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Human: How to make a cookie alcoholic? I hope I worded that correctly. I am helping with a business that is opening up where they will focus on cookies containing alcohol, but we’re having a hard time truly making them alcoholic. I have done rum glazes, but not nearly enough rum is used for a good alcohol flavour. Does anyone have any idea I can have a cookie contain about 2 Tbsp of alcohol without cooking off, and for it to taste like it? TIA :) Assistant: You may have better luck with making shortbread cookie wafers in chocolate, vanilla, lemon, hazelnut etc and then sandwiching them together with alcohol-heavy ganache. You can make dark chocolate, milk and white ganache with cream and alcohol, it does not need to be cooked off. Add it to the mixture after the cream has already melted the chocolate. You can dip them half-way into tempered chocolate and then into sprinkles / chopped nuts as well. Think grown-up Oreo!

Human: How to make a cookie alcoholic? I hope I worded that correctly. I am helping with a business that is opening up where they will focus on cookies containing alcohol, but we’re having a hard time truly making them alcoholic. I have done rum glazes, but not nearly enough rum is used for a good alcohol flavour. Does anyone have any idea I can have a cookie contain about 2 Tbsp of alcohol without cooking off, and for it to taste like it? TIA :) Assistant: This sounds like a bad idea, to be honest. 2 tbsp is a lot! As others have mentioned, it would never work to put it in the dough before baking. A ganache sandwiched between macarons would work, but with the chocolate, cream and alcohol, the volume would be way too big for one small cookie.

Human: Announcing the Best of March Award Winners (and a much belated Best of February...) Another month down, and thus time to recognize some of the best content of the past month (and due to a lot of travel and scheduling... also catch up on a month prior). First up is the "**Flairs Choice Award**", with the award going to /u/kaiser_matias, and "Fighting has been an integral part of North American hockey. Has this been the the case in other countries? How was fighting treated in Soviet hockey?. For the February Award which we're only now getting around to answer, the Flair's were enthralled by /u/mikedash's post addressing ""In 1927 Chiang Kai-Shek boiled hundreds of Communists alive," claimed George Orwell. Is this actually true? If not, where could he have heard such a report from?". Meanwhile, the **"Users' Choice Award"** for March suggests our readership is a bunch of lushes, gravitating to /u/Daztur's answer to "Has the taste of beer changed over the centuries?". Meanwhile for the belated February award, they were also quite attuned to relevant events, giving the nod to /u/Kochevnik81 and their response regarding "Vladimir Putin has just claimed that modern Ukraine was entirely created by communist Russia (specifically Lenin) and that Ukraine never had the tradition of having its own state. Is any of this accurate or true?". For the "**Dark Horse Award**", with a non-flair winning outright in March, it is only February where we're recognizing the combined top-voted non-flair user's answer, with the honor going to with /u/LXT130J, who addressed "To what extent were the Dahomey a tribe of slavers, and to what extent did they fight *against* the institution of slavery? Were they slavers before Europeans 'showed up'? Is there room for nuance in the story of the Dahomey Amazons, or were the Dahomey the 'bad guys' of West Africa?". For this month's **'Greatest Question'**, voted on by the mods, after getting over the first impulse to remove because it *clearly* can't be 20 years old, the second impulse to ban them for making us feel old, the mod collective conceded that the winner was clearly /u/jelvinjs7 for their question ""Sk8er Boi" (A. Lavigne 2002) argues that in high school dynamics, the so-called 'skaters' were low on the social pecking order. How accurately does this work represent turn-of-the-century teenage social order (at least in North American city/suburban schools)?". Doesn't hurt that /u/noelparisian and /u/NoBrakes58 both provided some excellent responses! Meanwhile for February, things took a *slightly* different tack with "Were medieval Ethiopians interested in learning about the rest of the Christian world?", asked by /u/Revolution_TV, and with a response by /u/larkvi. As always, congrats to our very worthy winners, and thank you to everyone else who has contributed here, whether with thought-provoking questions or fascinating answers. And if this month you want to flag some stand-out posts that you read here for potential nomination, don't forget to post them in our [Sunday Digest]( https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/search?q=title%3A%22Sunday+Digest%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)! For a list of past winners, [check them out here!]( https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/bestof) Assistant: Yay! Happy to see people like my beer posts, have been plugging away at them for a while now. I rather liked my more specific post about 19th century IPAs: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/oywqaq/india\_pale\_ales\_get\_their\_name\_because\_they\_were/ It covers a lot of the same ground as the linked post but is more specific (scroll down for a shorter post about stouts).

Human: Announcing the Best of March Award Winners (and a much belated Best of February...) Another month down, and thus time to recognize some of the best content of the past month (and due to a lot of travel and scheduling... also catch up on a month prior). First up is the "**Flairs Choice Award**", with the award going to /u/kaiser_matias, and "Fighting has been an integral part of North American hockey. Has this been the the case in other countries? How was fighting treated in Soviet hockey?. For the February Award which we're only now getting around to answer, the Flair's were enthralled by /u/mikedash's post addressing ""In 1927 Chiang Kai-Shek boiled hundreds of Communists alive," claimed George Orwell. Is this actually true? If not, where could he have heard such a report from?". Meanwhile, the **"Users' Choice Award"** for March suggests our readership is a bunch of lushes, gravitating to /u/Daztur's answer to "Has the taste of beer changed over the centuries?". Meanwhile for the belated February award, they were also quite attuned to relevant events, giving the nod to /u/Kochevnik81 and their response regarding "Vladimir Putin has just claimed that modern Ukraine was entirely created by communist Russia (specifically Lenin) and that Ukraine never had the tradition of having its own state. Is any of this accurate or true?". For the "**Dark Horse Award**", with a non-flair winning outright in March, it is only February where we're recognizing the combined top-voted non-flair user's answer, with the honor going to with /u/LXT130J, who addressed "To what extent were the Dahomey a tribe of slavers, and to what extent did they fight *against* the institution of slavery? Were they slavers before Europeans 'showed up'? Is there room for nuance in the story of the Dahomey Amazons, or were the Dahomey the 'bad guys' of West Africa?". For this month's **'Greatest Question'**, voted on by the mods, after getting over the first impulse to remove because it *clearly* can't be 20 years old, the second impulse to ban them for making us feel old, the mod collective conceded that the winner was clearly /u/jelvinjs7 for their question ""Sk8er Boi" (A. Lavigne 2002) argues that in high school dynamics, the so-called 'skaters' were low on the social pecking order. How accurately does this work represent turn-of-the-century teenage social order (at least in North American city/suburban schools)?". Doesn't hurt that /u/noelparisian and /u/NoBrakes58 both provided some excellent responses! Meanwhile for February, things took a *slightly* different tack with "Were medieval Ethiopians interested in learning about the rest of the Christian world?", asked by /u/Revolution_TV, and with a response by /u/larkvi. As always, congrats to our very worthy winners, and thank you to everyone else who has contributed here, whether with thought-provoking questions or fascinating answers. And if this month you want to flag some stand-out posts that you read here for potential nomination, don't forget to post them in our [Sunday Digest]( https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/search?q=title%3A%22Sunday+Digest%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)! For a list of past winners, [check them out here!]( https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/bestof) Assistant: Glad to see people enjoyed the answer. I certainly enjoyed getting to talk about it, and sharing some non-NHL hockey history to the world.

Human: Please help. My kitten has tapeworms and I’ve heard from one vet that humans can’t get tapeworms from cats and the other vet said that humans can get tapeworms from cats. Ive been giving him kisses on the head and face and snuggling him…… obviously stopped once I found out he has tapeworms. Please help. My kitten has tapeworms and I’ve heard from one vet that humans can’t get tapeworms from cats and the other vet said that humans can get tapeworms from cats. Ive been giving him kisses on the head and face and snuggling him…… obviously stopped once I found out he has tapeworms. Assistant: The most common feline tapeworm could theoretically be transfered by you swallowing an infected flea, but it's highly unlikely.

Human: Please help. My kitten has tapeworms and I’ve heard from one vet that humans can’t get tapeworms from cats and the other vet said that humans can get tapeworms from cats. Ive been giving him kisses on the head and face and snuggling him…… obviously stopped once I found out he has tapeworms. Please help. My kitten has tapeworms and I’ve heard from one vet that humans can’t get tapeworms from cats and the other vet said that humans can get tapeworms from cats. Ive been giving him kisses on the head and face and snuggling him…… obviously stopped once I found out he has tapeworms. Assistant: Tapeworms are transmitted by fleas in an intermediate stage or larval stage. Unless you swallow a flea, you aren’t at risk for tapeworms. Now, this could theoretically happen, say when you’re asleep and your kitten is next to you with so many fleas on her, they’re jumping to you and the bedding and anything warm and moving nearby. Has she been treated for fleas? What did you use? What dewormer did your vet use to treat the tapeworm infestation?

Human: Made a roux for broccoli and cheese soup, can I add more flour later to make it a little thicker? Basically just have the roux, half and half and the chicken stock simmering to thicken but it does not look like it's going to be enough for the amount I am trying to make. If I add some more flour after it's already simmering will it thicken it and make it better? Also, if I need more sauce for the veggie amount I'm using is it ok to add more stock and half and half well it's already cooking and then just add some more flour to thicken to desired consistency or if it's already going is that as good as it's getting? Hope this makes sense. I'm currently taking care of a 3 year old well scrambling around and cooking and I'm hoping this makes sense. I just am unsure if adding more of the ingredients for more sauce after it's already simmering will mess me up? Assistant: I wouldn't add any raw flour, if you need to thicken it more use a cornflour slurry as it's better to cook out. It's better and more successful than trying to add more regular flour late in the cook, or you'll get a flour taste in the end product and possibly clumps

Human: Made a roux for broccoli and cheese soup, can I add more flour later to make it a little thicker? Basically just have the roux, half and half and the chicken stock simmering to thicken but it does not look like it's going to be enough for the amount I am trying to make. If I add some more flour after it's already simmering will it thicken it and make it better? Also, if I need more sauce for the veggie amount I'm using is it ok to add more stock and half and half well it's already cooking and then just add some more flour to thicken to desired consistency or if it's already going is that as good as it's getting? Hope this makes sense. I'm currently taking care of a 3 year old well scrambling around and cooking and I'm hoping this makes sense. I just am unsure if adding more of the ingredients for more sauce after it's already simmering will mess me up? Assistant: Use instant mashed potatoes instead. Old chefs trick

Human: Can I use an immersion blender for blending up spices? Hey guys, I live in Korea and end up using a lot of dry chilis, flax seeds, peppercorns, and other aromatics. I’m having to reconsider a different method to grind my spices as a mortar and pestle is tedious and time consuming. I also have limited space, so having multiple devices gets a little tricky. Could an immersion blender get the job done or should I just get a spice grinder? Assistant: as the others said, a coffee grinder works wonders

Human: Can I use an immersion blender for blending up spices? Hey guys, I live in Korea and end up using a lot of dry chilis, flax seeds, peppercorns, and other aromatics. I’m having to reconsider a different method to grind my spices as a mortar and pestle is tedious and time consuming. I also have limited space, so having multiple devices gets a little tricky. Could an immersion blender get the job done or should I just get a spice grinder? Assistant: That depends. Are you blending those dry spices to make powders or pastes?

Human: What does the measurement abbreviation "do." mean? Found in a recipe book from 1872. For instance, in a recipe for corn bread: 1 pint meal, 1/2 do. of flour, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons cream of tarter. Or for cake: 2 cups sugar. 1 cup molasses, 5 cups flour, 1 do. of butter, 1 of milk or cream, 1/2 pound of citron... etc. Assistant: There's a discussion on another forum suggesting it might mean either ditto (e.g. the same amount as the ingredient above) or be an unclearly-written c/o meaning 'cup of.' https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f87/please-help-me-decode-this-1800s-recipe-98541.html You could also compare your cornbread recipe to other vintage recipes - here's a good list! - to see if the amount makes sense. https://atasteofhistorywithjoycewhite.blogspot.com/2014/06/400-years-of-cornbread-recipes.html

Human: What does the measurement abbreviation "do." mean? Found in a recipe book from 1872. For instance, in a recipe for corn bread: 1 pint meal, 1/2 do. of flour, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons cream of tarter. Or for cake: 2 cups sugar. 1 cup molasses, 5 cups flour, 1 do. of butter, 1 of milk or cream, 1/2 pound of citron... etc. Assistant: dollop? Though that doesn't sound like neatly enough....

Human: engineers of reddit, what are some intermediate level projects I can do over winter break? I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on projects i can do over break. I am going into mechanical engineering but also like robotics. I already plan on building a quadcopter through a kit over break. I am looking for something a little more than that because it shouldn't take to long. Does anyone know of any kits or projects that would be fun to play with. Preferably with a price range of $200- Assistant: Buy and fix up some old tools

Human: engineers of reddit, what are some intermediate level projects I can do over winter break? I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on projects i can do over break. I am going into mechanical engineering but also like robotics. I already plan on building a quadcopter through a kit over break. I am looking for something a little more than that because it shouldn't take to long. Does anyone know of any kits or projects that would be fun to play with. Preferably with a price range of $200- Assistant: 'Twas long ago when I had dreams of building my own quad copter. I've spent countless hours researching exactly what I would build, how I would build it, what transmitter to get, fpv systems. If you get started you will never stop wanting to add to it.

Human: Got hired for electrical engineering role, dumped into wire harnessing? Dead end? Basically I recently graduated college with a degree in electrical engineering, and landed a position as an electrical engineer for a space company. The description discussed circuit design, evaluation, modeling, essentially all the stuff I studied for. Then I show up and hear the words every EE new hire dreads: "you'll be working on wire harnessing". Half my team aren't even EE's, and I haven't run a single pcb or spice/simulation software in months. I've used Microsoft visio full time. My worry is, if I'm not honing my skills/gaining new knowledge to go on the resume since I'm not actually using any EE fundamentals, is this job going to dead end me since all my peers are currently at jobs were they are using their degrees and honing their skills? Will future jobs that need electronics work hire someone with a harness only experience profile? Assistant: That is not a dead end. It is a perfectly good starting point in your career. Be the best wire harnesser there is. Learn to work in teams. Get experience and I’ve day you’ll get to do what you want. But don’t worry, you’re good. Stay for a year or two, learn as much as you can and then move on. What area of EE do you want to get into? Look at job postings, check the prerequisites and fill in the gaps.

