I got to about 15 reps. Then I’d increase the weight and start again at 5 reps. I’m currently on 20lb dumbbells at 8 reps. A few weeks ago I added pushups (also currently at 8) and 10 regular dumbbell…

I’m now 57. About 18 months ago I started doing some exercises with dumbbells, with a goal of being able to do *one* good pullup. I started from a point of not being able to lift myself up at all. I eventually met my goal, so I’ve set a new one of 10 pullups! So far, I can do 3. The key thing that’s enabled me to keep…

We’ve been using a butter bell like the one above for several years now. It works really well and isn’t much trouble at all. The one we have holds exactly one stick, so when it starts getting low, we take a new stick from the fridge and set it on the counter to soften enough to refill the bell. You just need a little…

I don’t know who Lala Kent is, but that’s a beautiful dress.

This really is a serious problem. I’ve experienced it multiple times. For me it was always on the highway when I pressed the accelerator down fairly quickly to pass. The downshift was so violent I thought I’d hit a huge pothole or something. And it sounds like somebody hitting the engine block with a sledgehammer.

I don’t disagree. I do see my doctor and have blood work done on a regular basis.

If you take a PPI for acid reflux, there is evidence that long-term use can cause magnesium deficiency. I’ve experienced it myself. I was having a set of symptoms that pointed to it, and sure enough, adding a magnesium supplement relieved all of them. Adjacent to that, there’s also some evidence that long-term PPI use…

That was for standard. Although I noticed that HD was fairly cheap if you buy it in institutional sizes. :D

Virtually every store brand foil I just searched for is 20-30% cheaper per sq ft than the cheapest parchment paper I can find.

This same technique works well for other veggies, too. The last time I roasted some red potatoes, I quartered them and made sure they were on the (foiled and oiled) pan with the skin side down. No sticking!

We’re really good at mispronouncing all those “foreign” names here in Illinois. See also the towns of Cairo (Kay-roh) and DuBois (Doo-boys). We somehow do manage to pronounce Illinois with a silent s.

Our TV has a volume leveling feature, but I’ve found that dialog in some shows is easier to understand with it on and others with it off. As you say, sound mixers seem not to be doing a great job these days. It’s similar to how dark many action scenes are. It’s often very difficult to tell WTH is going on.

When I was in the 8th grade the same paperback copy of Forever got passed around and read by almost every member of the class, including us boys. After more than 40 years I don’t remember very many details about it, but I’m sure it did make an impression on us all. It was a small rural school and a class of only 14…

I planted 1-year-old asparagus crowns last year, and they did very well. This year they’re already 4 feet high! They do grow fast; some of the sprouts have grown 8 inches in less than 24 hours. You could probably make a cool time lapse of it.

This reminds me of manakish, which I heard about recently on the radio. Those are typically filled with za’atar and olive oil, sometimes plus other seasonal things. I have a bag of za’atar I need to use, so I was going to try making some soon. I bet some onion mixed in would be a tasty hybrid between the two dishes.

I don’t know about elsewhere, but burgers from my local McD’s have fresh chopped onions on them. Very strong oniony fresh onions. Requires a couple of Altoids afterwards. This is on a Quarter Pounder; not sure about the others, because I haven’t had one for a while. Do they use different onions on different burgers?

Exactly what I did last year to keep the squirrels out of my new asparagus bed. I think this year it won’t be necessary, since it’s already sprouted and 3 feet high. Early spring!

Most important part of this post: have a perfectly functioning exhaust fan.

Oh, I think those things you mention are above-average. That’s the problem: the actual average of creative works is so, so low that these “objectively” mediocre works are above-average.

I think the win should go to the Sprite, as mentioned by others, but I have to at least nominate the Neon for the classic ad: