Best products from r/starterpacks

My everyday cookbook is How to Cook Everything Fast by Mark Bittman. I recommend it for anyone who's past the boiling water phase and is competent at reading recipes, but who wants to learn to put things together on their own - the stage I was at when I got it. I could prattle on about this book, but the most important things to me as a novice cook are:

1. It emphasizes flow in the kitchen. Many recipes assume you already have everything diced, peeled, cleaned, etc. This book assumes you just came home from the grocery store. It lists everything you have to do in an order that makes sense, like reminding you to preheat your oven or get your oil hot before you start vegetable prep.
   
2. It encourages substitution. Most of the recipes have several variations and there are a few "recipe-free" recipes, telling you how to put together a basic soup, braise meat, or cook a pilaf with whatever you have on hand.
   
3. True to name, it's quick. Cooking a 3 hour recipe is great for special occasions, but not every night. Most of the recipes take about 30 minutes - add sides (which it will recommend for you, by the way) and cleanup, and you're looking at 45 minutes to put a full dinner on the table. You get more cooking experience in this way too.
   
4. A few different cuisine styles are emphasized, so you'll learn which spices, meats, veggies, etc. play nicely with each other. Even so, even the most poorly equipped supermarket will get you through 90% of the recipes. Similarly, the only special equipment he calls for is a food processor. No waffle iron, ice cream machine, or sous vide recipes here.
   
   By the way, it's crazy cheap on Kindle right now. I'm not a huge fan of the e-book layout - I vastly prefer my paper book - but if you wanted to check it out for $3, now's the time.
   
   I'd recommend anything by Bittman. There are a lot of New York Times articles you can read by him for free, too. He takes a very laid-back, intuitive approach to cooking that encourages experimentation, and I love that!
   
   Another favorite that used to be on my shelf but I lost in a move: Kitchen Quick Tips from Cook's Illustrated. I recommend just about anything from the America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated family. It's not a cookbook, but it's full of little tips on all sorts of kitchen things - the most efficient way to dice an onion, peel a potato, remove a stuck wine cork, etc. It's the sort of stuff you'd see on /r/Lifehacks but all collected into one place.

I'm gonna jump in here unsolicited for a moment --

To anybody who's following this thread, keep in mind that tatami mats are not the mattress, but actually the type of flooring that you would find in a traditional Japanese home. The name of the mattress is a futon, or shikibuton. Tatami mats are considered complementary to sleeping in a futon, because the mats allow for air flow beneath the mattress like a box spring, and help prevent moisture buildup. Genuine Japanese futons are, as far as I've been able to see, pretty hard to find in America. J-Life is one of the only places you can find an apparently halfway authentic one online, but I've never been to Japan so I couldn't speak to how good J-Life is even if I owned one.

The reason I know about this at all is because I was given a dorm assignment in my final year of college for a historical apartment so small, there wasn't space for both a desk and a bed. I had to do a lot of research on mattresses that could be folded up into a closet. I came pretty close to trying a genuine futon, but the cost was prohibitive for something I only needed to use for a year and I ended up buying a memory foam tri-fold instead. I honestly found it one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept on, and would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a cheap portable mattress alternative.

> because why wouldn't they hold his job for that

I read a book by a programmer that left his job to hike the Appalachian Trail and got it back when he returned. He didn't have the job "held" for him exactly, but he talked to his boss before he left. The boss agreed there was a slow period coming up where they could be a man down and still do OK, and also that it was going to take them months to hire for the open position. The agreement was basically, we'll hold off on hiring your replacement and you have to apply fresh again when you're back, but I can't see why we'd hire someone else.

I also found the book interesting because at the end he said he was glad he'd done it but he was pretty sure that if he could go back in time he would not choose to do it.

Ever given robot vacuums like roomba a try? I picked up a very highly rated budget one for $150 and most of the reviews are from dog owners saying how much it helps stop dog hair from getting everywhere.

Honestly its my favorite home item, i recommend getting one to all my friends and i bought one for my parents. Its great, you just set it on your phone to run however often you want and just come home and dump the container.It also makes you keep your floors clear because if you leave jackets on the floor it will drive onto them and get stuck. Its honestly amazing how much cleaner it keeps your place.

I got a Deebot N79s refurbished from amazon for about $130 but the new ones run around $200 for the best budget ones.
While reading way to many reviews it basically comes down to these two in the budget category.

Deebot N79s $211.97. It has 3.9 Stars out of 5 with 4,818 reviews. It is quiet enough you can run it in the same room while watching TV. I got this one because of the App support means i can easily control it from my phone and i can tell to to run whenever even if i am not home.

The other budget option is
RoboVac 11S $239.99 but also has a $20 of coupon available. It has 4.4 out of 5 with 6,677 reviews.

Both of these can be scheduled to run whenever you want it to. I have mine set to automatically run Monday and Friday when i am at work but i live alone with no pets, you can easily set it to run every day. Also it will fit under a lot of your furniture and pull so many dust bunnies out its incredible.

>In 1890 the average person didn't have electricity, indoor plumbing, television, computers, phones, internet, or a car. There were no planes or really fast means of transporting goods.

And now basically everybody has those things in the First World. (except planes) It's incredible, the great accomplishment of the free market.

>In 1900 90% of people lived at our current poverty line. How can you compare the two?

It's not just income. Ice was something for just rich people. Going in planes was just for rich people. Sugar was still pretty expensive. People's lifestyles have only improved.


>The world was simple back then. Most of what people consumed was made locally out of necessity.

Yes, it was simple, and most people lived friggen awful lives. I'd recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Old-Days-They-Terrible/dp/0394709411 People lived in cities working 14 hour days living in hovels, or they lived in the country ploughing the land by hand to the possible great reward of being evicted and starving. Now we all complain about surprisingly small things comparatively.


>They didn't need to worry about absurd costs of living.

Yes, because they lived in basically closets. Or they lived in company houses where the mine owners basically kept them as slaves. Or they worried about being able to eat.

>So you're saying because they made about 15-20% less, comparatively, 120 years ago that means everything is okay now?

It's not all ok now. I'd never say that. But, if you took 99% of people today, and 99% of people 100 years ago, they would all choose to live today. No question. No question at all.


>If you took an extra 15-20% of someone's income but they didn't have to pay all these extra bills, I don't think people would complain.

But they also wouldn't get twitter, tinder, Facebook, tv, air conditioning, fans, ice, college, literally anything that people these days may take as a "right."

>Health Insurance

Yep, if you got sick you'd just die on the street or hope a church would take care of you.


>Power/Heating Bills

No, instead they had a coal stove that would put soot everywhere and choke everyone up. People lit with candles and would worry about fires.


> Cell Phone Bills

People clearly think their cell phones are worth it, they have them. I think anybody would pay their cell phone bill to get it given the chance.


>Internet Bills

Who is being forced to buy internet?

> Cable Bills

Who is being forced to buy cable? I don't think my family had cable until this year for watching the election. Nobody needs to worry about cable bills. If they can't afford it, they don't buy it. People choose to worry about it instead of going without. People back then just went without. My family could afford cable, they didn't want it. How is it a worry? If you can't afford a luxury, don't buy it.

>Credit Card Bills

Because people lived on only 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants.

>Daycare fees (most women simply didn't work, obviously)

Rich women didn't work, normal women did. Either in factories, farms, or taking care of rich people's houses. Or just managing everything. Washing clothes by hand, making food, basically making a livable house without electronics.

>Gym Fees

How is that a worry? Again, if you can't pay for gym, don't use it. Or, if you want to worry financially so you can use the gym, that's absolutely your choice, but thats not a modern worry. Somebody back then would come home and pass out.

>Kids' Sports/Activity fees

Don't need sports or activities if they're working in the factory. ;)

>Car Payments, Car Insurance

Cars are a great modern luxury, yes. I will agree they are necessary for most people, especialy for those outside of a city. But plenty of people live without cars.

>Trash collection fees

Is't a great privilege that we get our trash collected?

>Water fees

It's so nice people don't worry about cholera.

Almost all the things you mentioned are incredible privileges that anybody from any time in history would kill to be able to have. I doubt anybody would honestly go without phones, internet, running water, electricity, etc and trade to live 100 years ago.


I think you are making a good point though, which is in simpler times people simply didn't think this stuff was possible, but now we take it for granted. And the baby boomers and greatest generation definitely had it better than us, but 100 years ago compared to now was a living hell.

I partially agree with what the user below said. There's still a massive difference between DSLR photography and a phone even with all the features phones have nowadays. Even for small family events, I'll carry around my T3i 28mm f/2.8. I take all family photos with my DSLR and I wouldn't trade them for phone pictures any day.

If your girlfriend isn't concerned about quality at all, then I'd save the money as you said below.

If your girlfriend has plans to use that more often and is concerned about the quality, I'd highly recommend buying an older refurbished camera or something new like this:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1238183-REG/canon_1159c003_eos_rebel_t6_dslr.html

However, if you can save up just a couple hundred more, the T7i would be an excellent investment:

https://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-REBEL-T7i-Body/dp/B06WLHGJ88

I still have my T3i from 2011 and it still produces beautiful photos. If your GF will take care of her equipment, the T7i could easily last her 10+ years.

With all this said, I would also like to say that I am VERY biased. I am a professional photographer (weddings, corporate events, cars, and I help my girls on Instagram produce content for companies), so I almost always have a DSLR on me. I've considered buying a T7i just to have with me at all times - that's how much DSLR photography means to my daily life.

I have an Amazon link. I actually got it from my grandma, she picked it up from Walmart.

A few warnings/things you should know

There is a slight sound when drinking it, from the air going in the bottle or something. Don't know, but not loud enough to be distracting. Very small.

DO NOT put carbonated drinks in here. The pressure will build up, and when you open it, the drink shoots out through the straw. Had to learn this the hard way. (Also, you can blow air into the bottle, close it, next time you open it, the water will shoot out depending on how much air you put in. Super fun for water fights.)

It's about $17 on this link, well worth it. Hard plastic, very durable from what I've put it through, but obviously hard plastic has a certain brittleness, so try to be careful.

Also, underrated thing on here, it has a loop on the top that opens and closes. I use it to attach to my laptop bag, very useful.

Well, enough rambling haha. Here's the bottle, enjoy :)

I'm not fronting that I'm impartial, I'm literally telling you that I prefer Android and explaining why. I'm also saying that I have no problem with people choosing an iPhone for that reason. It's not a bad phone at all, and it works great for many people.

There is no argument to be made that iOS is able to be more freely customized than Android though, that's just objectively not true.

> the Android user base buys Android ... also because everyone tells them the iPhone is good. And so they want to be different and revolt against the perceived Apple circlejerk.

You're generalizing worse than I was here - not once did I think "I'm gonna buy an Android because I wanna be different than those Apple sheeple," and though those people might exist, I can promise you they're not the majority - I'd also argue that it's less likely that an Android user bought a phone because someone told them to and more likely that they a) bought a cheaper Android phone because it was what they could afford, or b) researched it and decided that it had the features that they wanted. Nobody is out there telling the masses that Android phones are better like people do for iPhones.

As far as the expensive ecosystem, you're paying a premium for the name, not the hardware. I can buy a laptop with functionally identical (if slightly better) specs to a Macbook Pro for less than half the price. Macbook Pro ($2399) vs. Dell Gaming Laptop ($979) - although you do get a slightly higher resolution display with the Macbook (it's hard to find an equivalent display in another laptop), that doesn't account for the $1400+ price premium. It's an identical processor, the same amount of memory, actually slightly more storage on the PC, and a marginally better GPU on the PC as well. There's an argument to be made for build quality, but even that has started to become suspect for Apple lately, and PC manufacturers are gaining ground there as well. At the end of the day, the "it's better hardware" argument doesn't really hold much water anymore, especially for their desktops and laptops.

Anyway, all this to say that I make no qualms about preferring the Android/PC ecosystem to Apple because I enjoy the value, customization, and choice I get with those platforms at the expense of (potential) stability issues and other minor differences. I also have no issue with anyone who chooses the other way. I use a MBP for work and it's fine, I bought my girlfriend an iPad because she likes it, I don't hate either of them, I just wouldn't personally choose to buy one for myself. At the end of the day I just like technology, and I like to experience all facets of it - which I generally do in some form or another.

The BLF A6 is still a good flashlight, especially for the price. IMO it's still hard to beat that bang for your buck. The next step up in bang for your buck is the Emisar D4. IMO, those two are pretty solid depending on your price point. You can pay hundreds of dollars for a single flashlight, but either of those are going to be an EXTREME upgrade if you are used to AA and AAA battery flashlights, and are very, very hard to beat in their price ranges. Those two can match a lot of lights that cost hundreds of dollars honestly

There are several styles. The main ones are

Headlamp - You wear them with a head band. Quite useful for camping, speulunking etc

Thrower - Throw light long distance, for when you want to light up a hillside a few hundred yards away

Flood - Spread light in a wide area at close range, for when you want to light up an entire room.