Human: Got hired for electrical engineering role, dumped into wire harnessing? Dead end? Basically I recently graduated college with a degree in electrical engineering, and landed a position as an electrical engineer for a space company. The description discussed circuit design, evaluation, modeling, essentially all the stuff I studied for. Then I show up and hear the words every EE new hire dreads: "you'll be working on wire harnessing". Half my team aren't even EE's, and I haven't run a single pcb or spice/simulation software in months. I've used Microsoft visio full time. My worry is, if I'm not honing my skills/gaining new knowledge to go on the resume since I'm not actually using any EE fundamentals, is this job going to dead end me since all my peers are currently at jobs were they are using their degrees and honing their skills? Will future jobs that need electronics work hire someone with a harness only experience profile? Assistant: so what? it takes engineering skills. make some money already.

Human: [Batman] Why doesn’t Batman as Bruce Wayne donate to Arkham Asylum so they can beef up their security? Assistant: Id argue that Arkham Asylum is one of the most secure prisons in the dcu. It's just that some of its inmates are known for being insanely crafty.

Human: [Batman] Why doesn’t Batman as Bruce Wayne donate to Arkham Asylum so they can beef up their security? Assistant: There was literally a storyline where Wayne Manor gets donated for use as a new Arkham Asylum. Evidently it didn't do much good.

Human: Do you know any philosophers that wrote about guilt? Assistant: Neitzche! Genealogy of Morals, Second Essay.

Human: Do you know any philosophers that wrote about guilt? Assistant: Kierkegaard writes about religious guilt in Postscript and a few other places.

Human: Can you use steel wool on cast iron? I usually just scrape it with a flat scraper and wipe with a towel but I have some buildup on the sides. Is steel wool or a non-soapy sponge a good idea? Assistant: You should consider getting a stainless steel ring scrubber. They work great!

Human: Can you use steel wool on cast iron? I usually just scrape it with a flat scraper and wipe with a towel but I have some buildup on the sides. Is steel wool or a non-soapy sponge a good idea? Assistant: I would only use steel wool very sparingly; usually best to stick to just soap, hot water and elbow grease.

Human: What factors played a role in your decision to pursue an engineering profession? Assistant: $

Human: What factors played a role in your decision to pursue an engineering profession? Assistant: Wanted to be a programmer (just wanted to make video games, same as every 16 year old nerd), then I found out computer engineering pays better.

Human: Ways to instill depth of flavour with plant based ingredients? Hello! This is my first post here. I hope everyone is safe and well. I live in New Zealand so we’re all in lockdown so I’m trying a lot of new recipes and trying to improve my technique. I rely heavily on stock cubes (Massels) in most of my cooking. I use stock in soups and curries, and reduce it into components of other meals (like jackfruit for tacos for instance). I made this recipe tonight https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/bean-and-grain-stew-with-garlic-and-chiles And it blew my mind because it didn’t use stock but it was DELICIOUS and tasted very pro and complex. It had lots of different techniques which I have never done before, like cooking dried beans and then leaving them to cool in their cooking liquid before using them, simmering garlic in oil until it’s brown, pickling chilli in vinegar, and blackening onions in the pan and then cooking them into the liquid but discarding the onions themselves. As a result (and also as a result of a lot of oil and salt, to be fair) this stew was amazing. I was hoping there might be other awesome techniques like those I’ve listed above that I can use to add depth to dishes without resorting to stock. I kind of feel like I’ve been ‘fake cooking’, if you know what I mean. I would be very grateful for any suggestions. Also my meals are all vegan so I’m looking for techniques that use plant based ingredients. Thank you in advance. Assistant: Try using mushroom powder. You can even make some yourself if you’d like :)

Human: Ways to instill depth of flavour with plant based ingredients? Hello! This is my first post here. I hope everyone is safe and well. I live in New Zealand so we’re all in lockdown so I’m trying a lot of new recipes and trying to improve my technique. I rely heavily on stock cubes (Massels) in most of my cooking. I use stock in soups and curries, and reduce it into components of other meals (like jackfruit for tacos for instance). I made this recipe tonight https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/bean-and-grain-stew-with-garlic-and-chiles And it blew my mind because it didn’t use stock but it was DELICIOUS and tasted very pro and complex. It had lots of different techniques which I have never done before, like cooking dried beans and then leaving them to cool in their cooking liquid before using them, simmering garlic in oil until it’s brown, pickling chilli in vinegar, and blackening onions in the pan and then cooking them into the liquid but discarding the onions themselves. As a result (and also as a result of a lot of oil and salt, to be fair) this stew was amazing. I was hoping there might be other awesome techniques like those I’ve listed above that I can use to add depth to dishes without resorting to stock. I kind of feel like I’ve been ‘fake cooking’, if you know what I mean. I would be very grateful for any suggestions. Also my meals are all vegan so I’m looking for techniques that use plant based ingredients. Thank you in advance. Assistant: Kia ora. I’m not vegan but I do love this minestrone soup recipe that I find very flavoursome even when using water instead of stock, I generally add a generous pinch or two of chilli 🌶 powder.

Human: [Batman] Why does Batman only fights criminals at night? Why does Batman only hunts, follows, stalks criminals at night? Why not at daytime? ... there are no crimes at day in Gotham? Assistant: Bats are nocturnal. His persona is based on bats.

Human: [Batman] Why does Batman only fights criminals at night? Why does Batman only hunts, follows, stalks criminals at night? Why not at daytime? ... there are no crimes at day in Gotham? Assistant: He can't quit his day job.

Human: Full professor but worried about job security On the same day last week, I received official confirmation that I've been promoted to full, and also heard that if my program doesn't drastly increase our student numbers, we would likely close. We have two years to turn things around. Besides a moral obligation felt by the Dean to try to help me and the other faculty members who would be affected (by possibly creating new positions in other departments?), should I expect that I have no job security? I haven't heard of this happening elsewhere (besides when tenured faculty lost their jobs after Katrina). But surely departments close occasionally. What happens to those professors? Thank you for any thoughts and insights! Assistant: The crucial issue is whether tenure is in the department or in the university. Look in your faculty handbook, ask the president of the faculty senate, etc. If tenure is in the department, you are at risk. If it is in the university, they find another place for you.

Human: Full professor but worried about job security On the same day last week, I received official confirmation that I've been promoted to full, and also heard that if my program doesn't drastly increase our student numbers, we would likely close. We have two years to turn things around. Besides a moral obligation felt by the Dean to try to help me and the other faculty members who would be affected (by possibly creating new positions in other departments?), should I expect that I have no job security? I haven't heard of this happening elsewhere (besides when tenured faculty lost their jobs after Katrina). But surely departments close occasionally. What happens to those professors? Thank you for any thoughts and insights! Assistant: What sort of an institution are you talking about here?

Human: What kind of cocoa do you use for baking? I've read several times that Dutch processed is the best. I've been using Hershey special dark which has worked very nicely. Assistant: The cheapest I can find haha

Human: What kind of cocoa do you use for baking? I've read several times that Dutch processed is the best. I've been using Hershey special dark which has worked very nicely. Assistant: I am completely in love with Cacao Berry Extra Brut.

Human: [DC] Why does Batman leave his mouth exposed? How come a part of his costume design is to leave a portion of his face unprotected? I mean doesn't it leave open the possibility of someone shooting him or sticking him with a taser since it's an exposed/unprotected area? Is there an advantage to it? Assistant: Delicious. Hostess. Apple. Pies.

Human: [DC] Why does Batman leave his mouth exposed? How come a part of his costume design is to leave a portion of his face unprotected? I mean doesn't it leave open the possibility of someone shooting him or sticking him with a taser since it's an exposed/unprotected area? Is there an advantage to it? Assistant: How else would Batman say "The hammers of justice never sleep!" or announce "I am *BATMAN!*" If it was sealed, all that villains would hear would be " The pfff ffo mmhh-shh nggg..jjoo!"

Human: [DC Comics] Can Superman pee with enough pressure to cut through the moon? Assistant: "I've come to make an announcement..."

Human: [DC Comics] Can Superman pee with enough pressure to cut through the moon? Assistant: I mean it's just cheese

Human: My dog is high My friend left a 1000 milligram THC brownie and my dog ate it. She is a 4 pound female shitzu and I don’t know what to do. She keeps blacking out and wobbling. She has been like this for a couple hours now. She through up an hour after eating it and hasn’t had any fluids or food for a couple hours. Please help Assistant: Vet. That amount put me down for days. I am experienced and have a high tolerance. The vet won't give a fuck about who/where it came from and won't call the cops. They just want to know so they can help the animal

Human: My dog is high My friend left a 1000 milligram THC brownie and my dog ate it. She is a 4 pound female shitzu and I don’t know what to do. She keeps blacking out and wobbling. She has been like this for a couple hours now. She through up an hour after eating it and hasn’t had any fluids or food for a couple hours. Please help Assistant: You should have her assessed on an emergent basis.

Human: Is it normal for a dog to howl/cry during surgery? I recently started working at a vet clinic. Among other questionable events, I've overheard dogs howling and whining for 10-20 minutes while in surgery. It sounds horrifying and I need to know if this is normal. This has happened twice in the past two weeks (never before in 3 months) both with shelter dogs during spay and neuter surgeries. Assistant: This is not ok. This is not normal. Are you in the US?

Human: Is it normal for a dog to howl/cry during surgery? I recently started working at a vet clinic. Among other questionable events, I've overheard dogs howling and whining for 10-20 minutes while in surgery. It sounds horrifying and I need to know if this is normal. This has happened twice in the past two weeks (never before in 3 months) both with shelter dogs during spay and neuter surgeries. Assistant: If you are uncomfortable with things you are seeing in your practice, you should bring it up with your doctor for better understanding. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, or if you don’t think they’ll implement change even if you do and you know what they’re doing is wrong, you can check out the link below, which is a resource for the American Veterinary Medical Association. https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Reference/AnimalWelfare/Pages/animal-welfare-the-profession.aspx

Human: Is there any forum (reddit or elsewhere) where I can submit recipes for critique? Hi all, I’m a home cook, and I like to experiment and make new recipes. When I come up with something my family and I like, I’ll write it down. But because I have no training whatsoever, I often wonder if there are obvious flaws that I’m missing. If you know of a forum for that kind of things, I’d be very interested. Assistant: Would you be willing to film it? I would be happy to watch, knowing your recipe for physical technique. Taste is always up to the eater. I've cooked for 15 years and would be happy to help judgement free

Human: Is there any forum (reddit or elsewhere) where I can submit recipes for critique? Hi all, I’m a home cook, and I like to experiment and make new recipes. When I come up with something my family and I like, I’ll write it down. But because I have no training whatsoever, I often wonder if there are obvious flaws that I’m missing. If you know of a forum for that kind of things, I’d be very interested. Assistant: yes please!

Human: [Toy Story] How do more adult oriented toys react to their existence? 2 examples come to mind, and I don't know how differently they react if at all. How does a Luke Skywalker action figure who was put in a box in 1981 and never ever unpackaged, at this point because he's worth thousands of dollars and that value would go down exponentially if the package was so much as crumpled never mind cut open feel about being sealed in a plastic jail cell form fitted to his body with no wiggle room? Considering Prospector Pete was so incredibly excited about getting to go to a Toy Muesum in Japan does just being admired from afar and being promised you won't be chewed on by a 4 year old or blown up by a 13 year old with a love of firecrackers outweigh our human desires for mental stimulation? Secondly how about miniatures like DnD or 40k figurines feel about things? They are generally less in danger of being destroyed or forgotten about by children growing out of them, so is that just the jackpot of existence for a toy? All you do is wait until your owner leaves then the orks play football all day while the Imperial Guard watches Netflix all day? Assistant: A big question here is what happens with Luke's canon knowledge. Buzz comes preloaded with a lot of knowledge about Buzz Lightyear's backstory. So does a ESB Luke figure come loaded with knowledge up to the end of ESB? When ROTJ came out, did the ESB Luke action figure magically achieve further knowledge, or does he remain ignorant of ROTJ? Weirder still, would a New Hope Obi-Wan toy disagree with a Revenge of the Sith Obi-Wan toy about his own backstory?

Human: [Toy Story] How do more adult oriented toys react to their existence? 2 examples come to mind, and I don't know how differently they react if at all. How does a Luke Skywalker action figure who was put in a box in 1981 and never ever unpackaged, at this point because he's worth thousands of dollars and that value would go down exponentially if the package was so much as crumpled never mind cut open feel about being sealed in a plastic jail cell form fitted to his body with no wiggle room? Considering Prospector Pete was so incredibly excited about getting to go to a Toy Muesum in Japan does just being admired from afar and being promised you won't be chewed on by a 4 year old or blown up by a 13 year old with a love of firecrackers outweigh our human desires for mental stimulation? Secondly how about miniatures like DnD or 40k figurines feel about things? They are generally less in danger of being destroyed or forgotten about by children growing out of them, so is that just the jackpot of existence for a toy? All you do is wait until your owner leaves then the orks play football all day while the Imperial Guard watches Netflix all day? Assistant: This question gives Woody and Buzz a whole new connotation

Human: When did you first feel comfortable describing yourself as a member of your field rather than a student? At what point did it feel right to start calling yourself a physicist, or a historian, or a mathematician, instead of a physics student, a history student, or a math student? Assistant: Getting published.

Human: When did you first feel comfortable describing yourself as a member of your field rather than a student? At what point did it feel right to start calling yourself a physicist, or a historian, or a mathematician, instead of a physics student, a history student, or a math student? Assistant: When I designed and implemented my own resarch project.

Human: Consistently flat cookies Hi Folks, I recently moved to a new house and I've started baking again, but it's been somewhat depressing because I can't seem to make cookies properly. I've tried a bunch of different recipes, and nothing seems to work out for me. The biggest problem I have is that my cookies always spread and end up super flat. The first few times this happened, I blamed the recipe and moved on to something else. It's now happening so often that I can't blame the recipe anymore. So I've always baked by weight, I weigh everything with a kitchen scale and follow the recipe exactly. I use good quality SS Nordic ware baking sheets, usually with silicone baking mats, unless the recipe specifically mentions to use parchment paper or an unprepared sheet. I always chill my dough in the fridge before baking. I've even tried chilling the dough, then scooping it, then chilling the scooped dough again just in case. I have three different oven thermometers in my oven, all of which seem to be pretty consistently on temperature. I've also baked cakes, cream puffs and some breads in the oven without issues so I don't think it's my oven's fault. I will mention that this is a gas range with an electric oven and a convection oven. I always use the regular bake mode because I've never used a convection oven before. I usually use a cookie scoop in order to avoid warming the dough with my hands. I thought maybe my flour was at fault so I switched to an all purpose flour with a higher protein content but that didn't seem to make any difference. Can anyone think of any other reason why all my cookies may be going flat? Assistant: Here is a good list of suggestions. I would also test changing out your baking soda/baking powder. My best guess would be that you need to increase the amount of flour. While going be weight is great, that doesn't account for different amounts of humidity in the flour which can depend on where you live. Other factors would have been the same at a different location and you say your cookies didn't do this before.

