Posts made by fancydude

Also I tried IMG burn, converted the file to MPG and Convert X will STILL not convert and burn it.  Amazing.

Any idea why DVD Decryptor isn't working (as already outlined previously)?  Especially since I already had it on this computer before.  Unfortunately taking it to the repair shop after a crash wipes everything off…....

I've used Nero before and, while I thank you very much for the offer, it drove me nuts trying to use it.  I did look at the file extensions and it is a .bin file.

An internet search shows that DVD decryptor will handle it, which I've had before on this computer (before it crashed and I had to take it to the store to get de-bugged….) Well, now I put DVD decryptor on and it says that there is no ".net framework,......" needs Microsoft service pack 2.  So I download that from MS and then I get an error that two of the three downloads "are not supported" by my computer, so the framework was still not installed.

Unless anyone knows why I can't install DVD decryptor (which I again want to stress, I've used that successfully) I guess I'll have to do the Media info thing.  But I'm not sure how that is going to help me, since Convert X and DVD Flick already indicate .bin files are NOT a supported format for conversion to burning.  THANKS again.

It doesn't seem to be an AVI file.  Of course, I googled it first and there were some instructions about opening the files in VLC media player, stopping the play, then clicking "media" and converting.  It converted something, but not the files I opened, that may be another issue.  That's why I asked here.  I'm sure someone knows.  Thanks though Pacifico.

I downloaded some torrents and they turned out to be VLC media files - the icon displayed is the orange & white  VLC cone.  They play beautifully, on the computer, but ConvertX to DVD nor DVD Flick will burn them to DVD.  Thanks.

I met up with my cousin David at a family birthday party for my Aunt M who turned 90.  He is the son of my Great Uncle Harold.  The story goes that when he was young, he drank a lot and met my Aunt Pauline who turned him onto Church and he never drank again.  He credited her for saving his life, (which she undoubtedly did).  They had two or three kids and when they left home, she fell apart, didn't know what to do with herself.  So my Uncle Harold started doing all the housework, laundry and cooking.  On top of working.  Aunt P wore these tinted glasses all the time, even in the house and nagged my Uncle endlessly.  "Harold, put your hat on, so you don't burn your bald head."  "Harold, come and help me boil water."  (seriously, she asked him to come to the kitchen for THAT)*** How I don't know, but  he was without a doubt one of the most cheerful, happy people I have ever met.  My brother and I loved to go to his house with my Grandpa for a visit,  because we got to be grown ups and have tea and some of his fabulous cookies. They are pretty brown, so  I always thought they had a hint of molasses, but SURPRISE they don't.

***to say one kind word about Aunt P - if you could get her off of nagging Uncle Harold and actually talking, she was pretty interesting, but it took some effort to do that!  They stayed married for 60 years till death so the marriage must have had some positives!

ONE final word before the recipe - even if you don't like raisins, you won't taste them in this recipe.  Not very distinctly anyway, so give it a try, maybe half a recipe?

Uncle Harold's Soft Raisin Cookies

1 cup (each) ground raisins and walnuts
2 sticks margarine
4 cups flour
1 tsp. soda in 1 cup buttermilk
½ tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon flavoring

Mix together and bake till done.  Put one whole raisin on top of each cookie before baking.

Oven temperature - 350

The recipe above is all I got.  So I would cream the softened margarine (or butter), sugar and eggs, spices and flavorings with a mixer.  Fold in with a wooden spoon, alternately the flour and buttermilk, then the raisins & walnuts.

Now the recipe doesn't say how long to bake them, but I would imagine 8-10 minutes for 3 or 4" cookies.  Uncle Harold always made them as big as a DVD, so I don't know how long those would bake.  Keep in mind the end product is a soft cookie when deciding if they're done or not.

Suggestion - I would probably experiment with a bit of cinnamon in addition to the nutmeg.  Also, today's homes don't usually have old fashioned metal meat grinders.  I have done this for other recipes.  Chop walnuts in a nut chopper or blender to measure one cup and then add the raisins and chop in a blender or food processor.  The raisins will blend with the walnuts and not make a sticky mess.

Nice thought, to warn the stupid, Sugardeluxe, but my guess is most of the truly stupid will continue to do stupid things.  For example, every single night in the summer that I'm driving after dark, I see someone on a bicycle, wearing dark clothing, no lights, no reflectors.  They are almost impossible to see.  They could be up on the sidewalk, which would be illegal, but at least they wouldn't get this by a car and late at night few are on the sidewalk anyway.

I was visiting Canada once, and the wastebaskets on the street had a place for a placard in the front.  One was for a funeral home.  First of all, I wouldn't pick my funeral home off a wastebasket advertisement and second; the association of 'garbage' with a funeral?  Tackeeeeeeeeee.