IMO, Flood are the more useful, but throw lights have their uses

A few things to note,

• Decent flashlights get hot. Like, REALLY hot. The BLF A6 doesn't get that hot, but if you use it for a while the tip will get hot enough to be uncomfortable to touch. I've about set my pants on fire with it before when it got turned on by accident in my pocket. The D4 actually WOULD set your pants on fire, or burn you, so be careful
  
• "Real" Flashlights take larger batteries. Most use 18650, the same as Vapes use. They are about 5-15 dollars a piece depending on nice of one you get. They are rechargable and last years though, so you really just need 1-3 per flashlight. Most flash lights will last several hours on one battery, which translates to . . .quite a lot of actual time since you don't typically use a flashlight for hours at a time
  
• You'll need a charger. They can charge AA and AAA too, so it's wise to buy some good old fashioned Eneloops just for quality of life, to use around the house since you already have a charger. Those aren't related to the flashlight or anything, they are just a very nice QoL upgrade you can make to your house in general, since they last 5-10 years and are essentially as good as disposable batteries, and you can just use them over and over. Nice for all the remotes and controllers!
  
  
  
  

There are probably three separate things that need to be distinguished there: (1) it's objectively important, (2) it is actually important to the parents, and (3) the parents can speak theology well enough to say why it's important to them.

For (1), it's possible that we're in a cultural moment where most people are oblivious to really important things. Every age has its blind spots. Christians certainly believe that this is true, at least the majority of us.

For (2), of course, church may not actually be important to the family, but they may need to appear like it's important for whatever reason. I think that a big chunk of the decline in church memberships is that fewer people feel this pressure. There have always been people who would go to church just because they felt like they ought to, for social or political (Soviet-related) reasons, and now just... don't.

For (3), to take a non-religious example, you don't need to be able to write a book - or even a paragraph - on how nature affects mental health to accept that going outside is important. There are certain things that you can only pick up on the importance of by experience.

Alright I'll rephrase myself, Most modern cars should not have plastic being sucked into the engine block. That is pretty much the only way plastic is going to get onto that sensor that was installed correctly since it's placed right at the exit of the header, or in the header if the engineers felt the need to use more than one upstream sensor (depends on engine). If that is the case than there most definitely is either a hole in the tubing after the filter (What I said previously), there's a hole in your exhaust (But since exhaust has positive pressure I find it unlikely that plastic would get into any holes) Or your intake filter is installed incorrectly/not installed.

Since you know a lot about cars I'll assume you have an obd2 sensor, but if not you can pick one up on amazon for around 10-20$

https://www.amazon.com/BAFX-Products-Wireless-Bluetooth-Diagnostic/dp/B005NLQAHS/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2DFGXQ2SW85R9&keywords=obd2+scanner+bluetooth&qid=1566004814&s=automotive&sprefix=obd2+sca%2Cautomotive%2C194&sr=1-3

An OBD2 will be able to tell you if your mass airflow sensor is malfunctioning because it will be getting readings from that sensor, You should definitely check that before replacing the ECU.

Also on most Duramax engine (I only have experience with the Focus and the Fiesta ST but this is true with most vehicles) the upstream O2 sensor is both easy to get to and easy to test, you won't need to jack up your car, just pop the hood.

Ah...that explains a lot. Oh dear.

Does your sister-in-law also have the typical symptoms, such as sporting the typical Karen haircut and attitude?

If so, she probably has advanced Karenitis, and intervention is unlikely to have any tangible effect on improving her condition.

There are so many art pieces available online that would make a more classier and thoughtful decoration than that boring "inspirational quote" stuff. Why not get 3D resin fish paintings and stuff like this https://www.amazon.com/Peacock-Tiffany-Hakimpour-Premium-Stretched/dp/B00785XRQ4 instead? It would be far more interesting to look at anyways.

My friends and I used to all be skinny motherfuckers because we were in cross country in high school. We’re talking 6’0-6’3, all under 150 pounds. All complaining about being too small and being unable to gain weight.