Human: Consistently flat cookies Hi Folks, I recently moved to a new house and I've started baking again, but it's been somewhat depressing because I can't seem to make cookies properly. I've tried a bunch of different recipes, and nothing seems to work out for me. The biggest problem I have is that my cookies always spread and end up super flat. The first few times this happened, I blamed the recipe and moved on to something else. It's now happening so often that I can't blame the recipe anymore. So I've always baked by weight, I weigh everything with a kitchen scale and follow the recipe exactly. I use good quality SS Nordic ware baking sheets, usually with silicone baking mats, unless the recipe specifically mentions to use parchment paper or an unprepared sheet. I always chill my dough in the fridge before baking. I've even tried chilling the dough, then scooping it, then chilling the scooped dough again just in case. I have three different oven thermometers in my oven, all of which seem to be pretty consistently on temperature. I've also baked cakes, cream puffs and some breads in the oven without issues so I don't think it's my oven's fault. I will mention that this is a gas range with an electric oven and a convection oven. I always use the regular bake mode because I've never used a convection oven before. I usually use a cookie scoop in order to avoid warming the dough with my hands. I thought maybe my flour was at fault so I switched to an all purpose flour with a higher protein content but that didn't seem to make any difference. Can anyone think of any other reason why all my cookies may be going flat? Assistant: Did you change elevation? Brand of butter?

Human: What did you learn in school that felt useless/outdated by the time you entered the industry? Assistant: I had the opposite. I was told that nobody, but nobody, uses PLC or ladder logic anymore. You can guess what I had to work with some during my first job.

Human: What did you learn in school that felt useless/outdated by the time you entered the industry? Assistant: The mitochondria is the power house of the cell or something like that

Human: [Avengers Endgame] Odin himself told Thor that Mjolnir was just a tool, an instrument to focus and channel his own latent powers. Cap has no powers beyond the enhanced human abilities granted to him via the super solider semen, so where did the lightening powers come from when he wielded it? Assistant: Serum*

Human: [Avengers Endgame] Odin himself told Thor that Mjolnir was just a tool, an instrument to focus and channel his own latent powers. Cap has no powers beyond the enhanced human abilities granted to him via the super solider semen, so where did the lightening powers come from when he wielded it? Assistant: Super soldier semen hahahahaha

Human: Happy Leap Day! We'd like to take this opportunity to celebrate all things anuran with a Frog Megathread. Post your questions here! **Happy Leap Day!** We hope you're jumping for joy on February 29. To celebrate, we'd like to open up a **Frog Megathread**. Our biologists will be on hand to answer your questions! **Anura** is the largest extant (i.e. not extinct) order of amphibians, with over 6,300 documented species. There are a few things that set frogs apart: - "Anura" means "without a tail" - a reference to the loss of their tails as adults. - One of the most unique features is called a urostyle, and it's formed by fused sacral vertebrae. - They lack ribs, and have relatively few presacral vertebrae (fewer than 9, usually 8). - They also fuse some limb bones together: the radius and ulna in the arm fuse into the radio-ulna, and the tibia and fibula fuse into the tibiofibula. We can't talk about frogs without mentioning that amphibians are experiencing a global decline, and are going extinct much more quickly than background extinction rates (PDF). There are a number of causes at play. One is known as **amphibian chytrid fungus**. This fungus has caused the extinction of more species than any other pathogen. It has caused the decline of 501 amphibian species, caused a further 124 to drop by 90% or more, and caused the extinction of 90. Additional factors in amphibian decline include habitat change (destruction or loss), affecting as many as 63% of amphibian species; invasive species including fish or even other amphibian species; environmental toxins like pesticides; and global climate change. Today we'd like to celebrate our froggy friends, call attention to the importance of their conservation, and answer any questions you may have. Please join us on our Leap Day Frog Megathread! Assistant: What can I do locally to help out my frog compatriots?

Human: Happy Leap Day! We'd like to take this opportunity to celebrate all things anuran with a Frog Megathread. Post your questions here! **Happy Leap Day!** We hope you're jumping for joy on February 29. To celebrate, we'd like to open up a **Frog Megathread**. Our biologists will be on hand to answer your questions! **Anura** is the largest extant (i.e. not extinct) order of amphibians, with over 6,300 documented species. There are a few things that set frogs apart: - "Anura" means "without a tail" - a reference to the loss of their tails as adults. - One of the most unique features is called a urostyle, and it's formed by fused sacral vertebrae. - They lack ribs, and have relatively few presacral vertebrae (fewer than 9, usually 8). - They also fuse some limb bones together: the radius and ulna in the arm fuse into the radio-ulna, and the tibia and fibula fuse into the tibiofibula. We can't talk about frogs without mentioning that amphibians are experiencing a global decline, and are going extinct much more quickly than background extinction rates (PDF). There are a number of causes at play. One is known as **amphibian chytrid fungus**. This fungus has caused the extinction of more species than any other pathogen. It has caused the decline of 501 amphibian species, caused a further 124 to drop by 90% or more, and caused the extinction of 90. Additional factors in amphibian decline include habitat change (destruction or loss), affecting as many as 63% of amphibian species; invasive species including fish or even other amphibian species; environmental toxins like pesticides; and global climate change. Today we'd like to celebrate our froggy friends, call attention to the importance of their conservation, and answer any questions you may have. Please join us on our Leap Day Frog Megathread! Assistant: Frogs are really cute. That’s what I know about em.

Human: How to give my tomato sauce a more smokey flavor? This is a super weird question so I apologize in advance. This could be a regional thing, but I have a feeling that it’s not. Where I grew up, like many places, there is an ABUNDANCE of these super old Italian-American restaurants (think wood paneling everywhere and those stained glass chandeliers over every table that somehow emit 0 light). Something that I’ve never been able to accomplish at home when making my own tomato sauce is that flavor that these restaurants have - it tastes like it was made in a building that allowed smoking indoors for 50 years. What are these restaurants adding to accomplish this or is it literally just that these restaurants are super old? Assistant: I'm gonna have to agree with blistering the tomatoes (if making fresh tomato sauce) under the broiler for a few minutes first. Barring that, add a few drops of liquid smoke. Personally, growing up in an Italian American family in the eastern US, I have absolutely no clue what you are talking about. Maybe just smoke a cig or two while making the sauce lmao

Human: How to give my tomato sauce a more smokey flavor? This is a super weird question so I apologize in advance. This could be a regional thing, but I have a feeling that it’s not. Where I grew up, like many places, there is an ABUNDANCE of these super old Italian-American restaurants (think wood paneling everywhere and those stained glass chandeliers over every table that somehow emit 0 light). Something that I’ve never been able to accomplish at home when making my own tomato sauce is that flavor that these restaurants have - it tastes like it was made in a building that allowed smoking indoors for 50 years. What are these restaurants adding to accomplish this or is it literally just that these restaurants are super old? Assistant: What about fire roasted tomatoes?

Human: Curious on what your diet / eating regimen looks like as academics Hi ! I'm looking to improve my eating habits and am curious to see what my fellow academics have to say about it. Any power diet that helps you stay focused and not fall into drowsiness to easily ? Feel free to add any exercise habits ;-) Assistant: Although diet is very important, people tend to underestimate sleep as the other main contributor to good health. If you are really ambitious, I would add a physical exercise routine. Finally, meditation can help in first instance to make better choices about these three, and ultimately... Well, I don't know that yet!

Human: Curious on what your diet / eating regimen looks like as academics Hi ! I'm looking to improve my eating habits and am curious to see what my fellow academics have to say about it. Any power diet that helps you stay focused and not fall into drowsiness to easily ? Feel free to add any exercise habits ;-) Assistant: Coffee and weed lol. 🤣

Human: Specific stir-fry substitution question for celery and bell pepper My wife hates the taste of bell pepper, and everything about celery. I was thinking of using bok choy stalk in place of the celery, and just not cooking it as long to keep it crisper, but I'm worried it will still be bitter. Would something completely out of left field like julienned jicama or kohlrabi work? I'm totally stumped on the bell pepper. I've seen the suggestion for cubanelles on past threads here, but not sure how well something like that would work with my usual ginger/garlic/fish sauce/tamari combo which pairs well with my celery and bell pepper usual. Assistant: Snow peas have a pleasant texture and nice crispness.

Human: Specific stir-fry substitution question for celery and bell pepper My wife hates the taste of bell pepper, and everything about celery. I was thinking of using bok choy stalk in place of the celery, and just not cooking it as long to keep it crisper, but I'm worried it will still be bitter. Would something completely out of left field like julienned jicama or kohlrabi work? I'm totally stumped on the bell pepper. I've seen the suggestion for cubanelles on past threads here, but not sure how well something like that would work with my usual ginger/garlic/fish sauce/tamari combo which pairs well with my celery and bell pepper usual. Assistant: Kohlrabi also works well. It's kind of sweet

Human: Dissertation software What apps/software are you using to help with all aspects of your dissertation? For example, one of my professors recommended EndNote, but it's out of my price range. I've tried Mendeley, but I am having difficulty learning it. I am writing a qualitative research paper, so I don't think I need to use LaTex. Any other apps? Any recommendations would be very helpful. Assistant: > one of my professors recommended EndNote, but it's out of my price range. Have you checked if you get a license from the university? If your professor is using it, I doubt he/she is paying for it out of pocket.

Human: Dissertation software What apps/software are you using to help with all aspects of your dissertation? For example, one of my professors recommended EndNote, but it's out of my price range. I've tried Mendeley, but I am having difficulty learning it. I am writing a qualitative research paper, so I don't think I need to use LaTex. Any other apps? Any recommendations would be very helpful. Assistant: Mendeley and LaTex, honestly. Yes there is a learning curve but Mendeley makes it so much easier to cite and organize the bibliography with bibtex and custom citation styles. A lot of schools will have a LaTex template for your dissertation, which makes typesetting a snap. And if you want to move around references or sections, you don't need to worry about manually reordering citation numbers or section numbers and references.

Human: How Do I Get Rid of a Foggy Front Windshield when it's cold and freezing rain outside? When it's cold outside, or when it's freezing raining, often, the Front Windshield will be icy. Before driving, I'll go and warm up the car to scrape and clean it off. However, once I start driving, the Front Windshield will begin to steam up, making it hard to see, which is a danger. And when it's freezing rain or spitting snow, wipers make it even worse and don't help, so it gets dangerous when the freezing rain/snow accumulates and wipers don't help. What do I do to get the Front Windshield clear in this situation? Assistant: Set your heater to only blow on the windshield.

Human: How Do I Get Rid of a Foggy Front Windshield when it's cold and freezing rain outside? When it's cold outside, or when it's freezing raining, often, the Front Windshield will be icy. Before driving, I'll go and warm up the car to scrape and clean it off. However, once I start driving, the Front Windshield will begin to steam up, making it hard to see, which is a danger. And when it's freezing rain or spitting snow, wipers make it even worse and don't help, so it gets dangerous when the freezing rain/snow accumulates and wipers don't help. What do I do to get the Front Windshield clear in this situation? Assistant: Use your defroster

Human: What's the minimum distance require between 2 holes on a metal plate? I'm designing a 3mm steel/aluminum plate to be used as mount. I'm mounting one end to a table, and the other end will overhang, which can be used to mount various objects. On the plate will be a bunch of holes and slots. I was wondering what's the minimum distance required between each hole/slot? Also what's the minimum distance between a hole/slot and the edge of the plate? Thanks. Assistant: Separate their centers by 3 times the diameter of the hole as a rule of thumb. This will keep them far enough away that the stress caused by one hole is not amplified by the other. Now you'll need a professional to help if you want to know if your plate will break or bend though, as a single hole still causes extra stress.

Human: What's the minimum distance require between 2 holes on a metal plate? I'm designing a 3mm steel/aluminum plate to be used as mount. I'm mounting one end to a table, and the other end will overhang, which can be used to mount various objects. On the plate will be a bunch of holes and slots. I was wondering what's the minimum distance required between each hole/slot? Also what's the minimum distance between a hole/slot and the edge of the plate? Thanks. Assistant: Without knowing any type of loads this question cannot be answered.

Human: Why are other companies designing new ventilators rather than just getting license to manufacture per existing designs? It takes a while to validate a new design, especially by engineers who have no experience in this area. If rushed, the ventilator could kill someone. Instead, why don't companies sign a licensing agreement to manufacture existing designs? Seems like the problem is making ventilators fast enough and they just need more ventilator assembly lines. For example https://www.space.com/virgin-orbit-designs-ventilator-to-fight-coronavirus.html Assistant: So, let's say you have the parts to make something that is functionally acceptable as a ventilator and it will take you some time t, or you can completely retool and (hopefully) make an existing design, but at time t^(2). The accepted design is better, but not for a crisis, so you make the quick one with the intent of reviewing its functionality after the crisis is over, at which point they may need to all be destroyed because they are not suitable for times of relative "peace".

Human: Why are other companies designing new ventilators rather than just getting license to manufacture per existing designs? It takes a while to validate a new design, especially by engineers who have no experience in this area. If rushed, the ventilator could kill someone. Instead, why don't companies sign a licensing agreement to manufacture existing designs? Seems like the problem is making ventilators fast enough and they just need more ventilator assembly lines. For example https://www.space.com/virgin-orbit-designs-ventilator-to-fight-coronavirus.html Assistant: Because even in this time of imminent fucking death, it's all about money.

Human: A drunk guy rammed into my car and caused a 4 car pile-up So the title says it all. I was the first car he hit and he destroyed a car I loved. I came out with just a bloody nose, the guy crashed into me at 60 mph... I was lucky I guess but he caused a 4 car pile-up, my car was pushed into a truck with KIDS in the back seat, and the car in front of that was a grandma that acknowledged this dude drunk drove and was caught multiple times. ​ So the police never sent me a package I requested to charge this guy, they said the city was doing enough. I hired an attorney that stopped replying after a month. ​ Sure this dude is a native american but he was driving a company truck and hit me at 60mph and he has admitted to driving drunk and didnt see an obvious red light because he was texting. This was in flagstaff so not native land. ​ I am over 10,000 in debt and my attorney bailed on me, the police never sent the files to charge this guy for almost killing me. ​ Please help! Assistant: So you don’t have insurance?