Please tell me the guy holding the sign "Homosexuals are Gay" was photoshopped.  Even they can't be this stupid, can they?  I think my favorite is "who do you think designed your wedding dress?"

#10 "ask your church"…. I don't think the church issues statements joining abortion and homosexuality, the media does, for sensationalism.  Adelle Banks, the writer, as far as could be inferred from the original post, is not a spokesman for any church.

#10 & 11 - The question is not "is a fertilized egg the equivalent of a child" but rather, when does life begin?  How about at the beginning?  It is very true that fetuses cannot survive at 24 weeks or less, but neither can a lot of other people, without drugs, machinery, or care.  So the societal definition of when life begins is apparently determinate on which side of the womb you are on!  And I will emphasize again, what about brain waves and heart beats?  Feet and toes at 10 weeks?  What is that?  How about in vitro surgeries ever earlier?

As to rape - I contacted Right to Life in Michigan to get another point of view and they feel that every human being, at whatever stage of development, has dignity and worth.  To kill the fetus does nothing to take away the awful pain and trauma of rape.

Another thought - when (and if it still does) China had its one-child policy, couples were aborting female fetuses and of course various women's groups decried this as sexist or whatever.  So I find it interesting, that if you look enough, everyone is against abortion for some reason.

My first thought was to not comment because I knew what would happen.  But this is a forum to discuss ideas.

I never said a woman should carry a rapist's baby. That is why I said I'm not so adamant about it not being illegal.  The fact is abortions due to rape are a tiny tiny percentage of all abortions.  And it still murders a child.  Or do two wrongs make a right?  PS - I love how you completely ignore the overarching, carefully written concern for the unborn child and just JUMP down on my neck about rape….....

Twinkle - I have no idea what you're getting at with Norma McCorvey, yes I'm aware she was Jane Doe.  I wasn't aware that she was and then later 'wasn't' a lesbian.

Re: 'no regrets' - I was very clear in my statement that I was relaying MY EXPERIENCES.

Re: making money - I have no idea why someone would choose to be an abortion doctor.  It seems antithetical to the reasons most people go into the field of medicine.  But we do know that many drugs, many procedures harm people and that money is the motivating factor there as well as in many areas of life.  For example, before the advent of HMO's, or should I say before HMO's became as widespread, some hospitals put doctors on salary and AMAZINGLY surgeries were reduced by 50%.  Did people all of sudden become healthier or was it because the surgeons couldn't send out big bills?

There have been many reports about HMO's restricting access to medical care and then giving bonuses to those who save the company the most money.  Seems like that would be illegal.

Again, why is abortion paired with homosexuality?

I don't know why abortion and homosexuality are always paired in these kind of "reports."  While being Gay is not a choice, engaging in sexual activities is - usually- whereas the child involved in the abortion is not consulted.

I'm very Gay and yet I'm very much against abortion.  As time goes on, I've mellowed in the sense that I'm not so strongly into it being illegal, since people will always find a way to do something whether legal or not.

But as in vitro surgeries are performed on younger and younger 'fetuses' or whatever your term of choice is, it would seem to be increasingly difficult to say that organism is not a life.  Unfortunately, even our existing laws often hinge on whatever the parents wishes are - if a pregnant woman is injured and loses the baby some jurisdictions call it murder and some don't.  There are many more examples (of laws) which obviously are not taking an objective view - is it a baby or not?  If it is not, then it could never be murder to cause a miscarriage in a pregnant woman, to phrase it another way.

At its simplest, left alone, a pregnancy becomes a child - so a the very least, a potential life is destroyed in an abortion.  The heart starts to beat after just a few weeks and measurable brain activity also starts very early - indicators in other circumstances of whether or not life exists.  I guess the Hippocrattic oath of "first, do no harm" no longer applies in medicine!

Feet and tiny toes appear at 10 weeks.  I have read much about the abortion industry, and some of it no doubt is exaggerated by pro-life writers - but one thing seems to be clear - it is not so much about the "choice" of the woman or what is best for her as it is about making money for the abortion industry.  Every woman I have discussed abortion with who has had one, adamantly insists she did the right thing.  Sure, not a scientific poll, but no regrets?  No one wonders what their child would be like 12 or 15 years later had they not had an abortion?

Surely a country that can spend a billion dollars a day on wars to kill people can figure out a way that no pregnancy need end in abortion.  Laws could be passed that no pregnant woman would lose seniority at work, firing someone for maternity leave could be illegal, adoption could be a breeze etc.