Then I discovered this shit. Drink it WITH YOUR MEALS 3x per day. Unless you’re working out like crazy, you WILL gain weight. And you will gain it quickly.

I overdid it and now I’m a fat fucker because I combined it with a desk job, but all of my friends are now in the 180-200 pound range which is good for 6’.

The thing is that it is kind of true. China was closer to what westerners are like now during Mao's time. The government promoted gender neutrality, women in men's professions, and stigmatized women doing anything feminine. They also stigmatized putting effort into appearance because they considered looking good in a traditional way evidence of being "right wing" - and we all know how much effort their government put into chasing right-wingers around and jailing them - much like what is happening right now with the "alt right" in the west. Then after the market reforms of 1978, the entire idea about women changed and they suddenly became ultra feminine, obsessed with plastic surgery, and forgot about all of the feminist ideology that they had been indoctrinated with during Mao's time.

When western countries do what the Chinese did in 1978 and throw feminism in the dustbin of history and reassert traditional gender norms, Chinese women ( and other asians) will be much less attractive to western men. Ideologies such as feminism, gender non-conformity, stigmatization of things that are traditionally feminine, etc, all handicap western women when they are in mate competition with women from other cultures.

I read this book recently and it talks a lot about this topic and has lots of really good information. Has kind of a stupid cover but it is one of the best books I have read in the last few years.

​

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https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00B2BLMEY/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Another solution
https://www.amazon.com/FreeKey-2825-System/dp/B00AQ664H6

They use a more flexible metal that is easier to open. The big ring even has a slight bump so all you need to do is press down on one end which opens the other end to easily slip stuff in.

I'm getting the Emoji Movie as a gift for the white elephant gift exchange at the office Christmas party.

Along with this: https://www.amazon.com/Nerd-Block-Plushi-Emoji-Plush/dp/B077T3662C

Here you go:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010TSA2QE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00018RRRK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can get all you need there for under $200. I recommend this setup to everyone; it's what I've been using for the last 3 years and has produced incredible coffee every time, and it's really fast and convenient. My wife and I both drink coffee and we honestly will skip a coffee shop if we'll be home soon because ours is so good.

Go buy this code reader on Amazon and then buy the torque app. For like $26 you can see exactly what's wrong on your car and clear codes. So much easier than taking it in somewhere.

> Ah...that explains a lot. Oh dear.
>
> Does your sister-in-law also have the typical symptoms, such as sporting the typical Karen haircut and attitude?
>
> If so, she probably has advanced Karenitis, and intervention is unlikely to have any tangible effect on improving her condition.
>
> There are so many art pieces available online that would make a more classier and thoughtful decoration than that boring "inspirational quote" stuff. Why not get 3D resin fish paintings and stuff like this https://www.amazon.com/Peacock-Tiffany-Hakimpour-Premium-Stretched/dp/B00785XRQ4 instead? It would be far more interesting to look at anyways.

She has thermonuclear Karenitis coupled with the fact she is in HR (at least in the US) the lair of Karens. Imagine, a bunch of semi-educated karens deciding who to hire, making and breaking careers every day. That's the situation in corporate America, and i think is a major contributor to the issues this country is having. The "HR bloat" is something companies will need to address. Hiring someone because of their "Meyers-Briggs" test results and the fact they took a class in "conflict resolution" is absolute bullshit. Ten years ago Briggs was with Stratton and they made engines for lawnmowers, now he's a personality expert? In the real world conflict arises because someone fucked up or is wrong. Find out which person is correct - side with him/her. The conflict is resolved.

As for the peacock thing - you don't understand. The house is big enough and she essentially has a blank check. The kitchen alone was $75,000, and then they moved out a year later. Having said that, she (they?) have peacock things AND inspirational wall quotes.

However, I will give credit where credit is due. My SIL can cook. In all honest that is what kept me from murdering her. The problem is, They moved to a wealthy area in a death penalty state and their law enforcement is actually pretty competent, so I'd get caught before I got a change to get to the airport.

For top left - there's a key ring called the FreeKey that actually works well. I got it years ago to be able to separate my car key while wearing gloves.

Also, check this little guy out. If your car is model year 1996 or newer, it should have an onboard diagnostic port- usually located underneath the steering wheel in the foot well. Plug that scanner into it and pair it to your phone via bluetooth and you can read the fault codes that caused your check engine light. It eliminates A LOT of worry or guesswork.