Human: A drunk guy rammed into my car and caused a 4 car pile-up So the title says it all. I was the first car he hit and he destroyed a car I loved. I came out with just a bloody nose, the guy crashed into me at 60 mph... I was lucky I guess but he caused a 4 car pile-up, my car was pushed into a truck with KIDS in the back seat, and the car in front of that was a grandma that acknowledged this dude drunk drove and was caught multiple times. ​ So the police never sent me a package I requested to charge this guy, they said the city was doing enough. I hired an attorney that stopped replying after a month. ​ Sure this dude is a native american but he was driving a company truck and hit me at 60mph and he has admitted to driving drunk and didnt see an obvious red light because he was texting. This was in flagstaff so not native land. ​ I am over 10,000 in debt and my attorney bailed on me, the police never sent the files to charge this guy for almost killing me. ​ Please help! Assistant: INFO: DO YOU HAVE INSURANCE??

Human: Baking Equipment Recommendations for a Beginner Baker I’m looking for advice on the best equipment for beginner bakers (mostly cakes). I’m currently looking for rotating cake stands and round cake pans. I’ve been doing a lot of research, but there’s so many products and brands with mixed reviews, that it’s all a bit overwhelming. I’m hoping that I can find some help/ advice through here if possible. Also, if you guys have any other recommendations on what to get in relations to equipment or decorating supplies, I would really appreciate it! Thank you! Assistant: A digital scale for sure!!!

Human: Baking Equipment Recommendations for a Beginner Baker I’m looking for advice on the best equipment for beginner bakers (mostly cakes). I’m currently looking for rotating cake stands and round cake pans. I’ve been doing a lot of research, but there’s so many products and brands with mixed reviews, that it’s all a bit overwhelming. I’m hoping that I can find some help/ advice through here if possible. Also, if you guys have any other recommendations on what to get in relations to equipment or decorating supplies, I would really appreciate it! Thank you! Assistant: Haven't seen anyone recommend a brand for loaf pans so I'll say USA Pan.

Human: What things did you wish you knew/did before studying Physics at university? Assistant: A career as a software engineer as a fall back is so god damn safe that it's worth pursuing physics until you accept the fact that you indeed aren't the next Richard Feynman (though I'm not sure, I still might be).

Human: What things did you wish you knew/did before studying Physics at university? Assistant: That I don't like it.

Human: What can I add to enhance/create flavor in cookies? I'm no professional, but I'm trying to make sugar cookies. [A standard recipe; Eggs, Sugar, Flour, Vanilla extract, etc.] I'm looking to change its taste a bit because even if you add chocolate chips or sprinkles to the recipe, the cookie itself tastes the same. Even the sugar cookies in the grocery store have their own taste [I know its probably chemicals or something added by the manufacturer but still - not sure how it really works]. Is it appropriate to add a syrup like strawberry to the wet ingredients? I was also thinking of adding pumpkin spice as another alternative. Please let me know what I can do or if you have a recipe in mind you could share. Thanks! <3 Assistant: Brown butter.

Human: What can I add to enhance/create flavor in cookies? I'm no professional, but I'm trying to make sugar cookies. [A standard recipe; Eggs, Sugar, Flour, Vanilla extract, etc.] I'm looking to change its taste a bit because even if you add chocolate chips or sprinkles to the recipe, the cookie itself tastes the same. Even the sugar cookies in the grocery store have their own taste [I know its probably chemicals or something added by the manufacturer but still - not sure how it really works]. Is it appropriate to add a syrup like strawberry to the wet ingredients? I was also thinking of adding pumpkin spice as another alternative. Please let me know what I can do or if you have a recipe in mind you could share. Thanks! <3 Assistant: Does your recipe have salt? That makes a bigger difference in pastry than many people realize.

Human: [Texas] The guy who stole from me wants me to write him a letter of recommendation. What am I allowed to say? My former housekeeper’s son asked me to write him a letter of recommendation today. He used to steal my wife’s bras. We caught him carrying two out to his car one day. He froze in place, said “oops,” and returned *one* and honest-to-god tried to sneak the other into his car. I strongly suspect he stole our tableware, plates, and glasses too. I never caught him red-handed with them, but they only disappeared on days he and his mom came to clean. It wasn’t even our *nice* kitchen stuff either; he stole our decade-old IKEA plates, forks, knives, and spoons, along with all of our daughter’s sippy-cups and straws. He was in his twenties when he did all of this. And now he’s asking me to write a letter of recommendation. How much liability am I exposing myself to if I figure out who this clown wants me to send this letter to and tell them he’s a thief? There is no criminal record that I am aware of because we never filed a police report; we just fired him and his mom and replaced our stuff (including the bras)—and I know we are *very* lucky to have been able to do that. My first instinct is just to delete the email and block this guy’s address and be done with him, but the sheer temerity of his “may I ask a favor of you?” is *really* getting to me. Assistant: Just decline Even if you have truth on your side the cost of litigation is high and is not with exposing yourself to the risk What would you have to gain other than sticking it to him? Ignore and move on

Human: [Texas] The guy who stole from me wants me to write him a letter of recommendation. What am I allowed to say? My former housekeeper’s son asked me to write him a letter of recommendation today. He used to steal my wife’s bras. We caught him carrying two out to his car one day. He froze in place, said “oops,” and returned *one* and honest-to-god tried to sneak the other into his car. I strongly suspect he stole our tableware, plates, and glasses too. I never caught him red-handed with them, but they only disappeared on days he and his mom came to clean. It wasn’t even our *nice* kitchen stuff either; he stole our decade-old IKEA plates, forks, knives, and spoons, along with all of our daughter’s sippy-cups and straws. He was in his twenties when he did all of this. And now he’s asking me to write a letter of recommendation. How much liability am I exposing myself to if I figure out who this clown wants me to send this letter to and tell them he’s a thief? There is no criminal record that I am aware of because we never filed a police report; we just fired him and his mom and replaced our stuff (including the bras)—and I know we are *very* lucky to have been able to do that. My first instinct is just to delete the email and block this guy’s address and be done with him, but the sheer temerity of his “may I ask a favor of you?” is *really* getting to me. Assistant: Let him know he doesn’t want your recommendation.

Human: Dating/marriage and Tenure Track Academia I am in my final year of my PhD and also in my late 20s. I am currently single but I find it constantly weighing on me that I feel like I should be dating if I don’t want to be single for the rest of my life but also the demands of academia are significant. I currently am fulfilling a senior role in my lab that is much closer to a postdoc than PhD student with regards to research and management responsibilities, that plus teaching activities, and finishing my dissertation leave me very busy and often overwhelmed. Every time I look at getting into a relationship I can’t honestly say I have the time that most people want. I don’t work a 9-5. I work kind of insane hours. Also, I worry that any time I dedicate to a relationship is time I could be spending writing that next article or doing XYZ thing to advance my career. Does it get better? How do you all find/make the time? Do you feel like it takes away from your career? Field: Engineering Title: PhD student Country:US Assistant: Don't work so much

Human: Dating/marriage and Tenure Track Academia I am in my final year of my PhD and also in my late 20s. I am currently single but I find it constantly weighing on me that I feel like I should be dating if I don’t want to be single for the rest of my life but also the demands of academia are significant. I currently am fulfilling a senior role in my lab that is much closer to a postdoc than PhD student with regards to research and management responsibilities, that plus teaching activities, and finishing my dissertation leave me very busy and often overwhelmed. Every time I look at getting into a relationship I can’t honestly say I have the time that most people want. I don’t work a 9-5. I work kind of insane hours. Also, I worry that any time I dedicate to a relationship is time I could be spending writing that next article or doing XYZ thing to advance my career. Does it get better? How do you all find/make the time? Do you feel like it takes away from your career? Field: Engineering Title: PhD student Country:US Assistant: The job will not save you

Human: Did Physicists prove the Universe isn't real? I'm watching a YouTube video about the Nobel Prize 2022, the title of the video is ''How Physicists proved the Universe isn't real'' and it used language too hard for me to understand but the comments kept mentioning 'quantum entanglement'. Assistant: No.

Human: Did Physicists prove the Universe isn't real? I'm watching a YouTube video about the Nobel Prize 2022, the title of the video is ''How Physicists proved the Universe isn't real'' and it used language too hard for me to understand but the comments kept mentioning 'quantum entanglement'. Assistant: Do not mistake anything you hear in a youtube video for actual, valid science. It's entertainment for the most part.

Human: What should I do with my failed creme brule? I made creme brule for the first time but it came out way too sweet! Is there any way for me to repurpose the custard base without throwing it all out? I'd hate to waste food. Assistant: I'd just eat it with a lot of berries or another less-sweet fruit. Or biscuit-style cookies, or both. You could make a sort of trifle/parfait with it.

Human: What should I do with my failed creme brule? I made creme brule for the first time but it came out way too sweet! Is there any way for me to repurpose the custard base without throwing it all out? I'd hate to waste food. Assistant: Bread pudding, french toast, or use it as a topping for ice cream

Human: [DC] Why do they make Wonder Woman wear a bathing suit? No one else is wearing that. It's just weird. (question from a 12-year-old) Assistant: Nobody makes her, it's her choice.

Human: [DC] Why do they make Wonder Woman wear a bathing suit? No one else is wearing that. It's just weird. (question from a 12-year-old) Assistant: ...Tell her the truth on this one man. Treat kids like adults with facts.

Human: How do *you* negotiate salary? Assistant: With a counteroffer

Human: How do *you* negotiate salary? Assistant: Badly

Human: Seagull ate weed brownie. Hypothetically, if I was minding my own business with a cannabis brownie in hand, and a seagull swooped down, took it, and pissed off into the sunset, what would happen to the seagull? Information I'm supposed to be including: Species: Seagull • Age: 2/3? • Sex/Neuter status: na • Breed: Bird • Body weight: na • History: probably its first time • Clinical signs: carrying a pot brownie • Your general location: the coast Assistant: I lost it at 'probably its first time'

Human: Seagull ate weed brownie. Hypothetically, if I was minding my own business with a cannabis brownie in hand, and a seagull swooped down, took it, and pissed off into the sunset, what would happen to the seagull? Information I'm supposed to be including: Species: Seagull • Age: 2/3? • Sex/Neuter status: na • Breed: Bird • Body weight: na • History: probably its first time • Clinical signs: carrying a pot brownie • Your general location: the coast Assistant: Oh I have absolutely no answers for you but this made me smile so much and even let out a little chuckle haha! You are a good person for worrying but I do think your pal will be okay 🙏🏼

Human: [The Dark Knight] Why does Two-Face seek revenge on the GCPD rather than Joker? It was Joker who killed Rachel and disfigured Harvey in the first place, yet Harvey took his anger out on the city and police force he once served with his life. What gives? Why not actually go after the man responsible for killing the love of your life? Assistant: Not only did Joker convince him that the GCPD was at fault, but Dent repeatedly voiced concerns about crooked cops in Gordon's unit and Gordon ignored him every time. And then the exact cops Dent was worried about were the ones who kidnapped him and Rachel. So on top of Joker's manipulation, he had legitimate reasons to be pissed at Gordon and the rest of the GCPD.

Human: [The Dark Knight] Why does Two-Face seek revenge on the GCPD rather than Joker? It was Joker who killed Rachel and disfigured Harvey in the first place, yet Harvey took his anger out on the city and police force he once served with his life. What gives? Why not actually go after the man responsible for killing the love of your life? Assistant: The coin said not to

Human: I rent a 2 bedroom apart. and live alone. Landlord has informed me that on October 1 a stranger will be leasing my spare room. There is nothing in my lease about this being allowed. The property management company won’t return my calls and I found out the guy may have spent time in jail for drugs Boston, Massachusetts. Is there anything I can do to combat this or can I use this to legally break my lease? Thank you. Assistant: You need to be very proactive. Pay for a lawyer to send them a certified letter explaining that they can't rent out a room you are already paying for, and that no provision in the lease allows it. If this guy does move in while you're out, it's going to be difficult and a pain in the ass to get him back out again. Start looking for a new place asap.

Human: I rent a 2 bedroom apart. and live alone. Landlord has informed me that on October 1 a stranger will be leasing my spare room. There is nothing in my lease about this being allowed. The property management company won’t return my calls and I found out the guy may have spent time in jail for drugs Boston, Massachusetts. Is there anything I can do to combat this or can I use this to legally break my lease? Thank you. Assistant: Do you rent the apartment or a room?

Human: What's this brown gelatinous part under my duck fat? I sous vide some duck legs for about 30 hours over the weekend (just duck legs, salt, and a bit of pepper) and poured out the duck fat afterward to save. Once it was chilled, there was this brown gelatinous layer underneath the fat. What is this, and is it worth saving? My assumption is that it's basically just collagen from the bones like you would get when you reduce a stock, but I'm not sure. Is this concentrated stock or something else? Assistant: Pretty much gelatin. Happens when you cook bone-in meat that still has collagen on it. Never, ever discard it because it literally is a flavor concentrate. Save it for other uses, like soup, stir frys/sautés, braising, etc.

Human: What's this brown gelatinous part under my duck fat? I sous vide some duck legs for about 30 hours over the weekend (just duck legs, salt, and a bit of pepper) and poured out the duck fat afterward to save. Once it was chilled, there was this brown gelatinous layer underneath the fat. What is this, and is it worth saving? My assumption is that it's basically just collagen from the bones like you would get when you reduce a stock, but I'm not sure. Is this concentrated stock or something else? Assistant: That my friend, is gold.

Human: Got an offer for a Sr Staff engineering position in an EV in Palo Alto, CA. is 125k/yr with a partner and a child, doable? Hi, as the title says, I'd be moving on a TN visa to Palo Alto (meaning, partner wont be able to work) . I know that this is a good salary in Arizona and that would also allow me to save on the side. However I have no idea if this is good or bad an offer in Palo Alto. I really love the company so I don't wanna be biased towards making a bad financial decision if that means Im going to be struggling. Also which cities would you advice to look for housing? Assistant: $125k is low for Sr. Staff Engr

Human: Got an offer for a Sr Staff engineering position in an EV in Palo Alto, CA. is 125k/yr with a partner and a child, doable? Hi, as the title says, I'd be moving on a TN visa to Palo Alto (meaning, partner wont be able to work) . I know that this is a good salary in Arizona and that would also allow me to save on the side. However I have no idea if this is good or bad an offer in Palo Alto. I really love the company so I don't wanna be biased towards making a bad financial decision if that means Im going to be struggling. Also which cities would you advice to look for housing? Assistant: That is literal poverty level in Palo Alto. And it's insulting for Sr. Staff. Jesus. In order to consider pay "fair" in a given area, you need to be able to IMO afford the average house. Average house in PA is $2.2M, which translates to a mortgage of what, like $7k/mo which applying the "30% of post tax" rule means that you need to shoot for a pay of around $420k. I am almost thinking you're trolling, no one is this dumb.

Human: Why does store bought stock always taste better? Hear me out first, because in not entirely sure this is down to not grasping technique. I have cooked a variety of different stock recipes. Roasting bones and vegetables. Not roasting. Different vegetables. Adding salt at the end. Adding MSG. I watched the Thomas Keller masterclass on stock and made that. Ultimately I always find it's just a bit.. bland. Even if I concentrate it down, it never packs the same punch. For some reason I just find some store bought stocks taste better. I've been buying a stock in a can recently (potts I think it's called) and it just PACKS flavour. Its sweet, has notes of wine and his just a different flavour profile than anything I've made before. But it's not too much, it doesn't overpower a dish. Is this just down to them actually making a flavourful broth than just standard clear chicken stock? Or am I just bad at making stock? What typical upgrades to stock do you add? I always read to keep it clear and basic as possible to make it versatile. However I've never used a store bought chicken stock and thought, that has TOO much chicken flavour. Am I just a heathen for salt? Help! Thanks culinary wizards. Assistant: If you like the store bought stock, use the store bought stock. They often add all different sources of salt, umami, and other seasonings, and if you feel it's neutral enough to still doctor, then it's good. If you've already tried roasting, salting, adding MSG, tomato powder, mushroom powder, deglazing char with white wine, etc..., then there's really not much else to do.

Human: Why does store bought stock always taste better? Hear me out first, because in not entirely sure this is down to not grasping technique. I have cooked a variety of different stock recipes. Roasting bones and vegetables. Not roasting. Different vegetables. Adding salt at the end. Adding MSG. I watched the Thomas Keller masterclass on stock and made that. Ultimately I always find it's just a bit.. bland. Even if I concentrate it down, it never packs the same punch. For some reason I just find some store bought stocks taste better. I've been buying a stock in a can recently (potts I think it's called) and it just PACKS flavour. Its sweet, has notes of wine and his just a different flavour profile than anything I've made before. But it's not too much, it doesn't overpower a dish. Is this just down to them actually making a flavourful broth than just standard clear chicken stock? Or am I just bad at making stock? What typical upgrades to stock do you add? I always read to keep it clear and basic as possible to make it versatile. However I've never used a store bought chicken stock and thought, that has TOO much chicken flavour. Am I just a heathen for salt? Help! Thanks culinary wizards. Assistant: Reduce your stock more

Human: Cakes for "Purple Day" Hello! Every year at work, we hold a "purple day" to raise money for asthmauk in memory of a colleague who passed away after an asthma attack. Every year I am asked to take in cakes, and this year I'm drawing a blank! I've previously done cupcakes with purple decorations, entremets with purple collars, purple cheesecake, blackberry eclairs... If you were given the theme of "purple", what would you do? It's also worth bearing in mind that due to work patterns, purple day is held on a Wednesday, and I work Mon-Fri so only have evenings to do fresh cake for the Wednesday, unless I make something at the weekend and keep it for the Wednesday. I have to do enough for two offices, one of approx 10 people and another for approx 20 people. Assistant: Carrot cake with purple carrots

Human: Cakes for "Purple Day" Hello! Every year at work, we hold a "purple day" to raise money for asthmauk in memory of a colleague who passed away after an asthma attack. Every year I am asked to take in cakes, and this year I'm drawing a blank! I've previously done cupcakes with purple decorations, entremets with purple collars, purple cheesecake, blackberry eclairs... If you were given the theme of "purple", what would you do? It's also worth bearing in mind that due to work patterns, purple day is held on a Wednesday, and I work Mon-Fri so only have evenings to do fresh cake for the Wednesday, unless I make something at the weekend and keep it for the Wednesday. I have to do enough for two offices, one of approx 10 people and another for approx 20 people. Assistant: Ube!!! Very popular Phillipines flavor and a beautiful purple color.

Human: What are some of your favorite engineering books? Assistant: John D. Anderson's Introduction to Flight is a great textbook for aerospace engineering. Covers a broad set of topics at the undergrad level.

Human: What are some of your favorite engineering books? Assistant: Machinery’s handbook.

Human: Why did you want to be an engineer? Assistant: Have you ever seen iron man?

Human: Why did you want to be an engineer? Assistant: I've always been an engineer. The education was just a validation.

Human: What % pay raise have you when seen changing jobs recently? Currently engineering profession is seen as a fully employed, meaning there are no engineers looking for work. A **recruiter friend of mine told me, they can't hire who they want, so they are poaching engineers from their competitors. This means great pay increases!** Lets get some numbers out here, for all of us to compare and have better negotiating skills going forward. My last job change was a 16% pay raise, same COL and City, that was in the beginning of 2019 mind you, today I'd expect to see a higher average than this. Assistant: 95% increase, same area

Human: What % pay raise have you when seen changing jobs recently? Currently engineering profession is seen as a fully employed, meaning there are no engineers looking for work. A **recruiter friend of mine told me, they can't hire who they want, so they are poaching engineers from their competitors. This means great pay increases!** Lets get some numbers out here, for all of us to compare and have better negotiating skills going forward. My last job change was a 16% pay raise, same COL and City, that was in the beginning of 2019 mind you, today I'd expect to see a higher average than this. Assistant: 23% increase when I changed jobs, with a 7.5% bonus if we hit production targets. That said, my new role is based in the city so the increase reflects the inflation expected there.

Human: Farting Employee! Hi HR, I own a small business and we have a 12x12 office room where we work with 4 people, each with their own desk. We just made a new hire (23F) who is a fitness and nutrition enthusiast. She is vegan and eats the same thing every day for lunch which is essentially a bowl of vegetables (broccoli, etc), beans, and mustard. &#x200B; Every single day around 3pm, she starts letting off silent but insanely deadly "veggie farts". My wife works in the office and we both have discussed this at great length about how to handle it. We notice her stepping out of the room fairly regularly (presumably to relieve her vegan gas), but she also snacks a lot as a part of her diet. &#x200B; We've lit candles, which help to mask the smell, but we think it's just flat out offensive and disrespectful for her to do this in our workplace. The new hire is now in her 4th week and we are not sure how to proceed. Obviously a conversation needs to happen, but as the owner of the company how should I approach this one? Assistant: I think you should reframe your attitude. It’s not “flat out offensive and disrespectful.” She’s presumably not doing this on purpose. And it’s not your place to tell her to change her diet. In fact, you don’t even know that it’s due to her diet. She could have IBS or a gastrointestinal condition that leads to excess flatulence. That being said, you could respectfully bring up the issue and try to collaborate on a solution. Perhaps she could be more diligent about stepping out of the room?

Human: Farting Employee! Hi HR, I own a small business and we have a 12x12 office room where we work with 4 people, each with their own desk. We just made a new hire (23F) who is a fitness and nutrition enthusiast. She is vegan and eats the same thing every day for lunch which is essentially a bowl of vegetables (broccoli, etc), beans, and mustard. &#x200B; Every single day around 3pm, she starts letting off silent but insanely deadly "veggie farts". My wife works in the office and we both have discussed this at great length about how to handle it. We notice her stepping out of the room fairly regularly (presumably to relieve her vegan gas), but she also snacks a lot as a part of her diet. &#x200B; We've lit candles, which help to mask the smell, but we think it's just flat out offensive and disrespectful for her to do this in our workplace. The new hire is now in her 4th week and we are not sure how to proceed. Obviously a conversation needs to happen, but as the owner of the company how should I approach this one? Assistant: Fart jar. Just like a swear jar, but for farts.

Human: What's the best engineering advice you've ever received? Assistant: 1. Stop thinking about it and do your job. 2. It's always better if somebody else does it. 3. Don't make a whole thing. Just buy things from smart people and put them together. 4. More power, more better.

Human: What's the best engineering advice you've ever received? Assistant: Draft Drunk, Revise Sober

Human: [Bond, MCU, Mission Impossible] Between Craig's Bond, Johansson's Widow, and Cruise's Hunt, who is actually the best spy, and why? Assistant: Bond isn’t really a spy, he’s a Secret Service agent, specifically a 00 agent. By the time a 00 is called in, all the boring ‘spywork’ has been done already. When the British government want to actively intervene in a situation, they use 00’s as the instrument to do so.

Human: [Bond, MCU, Mission Impossible] Between Craig's Bond, Johansson's Widow, and Cruise's Hunt, who is actually the best spy, and why? Assistant: None the real answer is Michael Weston from Burn Notice. A+ spy.

Human: [CAN] Got let go 3 months in to a 10 month temp job. How do I best present this on a resume? I got no reason. I was just told it was a no cause termination. This allows me to collect EI benefits which is why I suspect it is no cause. I've always felt that the new manager didn't like me. I never got any negative performance reviews, no meetings discussing lack of meeting expectations. I got a knock on my door at 230pm Thursday with my boss and an HR rep. I was then told I would be let go early from my contract, and was handed a letter saying that. The HR person then stuck around as I packed my things, and I was escorted out of the building. This very likely can't be "no cause". I find this type of layoff more like a firing. I haven't asked my old boss to be a reference, and am honestly scared to as I suspect she didn't like me much. How should I present this on a resume, and is this a big deal in terms of not including them as a reference for future applications? I'm quite concerned over what this means for me, and am very confused because I don't know where I went wrong. Any help / clarification would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Assistant: just say it was a temp job, thats all. you went 90 days on the contract

Human: [CAN] Got let go 3 months in to a 10 month temp job. How do I best present this on a resume? I got no reason. I was just told it was a no cause termination. This allows me to collect EI benefits which is why I suspect it is no cause. I've always felt that the new manager didn't like me. I never got any negative performance reviews, no meetings discussing lack of meeting expectations. I got a knock on my door at 230pm Thursday with my boss and an HR rep. I was then told I would be let go early from my contract, and was handed a letter saying that. The HR person then stuck around as I packed my things, and I was escorted out of the building. This very likely can't be "no cause". I find this type of layoff more like a firing. I haven't asked my old boss to be a reference, and am honestly scared to as I suspect she didn't like me much. How should I present this on a resume, and is this a big deal in terms of not including them as a reference for future applications? I'm quite concerned over what this means for me, and am very confused because I don't know where I went wrong. Any help / clarification would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Assistant: Skip it. Dont include in your CV.

Human: What free CAD software can I use? This question is probably asked a lot but idk I'm not in a company or in a school anymore but need to make a portfolio Fusion 360 download doesn't work Assistant: Solid Edge community edition is free

Human: What free CAD software can I use? This question is probably asked a lot but idk I'm not in a company or in a school anymore but need to make a portfolio Fusion 360 download doesn't work Assistant: I love onshape. My company has started using it. From my understanding it’s free as long as your CAD is public, but if you want to do anything private you have to pay. The modeling and assembly is a little different in how it works, but it’s a good choice.

Human: “The Incredible Machine” is a classic game. What engineering/puzzle games have you enjoyed? Booting up Sierra’s “The Incredible Machine” as a kid in 1995 is definitely one of the reasons I’m pursuing this field today. For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s based on constructing varying series’ of Rube Goldberg machines to complete levels. Revisiting those memories this morning got me thinking...What are some of the puzzle/engineering games you’ve enjoyed over the years? Assistant: Fantastic Contraption At the time I solved everything with a ridiculous amount of motors all chained together with locomotive like linkages to transmit ludicrous amounts of power. A few years back I saw playthroughs on youtube where people were solving the problems with unfolding structures, 4 bar linkages and chains in ways I never even considered.

Human: “The Incredible Machine” is a classic game. What engineering/puzzle games have you enjoyed? Booting up Sierra’s “The Incredible Machine” as a kid in 1995 is definitely one of the reasons I’m pursuing this field today. For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s based on constructing varying series’ of Rube Goldberg machines to complete levels. Revisiting those memories this morning got me thinking...What are some of the puzzle/engineering games you’ve enjoyed over the years? Assistant: Not really a puzzle but I was a Lego kid. Always trying to build the biggest set I could get my hands on. I give it a lot of credit for my interest in engineering and fabrication now.

Human: How do you make steamed chicken taste like it does in a Chinese restaurant? I like making steamed chicken because it is really easy and healthy. However, when I make it (sometimes with a cabbage sometimes without it) it tastes much more bland (I know chinese restaurants use lemons sometimes) and it is also much drier than it is at a restaurant. What can I do differently to change it up? Also, I use soy sauce and it tastes good, what other healthy options can I put on it to make it taste good? Assistant: garlic, ginger, soy

Human: How do you make steamed chicken taste like it does in a Chinese restaurant? I like making steamed chicken because it is really easy and healthy. However, when I make it (sometimes with a cabbage sometimes without it) it tastes much more bland (I know chinese restaurants use lemons sometimes) and it is also much drier than it is at a restaurant. What can I do differently to change it up? Also, I use soy sauce and it tastes good, what other healthy options can I put on it to make it taste good? Assistant: I've used danny bowien's recipe featured in Bon Appetit with some awesome results. http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/05/mouthwatering-chicken

Human: who/what are your favorite baking bloggers/blogs? Assistant: Smitten Kitchen has a lot of great bakes.

Human: who/what are your favorite baking bloggers/blogs? Assistant: I love the following (not exhaustive) - smitten kitchen - king arthur - the kitchn - joy of baking

Human: Can you recommend a book on the history of philosophy? I'm looking for a book that gives an overview of the history of philosophy, a book that covers the different movements and some of the famous philosophers. Assistant: My understanding is that *A History of Philosophy* by Copleston is generally recommended.

Human: Can you recommend a book on the history of philosophy? I'm looking for a book that gives an overview of the history of philosophy, a book that covers the different movements and some of the famous philosophers. Assistant: How do you guys feel about Gottlieb’s ‘The Dream of Reason’?

Human: Is it ok to cold email professors (USA) about post doctoral opportunities in their labs? Is it ok to enquire about post doctoral opening by emailing usa professors? I have been applying through job listing sites with no luck. Assistant: It is socially and professionally acceptable; however, the response rate might be low.

Human: Is it ok to cold email professors (USA) about post doctoral opportunities in their labs? Is it ok to enquire about post doctoral opening by emailing usa professors? I have been applying through job listing sites with no luck. Assistant: Absolutely, but only if relevant.

Human: Can I cook Arborio rice like normal rice or can it only really be cooked for risotto? I’m too lazy to get regular rice. Help. Haha Assistant: I cook it like any other rice. It is sticky, but I like it that way.

Human: Can I cook Arborio rice like normal rice or can it only really be cooked for risotto? I’m too lazy to get regular rice. Help. Haha Assistant: Cook it like pasta, strain then cover 5 minutes, enjoy.

Human: My parents moved into a new house that has a gas stove, but I can't figure out what this middle burner would be for. Anyone have any idea what it is or how to use it? https://imgur.com/gallery/oIwnI Assistant: Kitchen/Cabinet engineer here- wolf makes wok rings for their appliances. I'd recommend getting a hold of them and purchasing one. Generics do not normally work on wolf anythings- and the same for the refrigeration side of the company, Sub-Zero.

Human: My parents moved into a new house that has a gas stove, but I can't figure out what this middle burner would be for. Anyone have any idea what it is or how to use it? https://imgur.com/gallery/oIwnI Assistant: You're so lucky, most professional kitchens won't put one in because it's expensive and you get that IN A HOUSE!!!

Human: I live in Minnesota and my bank sent my landlord two checks by mistake. The landlord won't refund the extra OR apply it to next month's rent. My landlord requires that rent be paid by check, so I set up check paying service with my bank. For May the bank mistakenly sent TWO checks rather than one. Both had the note of "LASTNAME HOUSENUMBER RENT MAY" and my landlord cashed both. After finding out, I contacted the landlord informing them that the bank sent two checks by mistake, and confirming that they received both. They did. So, I had the bank "pause" for June and not send a rent check assuming my account was paid ahead by a month. Apparently that's wrong. The landlord started sent me notice on the fourth of unpaid rent for the month. The landlord refuses to refund the extra money saying that it is not their fault that I gave them additional money and they are under no obligation to return it. Like I said, they won't even apply it to June rent. Can I legally continue to withhold June rent since they were paid double in May, and just send the next check as usual starting in July? They have threatened to have me evicted so I really need to know my legal options. Thanks. Assistant: Sound like the bank is at fault. Why haven't they refunded the money?

Human: I live in Minnesota and my bank sent my landlord two checks by mistake. The landlord won't refund the extra OR apply it to next month's rent. My landlord requires that rent be paid by check, so I set up check paying service with my bank. For May the bank mistakenly sent TWO checks rather than one. Both had the note of "LASTNAME HOUSENUMBER RENT MAY" and my landlord cashed both. After finding out, I contacted the landlord informing them that the bank sent two checks by mistake, and confirming that they received both. They did. So, I had the bank "pause" for June and not send a rent check assuming my account was paid ahead by a month. Apparently that's wrong. The landlord started sent me notice on the fourth of unpaid rent for the month. The landlord refuses to refund the extra money saying that it is not their fault that I gave them additional money and they are under no obligation to return it. Like I said, they won't even apply it to June rent. Can I legally continue to withhold June rent since they were paid double in May, and just send the next check as usual starting in July? They have threatened to have me evicted so I really need to know my legal options. Thanks. Assistant: Have you contacted the bank who issued the extra check?

Human: Best mechanical way to hold a sliding door open for the day and close it at night? My friends and I are making an Arduino controlled automated chicken coop for one of my friends, with a sliding door that opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. Our original idea was to use a stepper motor with a winch to raise the door, hold it during the day, and close it at sunset. We found out that this was quite an inefficient solution, since the stepper motor constantly draws current while holding the door open, which drains the battery which is operating it very quickly. We wanted to use a battery because the power tends to go out a couple times a year in his neighborhood, but connecting the motor to an outlet is still an option. However, ideally, we could find a simple solution in which both the open and close states do not require power, and power is only used to move the door open and closed. This would greatly reduce power consumption and would allow us to continue using a battery. Any suggestions are welcome. We would prefer if the door would stay as a vertical sliding door, since we have already built it, but if a horizontal sliding door or a swinging door are significantly better, then we can do that instead. Assistant: Use an electric linear actuator.

Human: Best mechanical way to hold a sliding door open for the day and close it at night? My friends and I are making an Arduino controlled automated chicken coop for one of my friends, with a sliding door that opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. Our original idea was to use a stepper motor with a winch to raise the door, hold it during the day, and close it at sunset. We found out that this was quite an inefficient solution, since the stepper motor constantly draws current while holding the door open, which drains the battery which is operating it very quickly. We wanted to use a battery because the power tends to go out a couple times a year in his neighborhood, but connecting the motor to an outlet is still an option. However, ideally, we could find a simple solution in which both the open and close states do not require power, and power is only used to move the door open and closed. This would greatly reduce power consumption and would allow us to continue using a battery. Any suggestions are welcome. We would prefer if the door would stay as a vertical sliding door, since we have already built it, but if a horizontal sliding door or a swinging door are significantly better, then we can do that instead. Assistant: Assuming you're looking for something that's reliable, and will work without endless tinkering, a linear actuator (like /u/jadedanemone said) is a really straightforward solution. They'll hold position without power. They have built-in end stops, so you're not going to burn it out if the arduino flakes out. My only concern would be that many of them are capable of pretty hefty forces: you may wind up with a chicken guillotine.

Human: NY cooks: the red sauce at The Halal Guys cart at 53rd & 6th; what's in it? Someone out there must be able to know pretty much by taste what's in it. It's not just harissa thinned down with water, but they might be using piri-piri/bird chiles. It's super hot. Or do you think they're just using dried cayennes or chiles de arbol? There are lots of recipes online for the white sauce, but I can't find any for halal cart hot sauce. Any ideas? Thanks. Assistant: I believe it's some derivative of a Harissa style hot sauce.

Human: NY cooks: the red sauce at The Halal Guys cart at 53rd & 6th; what's in it? Someone out there must be able to know pretty much by taste what's in it. It's not just harissa thinned down with water, but they might be using piri-piri/bird chiles. It's super hot. Or do you think they're just using dried cayennes or chiles de arbol? There are lots of recipes online for the white sauce, but I can't find any for halal cart hot sauce. Any ideas? Thanks. Assistant: Have you tried asking them?

Human: I like to experiment a lot but I also like the idea of kiss(keep it simple stupid), so main question is, "Is yeast + flour + water mixture all needed to make hamburger buns?". The experimenting part is I want to take the brownie box mixture I have, half everything and add 1 and 1/2 cups flour with yeast. I want to try to make a brownie bun. A crispy delectable chocolate outside with a warm, gooey soft chocolate like cake inside but in the form of a a hamburger buns. I know, sounds weird. But I'm weird, alright. So any advice would be helpful. Thanks. Assistant: You need some fat to get the texture you want.

Human: I like to experiment a lot but I also like the idea of kiss(keep it simple stupid), so main question is, "Is yeast + flour + water mixture all needed to make hamburger buns?". The experimenting part is I want to take the brownie box mixture I have, half everything and add 1 and 1/2 cups flour with yeast. I want to try to make a brownie bun. A crispy delectable chocolate outside with a warm, gooey soft chocolate like cake inside but in the form of a a hamburger buns. I know, sounds weird. But I'm weird, alright. So any advice would be helpful. Thanks. Assistant: On the one hand you want a dough dry enough that it can produce a bread structure. But on the other you want a dense dough that can ooze out and not feel like an undone gnocchi. I'll put my coins on not possible, but who knows? Give it a try and see what happens. Not that you will be spending a hundred dollars on it.

Human: Ex spouse just filed interrogatories for 100’s of pages of personal documents…7 years after divorce. California. Placer County. Married 25 years, final divorce MSA completed about 5 years ago. I pay my ex monthly support, have never missed or been late. I have been compliant with every aspect of the MSA since it was signed. My ex does not work even though MSA says they are supposed to. I am late 50's, she is late 60's. Two days ago I got a packet in the mail with four forms (a Case, FL-145, DISC-001, DISC-020) requesting hundreds of pages of information about me, some going back 30 years. Every tax filing, every paystub, every checking account transaction since 2016, every gift I’ve ever given anyone, any loan application I’ve ever filed, bills that I have paid, health, insurance, people sharing my residence, the list just goes on and on. I’m supposed to turn these over in 30 days according to the documents, it is so much information even if I were to try to pull it all together I could not in that amount of time. I’m already seeking out an attorney to help, but I’m so worried about it, I have two main questions: 1. Is this legal? Can my ex just demand every piece of personal information in my life 5 years after we divorced and signed an MSA... and I have to provide it? 2. If I do have to supply all of this, will I be able to get an extension? How do I formally request an extension? I doubt they would willingly grant it. Anything you could provide would help put my worried mind to rest, and I appreciate your thoughts. Assistant: Do you have minor children with your ex? How much longer does the spousal support obligation run?

Human: Ex spouse just filed interrogatories for 100’s of pages of personal documents…7 years after divorce. California. Placer County. Married 25 years, final divorce MSA completed about 5 years ago. I pay my ex monthly support, have never missed or been late. I have been compliant with every aspect of the MSA since it was signed. My ex does not work even though MSA says they are supposed to. I am late 50's, she is late 60's. Two days ago I got a packet in the mail with four forms (a Case, FL-145, DISC-001, DISC-020) requesting hundreds of pages of information about me, some going back 30 years. Every tax filing, every paystub, every checking account transaction since 2016, every gift I’ve ever given anyone, any loan application I’ve ever filed, bills that I have paid, health, insurance, people sharing my residence, the list just goes on and on. I’m supposed to turn these over in 30 days according to the documents, it is so much information even if I were to try to pull it all together I could not in that amount of time. I’m already seeking out an attorney to help, but I’m so worried about it, I have two main questions: 1. Is this legal? Can my ex just demand every piece of personal information in my life 5 years after we divorced and signed an MSA... and I have to provide it? 2. If I do have to supply all of this, will I be able to get an extension? How do I formally request an extension? I doubt they would willingly grant it. Anything you could provide would help put my worried mind to rest, and I appreciate your thoughts. Assistant: Wait hold on. Is there a pending motion? If not, then discovery is not reopened.

Human: [Xmen] In days of future past, what do you think JFK's mutation was? Assistant: Brian Singer/Word of God states that JFK's power was Charm and Charisma.

Human: [Xmen] In days of future past, what do you think JFK's mutation was? Assistant: There was no shooter, his head just did that.

Human: I want to bake my way through a cookbook- any recommendations? I'm a beginner, but I've made cakes, pies, bread, etc. Want to challenge myself and discover some new yummy sweets. Also just sounds fun to bake through a book. Any recommendations are appreciated! Assistant: Bravetart

Human: I want to bake my way through a cookbook- any recommendations? I'm a beginner, but I've made cakes, pies, bread, etc. Want to challenge myself and discover some new yummy sweets. Also just sounds fun to bake through a book. Any recommendations are appreciated! Assistant: I like Stella Parks because she takes you through the science of baking!

Human: Who are some great eastern philosophers? Assistant: Whoever wrote the *Daodejing* was pretty on-point.

Human: Who are some great eastern philosophers? Assistant: Sun Tzu. He doesn't place a huge emphasis on the spiritual which I guess is why I'm drawn to him. His "The Art of War" was meant for battle strategy but can be really applied to many real-life situations since we don't have to worry about defending our borders from hordes at all times.

Human: Where can I find research papers to read for free on the internet? I have been searching for engineering research papers that are available for free on the internet so that I can get used to the format and also learn how to read a research paper. Sadly I wasn't able to find any papers in a pdf format. Is there any website you would recommend? Assistant: sci-hub.se

Human: Where can I find research papers to read for free on the internet? I have been searching for engineering research papers that are available for free on the internet so that I can get used to the format and also learn how to read a research paper. Sadly I wasn't able to find any papers in a pdf format. Is there any website you would recommend? Assistant: Scihub too but that is piracy.

Human: What are some of your favorite non-textbook, economics books? Besides Freakonomics, I've already read it. Assistant: Thinking Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Human: What are some of your favorite non-textbook, economics books? Besides Freakonomics, I've already read it. Assistant: Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser.

Human: My wife is allergic to citrus but I want to make tahini sauce. Every recipe I find has lemon juice in it. What can I substitute without totally altering the flavor? Normally with things that require lemon juice, I substitute white vinegar or rice wine vinegar (depending on the dish). I just am worried about totally changing the sauce’s flavor because I’m making substitutions without knowing what I’m doing. Assistant: Is she allergic to sumac? That's a commonly used citrus spice.

Human: My wife is allergic to citrus but I want to make tahini sauce. Every recipe I find has lemon juice in it. What can I substitute without totally altering the flavor? Normally with things that require lemon juice, I substitute white vinegar or rice wine vinegar (depending on the dish). I just am worried about totally changing the sauce’s flavor because I’m making substitutions without knowing what I’m doing. Assistant: I would use white vinegar or white wine vinegar and add some sumac (which you could likely use as a lemon sub in a lot of things!).

Human: Should you ever jump out a window in a high rise building? (if you dont want to die) I am having an argument with my friend. I live six floors up (ground floor plus 5, its the UK). in the VERY unlikely event of this 15 floor building collapsing, I think it would always be more survivable to try to get to the stairs. my friend thinks you should jump out the window. I think this would result in death. (there are no fire escapes, just a sheer drop to the ground) Are there any valid points on my friend's side? Assistant: Buy a glider and just fly out the window.

Human: Should you ever jump out a window in a high rise building? (if you dont want to die) I am having an argument with my friend. I live six floors up (ground floor plus 5, its the UK). in the VERY unlikely event of this 15 floor building collapsing, I think it would always be more survivable to try to get to the stairs. my friend thinks you should jump out the window. I think this would result in death. (there are no fire escapes, just a sheer drop to the ground) Are there any valid points on my friend's side? Assistant: 😂what bar are you guys at?

Human: Does anyone have experience frying and baking with LARD? I've gone down the rabbit hole of the seemingly underused ingredient of LARD, its a common and relatively cheap alternative to oil and butter. &#x200B; How is lard in frying and deep frying compared to using cooking oil? &#x200B; Have you tried it in creating bread dough? &#x200B; Does it make food feel or taste better in some way? Assistant: If you make biscuits (the Southern US kind), lard is amazing. I make mine with the fat 50- 50 lard and butter, with lard for light flakiness and butter for taste

Human: Does anyone have experience frying and baking with LARD? I've gone down the rabbit hole of the seemingly underused ingredient of LARD, its a common and relatively cheap alternative to oil and butter. &#x200B; How is lard in frying and deep frying compared to using cooking oil? &#x200B; Have you tried it in creating bread dough? &#x200B; Does it make food feel or taste better in some way? Assistant: lard pie crust is the flakiest Ive ever made

Human: What common mistakes should I avoid as an engineering intern? I am doing a mechanical engineering internship. How can I show my abilities to my manager and what pitfalls should I be aware of? Thanks Assistant: Don’t sexual harass the other interns.

Human: What common mistakes should I avoid as an engineering intern? I am doing a mechanical engineering internship. How can I show my abilities to my manager and what pitfalls should I be aware of? Thanks Assistant: Be nice and listen to the shop personnel, they know more than you.

Human: What skills should I learn to make me a more competitive engineer I am already working on soft skills(You know the book) but I want to learn some skills that will help me get an internship. I am a sophomore studying Industrial & Systems Engineering so there might not be a lot of people here who can tell me what to work on but I'd really appreciate some ideas even if it isn't specific to my major. I already took classes in python, java, and excel but I don't have any projects to apply the skills to. I don't want to create a small project that could solidify my understanding of python, but something that makes me a more marketable engineer. I am also certified in CAD and Inventor and have already done personal projects using them. I am already working on improving myself in the areas I have listed but I would really appreciate some ideas on what technical skills or certifications I should try to learn. Assistant: focus on eliminating procrastination as much as possible. you can use something like the Pomodoro method (look it up) to help. if you improve you discipline and organization you’ll be ahead of 90% of the other engineers out there. not many engineering jobs really require you to be a math whiz, but most can benefit from strong discipline and organization.

Human: What skills should I learn to make me a more competitive engineer I am already working on soft skills(You know the book) but I want to learn some skills that will help me get an internship. I am a sophomore studying Industrial & Systems Engineering so there might not be a lot of people here who can tell me what to work on but I'd really appreciate some ideas even if it isn't specific to my major. I already took classes in python, java, and excel but I don't have any projects to apply the skills to. I don't want to create a small project that could solidify my understanding of python, but something that makes me a more marketable engineer. I am also certified in CAD and Inventor and have already done personal projects using them. I am already working on improving myself in the areas I have listed but I would really appreciate some ideas on what technical skills or certifications I should try to learn. Assistant: Focus on the systems instead of the industrial engineering.

Human: Has anyone ever left a fulfilling job and regretted it (thinking of leaving national lab) I graduated college over a decade ago, and could have written some of the posts I see frequently here. I thought my first engineering jobs were so boring and without challenge that I really questioned if I had been seriously duped into becoming an engineer. I hopped between big companies, small companies, and all different industries for 5 years and was routinely disappointed at how each of them might as well have been "Office Excel monkey with a little technical flair". As a last ditch effort, I eventually got a job at a national lab and a Masters degree and have been loving it. It's the exact job I naively thought engineers did when I was taking physics in high school. I design electronics and write FPGA firmware and software. I work with physicists to make detectors and sensors resistant to high voltage and cryogenics and play with liquid nitrogen all the time. I'm not exaggerating when I say that in the last year I've worked on projects for quantum computing, superconductivity, collider physics, and more. I (used to) travel around the world to install stuff and even give talks. The people are cool and laid back, in the pre-COVID lunchroom, you could easily start a debate about triple integrals or the Linux kernel. I feel like a professor with tenure who gets to pick what they want to work in, I can go days or weeks without my boss checking on me. My name is on scientific papers. I feel like I'm the Gordon Freeman or Otacon, the fictional characters I grew up with that made me go "Woah, what are those people's regular jobs like"? The only thing is that I sometimes feel like I'm doing careers wrong when I read this sub. People on this sub talk about ruthlessly switching jobs every 2-3 years to optimize your salary growth. They talk about not giving a minute over 40 hours in a week that you don't take back in another week. These are things I find hard to do at my current job. After reading the sub for a while, I did get a competing offer, and my lab matched it - it was a big administrative deal, it had to get signed off by the head of the lab because it was outside my official salary band with the years I have. So here I am, in my 30s, making around $120k, and that's really unlikely to go up faster than the 3 or 4% yearly raises until I maybe get a promotion. I feel grateful that my job inspires me and gives me absolutely none of the existential dread I remember having earlier in my career and I seem to read about often on here. But on this sub, I read about people making a jump from 120k to 175k to 230k+bonus in like 5 years, and I wonder if it's worth it. I started paying attention to LinkedIn the past couple of months and recruiters are really hounding. I don't know if this sub has just given me FOMO and the grass looks greener, and I may end up sitting at an Office Space cubicle making more, but wondering what I'm doing with my life. On the other hand, it feels very weird to go against the consensus of a sub full of very rational people who generally converge on the most optimal way to solve a problem (in this case, maximizing salary). People at work lately have been talking about how much more you can make "out there" and questioning if we're dumb for staying. This may seem naive also, but the only position I could see myself in that gives me more intellectual satisfaction would be entrepreneurship. Like an Elon Musk type on a smaller scale (just used as an example, I don't like him), who has the resources to solve a problem in the way that they want. If I can get one of these 200k or 300k jobs people are talking about and sock away money for 10 years and then start a business, well that sounds kind of cool too. But I don't know if I could last in a boring job that long. Has anyone been in a situation like this? Is intellectual job satisfaction the unshakeable best metric of whether you should stay or leave? Or could the grass really be greener? Assistant: If you are happy working there and are satisfied with your salary then that is all that matters. If not, then do start a job search that offers what you are looking for. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

Human: Has anyone ever left a fulfilling job and regretted it (thinking of leaving national lab) I graduated college over a decade ago, and could have written some of the posts I see frequently here. I thought my first engineering jobs were so boring and without challenge that I really questioned if I had been seriously duped into becoming an engineer. I hopped between big companies, small companies, and all different industries for 5 years and was routinely disappointed at how each of them might as well have been "Office Excel monkey with a little technical flair". As a last ditch effort, I eventually got a job at a national lab and a Masters degree and have been loving it. It's the exact job I naively thought engineers did when I was taking physics in high school. I design electronics and write FPGA firmware and software. I work with physicists to make detectors and sensors resistant to high voltage and cryogenics and play with liquid nitrogen all the time. I'm not exaggerating when I say that in the last year I've worked on projects for quantum computing, superconductivity, collider physics, and more. I (used to) travel around the world to install stuff and even give talks. The people are cool and laid back, in the pre-COVID lunchroom, you could easily start a debate about triple integrals or the Linux kernel. I feel like a professor with tenure who gets to pick what they want to work in, I can go days or weeks without my boss checking on me. My name is on scientific papers. I feel like I'm the Gordon Freeman or Otacon, the fictional characters I grew up with that made me go "Woah, what are those people's regular jobs like"? The only thing is that I sometimes feel like I'm doing careers wrong when I read this sub. People on this sub talk about ruthlessly switching jobs every 2-3 years to optimize your salary growth. They talk about not giving a minute over 40 hours in a week that you don't take back in another week. These are things I find hard to do at my current job. After reading the sub for a while, I did get a competing offer, and my lab matched it - it was a big administrative deal, it had to get signed off by the head of the lab because it was outside my official salary band with the years I have. So here I am, in my 30s, making around $120k, and that's really unlikely to go up faster than the 3 or 4% yearly raises until I maybe get a promotion. I feel grateful that my job inspires me and gives me absolutely none of the existential dread I remember having earlier in my career and I seem to read about often on here. But on this sub, I read about people making a jump from 120k to 175k to 230k+bonus in like 5 years, and I wonder if it's worth it. I started paying attention to LinkedIn the past couple of months and recruiters are really hounding. I don't know if this sub has just given me FOMO and the grass looks greener, and I may end up sitting at an Office Space cubicle making more, but wondering what I'm doing with my life. On the other hand, it feels very weird to go against the consensus of a sub full of very rational people who generally converge on the most optimal way to solve a problem (in this case, maximizing salary). People at work lately have been talking about how much more you can make "out there" and questioning if we're dumb for staying. This may seem naive also, but the only position I could see myself in that gives me more intellectual satisfaction would be entrepreneurship. Like an Elon Musk type on a smaller scale (just used as an example, I don't like him), who has the resources to solve a problem in the way that they want. If I can get one of these 200k or 300k jobs people are talking about and sock away money for 10 years and then start a business, well that sounds kind of cool too. But I don't know if I could last in a boring job that long. Has anyone been in a situation like this? Is intellectual job satisfaction the unshakeable best metric of whether you should stay or leave? Or could the grass really be greener? Assistant: Those kinds of jobs are like gold bars. Don't leave.

Human: [Marvel] Which hero could do the most damage to the world if he/she decided to switch sides and become a villain? Assistant: Cosmic threats aside. Spider-Man would an incredibly dangerous villian. With the exception of a few Peter is always the smartest guy in the room. His Spider Sense makes him almost impossible to hit. He is a lot stronger than people realise. He always pulls his punches. But Spider-Man can lift a train over his head and pummel you with it.

Human: [Marvel] Which hero could do the most damage to the world if he/she decided to switch sides and become a villain? Assistant: Tony stark nearly ended the world on accident with Ultron imagine if he actually tried

Human: Why run boost when you can increase cylinder compression? I've been reading up online about forced induction vs naturally aspirated engines, and it seems that forced induction engines tend to use lower compression ratios compared to their N/A counterparts. Why is this? I understand that detonation can become a problem, but why run boost in the first place if you could just increase the compression ratio? If anyone could shed any light that would be great. Assistant: More boost = more air, higher compression is the same air being squeezed harder

Human: Why run boost when you can increase cylinder compression? I've been reading up online about forced induction vs naturally aspirated engines, and it seems that forced induction engines tend to use lower compression ratios compared to their N/A counterparts. Why is this? I understand that detonation can become a problem, but why run boost in the first place if you could just increase the compression ratio? If anyone could shed any light that would be great. Assistant: Compression remains static. Boost” is built as RPMs increase, and as ignition is advanced.

Human: UPDATE : [NYC] I have to walk daily to subway station. During this commute, there are some mischievous kids, probably aged 13-14 years, shout n-word and other racial slurs at me. When I try to catch them, they run away. I just want them to be stopped. Original Post : https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/38ynlr/nyc_i_have_to_walk_daily_to_subway_station_during/ So, As you guys had advice me yesterday, I called non-emergency number today and made them aware of situation. They insisted I should call 911 and mentioned that NYPD is vigilant and strict on street harassment. I called 911 and briefed the operator. She noted down my name, address and contact number and said an officer would contact me soon. 3 hours ago a NYPD car came to my house. Officer was pretty polite. I told him everything that happens during my commute, very nicely. He asked me whether I know where those kid leave. I declined. He said tomorrow morning on my commute a NYPD officer will accompany me. When I would identify those mischievous kids, he will detain them and inquire about their home and will warn the parents of these kids. He said not to worry and promised me to take all necessary actions. I am feeling very motivated right now guys. Tomorrow, hopefully the pain will be over. Wish me luck. Assistant: Thanks for the update! Best of luck!

Human: UPDATE : [NYC] I have to walk daily to subway station. During this commute, there are some mischievous kids, probably aged 13-14 years, shout n-word and other racial slurs at me. When I try to catch them, they run away. I just want them to be stopped. Original Post : https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/38ynlr/nyc_i_have_to_walk_daily_to_subway_station_during/ So, As you guys had advice me yesterday, I called non-emergency number today and made them aware of situation. They insisted I should call 911 and mentioned that NYPD is vigilant and strict on street harassment. I called 911 and briefed the operator. She noted down my name, address and contact number and said an officer would contact me soon. 3 hours ago a NYPD car came to my house. Officer was pretty polite. I told him everything that happens during my commute, very nicely. He asked me whether I know where those kid leave. I declined. He said tomorrow morning on my commute a NYPD officer will accompany me. When I would identify those mischievous kids, he will detain them and inquire about their home and will warn the parents of these kids. He said not to worry and promised me to take all necessary actions. I am feeling very motivated right now guys. Tomorrow, hopefully the pain will be over. Wish me luck. Assistant: Good job NYPD.

Human: EMERGENCY: HELP!!!!! Kitten swallowed yarn string sometime earlier and it is sticking out from his butt My 4 month old kitten has swallowed a string sometime in the past 24 hours, and now (30 minutes ago) he has tried to poop it out but failed. It is about a 6 inch long string from what I can tell so far, and about 2 inches have fallen off as he was running around with it, so its two pieces of 3-4 inches of gstring sticking out of him with the knot somewhere in his stomach. I have called the vet and they said to try gently pulling it out but my kitten flinches everytime I try and I’ve read about it online. The latest I can get him to the vet is Thursday and even then I cannot afford it. Please help!!!!!! I don’t know what to do Assistant: You need to go to an ER vet. Please do not pull the string.

Human: EMERGENCY: HELP!!!!! Kitten swallowed yarn string sometime earlier and it is sticking out from his butt My 4 month old kitten has swallowed a string sometime in the past 24 hours, and now (30 minutes ago) he has tried to poop it out but failed. It is about a 6 inch long string from what I can tell so far, and about 2 inches have fallen off as he was running around with it, so its two pieces of 3-4 inches of gstring sticking out of him with the knot somewhere in his stomach. I have called the vet and they said to try gently pulling it out but my kitten flinches everytime I try and I’ve read about it online. The latest I can get him to the vet is Thursday and even then I cannot afford it. Please help!!!!!! I don’t know what to do Assistant: You need to get to the closest open vet as soon as possible. Your cat could die from this.dobt pull the string and make sure your cat doesn't pull the string.

Human: Question about general Tso's chicken I tried making this and it came out overcooked, tough, and chewy, even the skin. Did I put too much cornstarch? I used chicken breasts that were still a little frozen...is that a big no no? Any tips on making general tso's so that it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside? Assistant: Well anything frozen will never be crispy. That water goes somewhere.

Human: Question about general Tso's chicken I tried making this and it came out overcooked, tough, and chewy, even the skin. Did I put too much cornstarch? I used chicken breasts that were still a little frozen...is that a big no no? Any tips on making general tso's so that it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside? Assistant: Never cook chicken from frozen

Human: Successful defense! Today I defended my PhD dissertation, and it was accepted by committee with revisions. I'm so relieved I could cry. I'm so glad this stage is over. To be honest, I had been worried the pandemic was going to affect my defense process negatively, and I'm so relieved it's done with. Assistant: Congrats! Did you need to defend remotely?

Human: Successful defense! Today I defended my PhD dissertation, and it was accepted by committee with revisions. I'm so relieved I could cry. I'm so glad this stage is over. To be honest, I had been worried the pandemic was going to affect my defense process negatively, and I'm so relieved it's done with. Assistant: Congratulations! Mine is two weeks from today (via video)!

Human: [DC] Why does batman leave his mouth exposed and why does no one target it? Assistant: Most people don't get a chance to even see he has an exposed mouth. It's not as though he tends to stand around and give them a good view. Your average thug only sees flashes of shadow popping in and out of other shadows, punctuated by other thugs getting their arms broken and teeth caved in

Human: [DC] Why does batman leave his mouth exposed and why does no one target it? Assistant: Also why doesn't someone shoot him in the exposed eyeball?

Human: I used salted butter on my Italian buttercream I need help. I accidently used a salted butter on my Italian buttercream. What tips on how can I fix it, can I add some powdered sugar on the buttercream? Coz it a bit salty Thank you guys. I appreciate your help Assistant: Are you sure? Because I have never, ever purchased unsalted butter and not once has it been an issue in baked goods. /shrug

Human: I used salted butter on my Italian buttercream I need help. I accidently used a salted butter on my Italian buttercream. What tips on how can I fix it, can I add some powdered sugar on the buttercream? Coz it a bit salty Thank you guys. I appreciate your help Assistant: It'll be fine. A hint of salt, as in butter, brings out flavor

Human: [Futurama] Why do they not know how we first got to the moon (and suspect Whalers) when they have the head of JFK, Nixon, et c.? Assistant: Nobody actually *listens* to the heads in the Head Museum... I heard most of them are clones, and they’re all notorious liars.

Human: [Futurama] Why do they not know how we first got to the moon (and suspect Whalers) when they have the head of JFK, Nixon, et c.? Assistant: Nixon's revenge on JFK.

Human: In reading the Book of Genesis, I can understand why some origin myths were included. For instance, the Creation story. (Where did humanity come from?) The Fall. (Why is there death and evil in the world?) The story of Abraham. (What makes our people unique?) But I'm trying to figure out why the story of the Flood was included. I mean, it's an interesting read, but what questions would it answer for the ancient Hebrews? Assistant: I think you're taking too simplistic of an approach to myth. It's not necessarily the case that every myth is meant to 'answer a question' or explain the existence of some natural phenomenon. Myths can develop for all kinds of complex reasons.

Human: In reading the Book of Genesis, I can understand why some origin myths were included. For instance, the Creation story. (Where did humanity come from?) The Fall. (Why is there death and evil in the world?) The story of Abraham. (What makes our people unique?) But I'm trying to figure out why the story of the Flood was included. I mean, it's an interesting read, but what questions would it answer for the ancient Hebrews? Assistant: I've always interpreted it as a "why you should listen to the rules".

Human: Robinhood trading app has given my account to someone else, locked me out, and won't respond to contact. Now what? This is in Pennsylvania, USA. I had just over $40K in the Robinhood trading app. One day I woke up to a list of e-mail notifications saying things along the lines of "thanks for changing your personal information, thanks for opening a debit account, thanks for charging $5,000, thanks for selling X stocks" from Robinhood. Obviously someone had broken into my account, changed the personal information, and was stealing my money. My account was set up for 2-factor authentication, so it should have been impossible for someone to break in without me getting a text, but here we are. This should be a no-brainer for Robinhood to identify and resolve, right? Wrong. There's literally no way to contact Robinhood directly outside of sending them an e-mail. When I e-mail them, they respond with form letters saying "thanks for contacting us, we'll look into it and get back to you." It's been a week. In the meantime there's no way to access my account (the thief changed the password), I have no idea what's happening to my money, or if/when I'll get it back. I need that money; it's basically my life's savings. If you've never tried to contact Robinhood before you may think I'm exaggerating how difficult it is, but there are actually several lawsuits from people in similar situations. Apparently they're famous for just not responding to theft cases. It seems I may need to sue them to get my money back. And even if I get it back, I feel like I'm owed something for this amount of stress, not to mention however much money I'm losing by not being able to buy and sell as I had planned. How do I find an attorney who can help me with this? Assistant: You should speak to an attorney ASAP. Some will say the cost will outpace the return, but remember that this is reddit and they may not know of what they speak, and $40,000 is not a small amount of money. An attorney will give you an idea of the costs and how those costs might be paid for. Also begin the paper trail. Call the police. Get a report on file. This is likely way outside anything the police can do, but you want as much documentation as possible at this point. Good luck.

Human: Robinhood trading app has given my account to someone else, locked me out, and won't respond to contact. Now what? This is in Pennsylvania, USA. I had just over $40K in the Robinhood trading app. One day I woke up to a list of e-mail notifications saying things along the lines of "thanks for changing your personal information, thanks for opening a debit account, thanks for charging $5,000, thanks for selling X stocks" from Robinhood. Obviously someone had broken into my account, changed the personal information, and was stealing my money. My account was set up for 2-factor authentication, so it should have been impossible for someone to break in without me getting a text, but here we are. This should be a no-brainer for Robinhood to identify and resolve, right? Wrong. There's literally no way to contact Robinhood directly outside of sending them an e-mail. When I e-mail them, they respond with form letters saying "thanks for contacting us, we'll look into it and get back to you." It's been a week. In the meantime there's no way to access my account (the thief changed the password), I have no idea what's happening to my money, or if/when I'll get it back. I need that money; it's basically my life's savings. If you've never tried to contact Robinhood before you may think I'm exaggerating how difficult it is, but there are actually several lawsuits from people in similar situations. Apparently they're famous for just not responding to theft cases. It seems I may need to sue them to get my money back. And even if I get it back, I feel like I'm owed something for this amount of stress, not to mention however much money I'm losing by not being able to buy and sell as I had planned. How do I find an attorney who can help me with this? Assistant: /r/personalfinance might be able to tell you what regulators to get involved.

Human: I made creme caramel, but I thought it was too sweet. What can I do to fix it? I made this for thanksgiving and while I liked the texture, I thought the caramel was a bit too sweet. I know that if you reduce sugar in certain recipes then they might not come out how you want, so I wanted to know if there were any workarounds for this specific recipe. I will try toasting my sugar like Stella Parks recommends and see if that changes anything. Assistant: You can cook the caramel to a darker color so it has more bitter notes, which will reduce the overall sweetness of the dessert. I would also definitely add salt! This is the easiest way to lessen the sweet flavor of a dessert without changing the structure. It’s a little odd the recipe doesn’t have any salt.

Human: I made creme caramel, but I thought it was too sweet. What can I do to fix it? I made this for thanksgiving and while I liked the texture, I thought the caramel was a bit too sweet. I know that if you reduce sugar in certain recipes then they might not come out how you want, so I wanted to know if there were any workarounds for this specific recipe. I will try toasting my sugar like Stella Parks recommends and see if that changes anything. Assistant: You mentioned that you made it for Thanksgiving, so I’m guessing others tried it. Did anyone else think it was too sweet?

Human: if Shaggy and Scooby are so scared of everything, why do they keep riding around with the others investigating spooky mysteries? Sure, they're a bit dim and apparently stoned a lot of the time, but at some time it must have occurred to them that, hey, they just don't have to go. Assistant: Once you find out that it's just some middle aged asshole attempting fraud the ghosts and goblins are far less scary. You can hide your head in the sand or you can go out and learn the truth. As scared as they are, their experiences tell them the truth. At the bottom of every single reported supernatural incident there is someone trying to scam people. Doing nothing lets innocents get hurt. They feel morally responsible to help.

Human: if Shaggy and Scooby are so scared of everything, why do they keep riding around with the others investigating spooky mysteries? Sure, they're a bit dim and apparently stoned a lot of the time, but at some time it must have occurred to them that, hey, they just don't have to go. Assistant: The others give them free weed. They keep them around as a distraction.

Human: MSG contradictory? Hey, I have a question so, I had a nutrition class and the instructors gave us a piece of paper and on one section for Asian foods, it said for ‘No MSG’ (the other day they said to avoid msg.) but for Italian food, they said to ‘ask for red sauce instead of white’ And here’s my question. Isn’t asking for red sauce contradicting to ‘avoiding MSG?’ Assistant: Did they specifically say why to avoid MSG? The only reasonable explanation can think of is that using MSG adds a lot of "hidden" sodium (since the glutamate is bound to sodium), so the instructors want you to watch your sodium intake. But yeah, if it's for the "MSG bad" reason then they're directly contracting themselves with the tomato sauce (and countless other foods im sure they mentioned)

Human: MSG contradictory? Hey, I have a question so, I had a nutrition class and the instructors gave us a piece of paper and on one section for Asian foods, it said for ‘No MSG’ (the other day they said to avoid msg.) but for Italian food, they said to ‘ask for red sauce instead of white’ And here’s my question. Isn’t asking for red sauce contradicting to ‘avoiding MSG?’ Assistant: This nutrition class sounds iffy

Human: Brooklyn, NY - Toilet flooded while my apartment was rented out via Airbnb, downstairs neighbor is claiming water damage to his computer/other valuables and wants to sue me Hi all. So, I rented my apartment out for a few days, went on vacation and came back the night before my renters were scheduled to leave. I stayed down the street at a friend's house. Woke up in the morning to a text that my toilet had overflowed in the night. The renters claimed that they didn't flush anything other than toilet paper in there, ever, and were surprised when it started overflowing. My neighbor noticed that his ceiling was flooding, came upstairs, helped them to dry the floor and then left. I wasn't around for any of this. As soon as I woke up and saw the texts I came home. The renters left. I tried to talk to my neighbor but he told me he will be lawyering up, that he will be suing me for damage to his computer (which was under the leaky ceiling) and some other things that were damaged, and that if I want I can then sue Airbnb for damages. Any guidance here? Do you think Airbnb will cover the damage? I know I'm supposed to be covered up to 1,000,000 but this is to a neighbor's unit. I don't know if he is insured. I did not have renter's insurance. I know it is stupid to not have renter's insurance. I bought a policy this morning. I don't think I am responsible here, subletters or not, because I didn't flush the toilet, I didn't flood the floor, I didn't install the plumbing, etc. Assistant: Have you contacted Airbnb? They say that effective 1/15/15 their Host Protection Insurance will provide primary liability coverage even if you don't have your own renters/homeowners policy.

Human: Brooklyn, NY - Toilet flooded while my apartment was rented out via Airbnb, downstairs neighbor is claiming water damage to his computer/other valuables and wants to sue me Hi all. So, I rented my apartment out for a few days, went on vacation and came back the night before my renters were scheduled to leave. I stayed down the street at a friend's house. Woke up in the morning to a text that my toilet had overflowed in the night. The renters claimed that they didn't flush anything other than toilet paper in there, ever, and were surprised when it started overflowing. My neighbor noticed that his ceiling was flooding, came upstairs, helped them to dry the floor and then left. I wasn't around for any of this. As soon as I woke up and saw the texts I came home. The renters left. I tried to talk to my neighbor but he told me he will be lawyering up, that he will be suing me for damage to his computer (which was under the leaky ceiling) and some other things that were damaged, and that if I want I can then sue Airbnb for damages. Any guidance here? Do you think Airbnb will cover the damage? I know I'm supposed to be covered up to 1,000,000 but this is to a neighbor's unit. I don't know if he is insured. I did not have renter's insurance. I know it is stupid to not have renter's insurance. I bought a policy this morning. I don't think I am responsible here, subletters or not, because I didn't flush the toilet, I didn't flood the floor, I didn't install the plumbing, etc. Assistant: Would a tenants renters insurance cover commercial use of space via airbnb?

Human: Is academia (teaching/research at the university level) a good career path for someone who prefers to work thoroughly vs. quickly? I really enjoyed doing independent research for my Master's. I've been in the professional world awhile also, and I know that I struggle a bit in fast-paced work environments where I have to move between lots of small projects. However, I'm intellectually curious and my work gets good feedback when it's a bigger project where I have enough time that I'm not cutting corners. I was diagnosed with ADHD as as an adult, so that might be part of why I do better in jobs where I have a fair amount of flexibility on scheduling and work hours. I'm curious if this sounds like it would be compatible with academia? Or do you think this would still cause problems? Assistant: Short answer is no. If you are a perfectionist and haven't managed to break yourself of that habit you will spend every waking moment trying to make your work beyond reproach. However, you will be inexperienced and therefore need correction over and over and over.

Human: Is academia (teaching/research at the university level) a good career path for someone who prefers to work thoroughly vs. quickly? I really enjoyed doing independent research for my Master's. I've been in the professional world awhile also, and I know that I struggle a bit in fast-paced work environments where I have to move between lots of small projects. However, I'm intellectually curious and my work gets good feedback when it's a bigger project where I have enough time that I'm not cutting corners. I was diagnosed with ADHD as as an adult, so that might be part of why I do better in jobs where I have a fair amount of flexibility on scheduling and work hours. I'm curious if this sounds like it would be compatible with academia? Or do you think this would still cause problems? Assistant: Academia is dying, don’t plan a career in it.

Human: If drawings/reports had a “This was designed/analyzed/completed while listening to:_________” section, what would yours say? Mine would be one of three things 1. deadmau5 2. Anime OPs 3. lofi beats Assistant: Inane chatter from the next cube over.

Human: If drawings/reports had a “This was designed/analyzed/completed while listening to:_________” section, what would yours say? Mine would be one of three things 1. deadmau5 2. Anime OPs 3. lofi beats Assistant: My Project Manager moan about the fact it took so long despite me telling him I need X hours and him giving me <X.

Human: Is a brushless DC motor considered 3-phase DC since it has an A, B, and C coil that are each energized at different times? Assistant: I have personally run a BLDC motor with 3 sine wave voltage (is okay), and 3 ph current (great). There is no fundamental difference between a BLDC motor and a PMSM. A minor difference is in how exactly the phases are wound and the size of the iron. This tends to produce slightly different back EMF.

Human: Is a brushless DC motor considered 3-phase DC since it has an A, B, and C coil that are each energized at different times? Assistant: Yes, you are correct.