Just returned from up north (Michigan) from a family reunion.  One of the days we stayed with my cousin Betty who is in very good health, you would NEVER guess she is 78.  So I'm assuming she knows something the rest of us don't about eating…....For lunch today, we had the following:

Shredded cabbage mix (green, red and carrots).  You can buy this or make it yourself.  The purchased is nice because the shreds are so nice and fine; easy to eat.
Top with any combination of the following:

Plain yogurt (low or no fat)
Fruited yogurt (low or no fat - she had blueberry)
Kidney beans, rinsed & drained (these come in regular, no salt and low sodium)
Garbanzo beans (rinsed & drained)
Oil & vinegar dressing
Walnuts
Dried Cherries
Dried Cranberries
Raisins
Small cheese cubes (go easy on these - lots of fat in cheese!)
Yellow or Dijon mustard
Cooked cubed potatoes (just a few please)
Prunes (yes, you'd be surprised how good a couple of these are!)
Sunflower seeds  **I'll call her tomorrow and see if I missed anything from her list and feel free to add options here so we can all share!    But please limit it to relatively healthy choices!    Thanks…..

Obviously, for "dieting", use just a few dried cherries, sunflower seeds and the other high calorie things but adding all this makes the cabbage so easy to eat and one gets a great variety.  AND you use up leftovers.

****What I did was put about 2 cups of the cabbage in a large bowl, put maybe 2 T of vinegar dressing, mixed it well and then added all the other stuff I wanted on top.

We also had a slice of multi grain bread.  This was our whole meal and it was remarkably satisfying.

***Betty buys quite a large bag of the mix and she says while it always lasts a few days longer than the expiration date, after that, the carrots get slimy so before that happens she cooks it and eats it as a side vegetable.

Dear Leatherbear -

Thanks for the safety tips - where did you pick this up?  I have read similar things several times and it is always helpful to know the storage times for fridge and freezer.  My cousin has a wax pencil or sharpie marker in her pantry at all times - she writes the date of purchase on each can or box.  She did this years before products had dates on them.  I always intended to and never did.

But the one thing that always makes me laugh:  Do we really need to tell people NOT to eat something if it looks or smells rotten? 

I did read some of the other posts, so perhaps that Hirens Boot CD will address this - (will someone let me know please?)

I had AT & T DSL and there was something going on weekly with the wires so I gave up after 18 months and got cable internet.  However, I'm not getting anywhere near the 1.5 mb/s that I'm supposed to.  The cable company did a ping test with the computer hooked up and without; without was normal so they concluded there is something in my computer eating up band width.

I cleaned the temp files, browsing history, ran C Cleaner (also did the registry), ran the free version of malware bytes which didn't find anything.  C cleaner raised my DL from 0.19 to 0.8 mb/s but when I tried to install Microsoft Security essentials (never hurts to run scans with more than one process), it said "no internet connection detected" which I do have - I'm on it every day. For at least a month now, I've been trying to figure out why system restore doesn't work either.  It says my computer is not protected, restart computer and run again.  (which gets me the same message).  Almost every item on the internet is really old, like years and I did try a couple things which did nothing to help.  The cable company also provides Norton free (supposedly a $160 value) but that won't install either due to Windows finding multiple anti-virus programs - which is why it is so important for me to get system restore working.  I can't find these supposed programs and yes I checked hidden files/folders.

If I take my computer to the store, they will save some files, but mostly just wipe it clean (plus charge $75!) and I have to start over with everything esp. torrent files…... :cry2:     If they can find the viruses, why can't I?

MANY MANY thanks to whomever has any suggestions.

They said the bird was okay.  I doubt it a little water hurt the cats.  Sorry to be political, but here is yet another example of a problem society (supposedly) can't afford to fix:  taking care of its most vulnerable and helpless (animals); but somehow is the "right" of others to accumulate hundreds of millions of dollars.  Another very related issue - I won't say the problem is rampant, but people have just left pets to fend for themselves in my neighborhood when they move to a new location.  You can bet most of the time these pets are not spayed or neutered either.  Meaning more stray cats and puppies…........which is why the guy who posted the video has the problem he does.

I had these at a picnic yesterday (Memorial Day) and it was difficult to pin down the recipe, since the cook didn't measure or time anything.  So I will try to estimate - and after I make it, I will measure and update the recipe - but for the adventurous - here goes:

INGREDIENTS -

Raw Sugar (such as Sucanat, etc. available at health food stores or very well stocked grocers)
2 Lemons
3-4 good sized sweet potatoes/yams
olive oil
cinnamon or nutmeg

Prepare a medium sized rectangular baking dish by placing a couple tablespoons of olive oil in it.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Meanwhile, boil potatoes in skins, or peel and then boil - whichever method you prefer.  I would imagine for maximum lemon flavor, peel potatoes then boil…..(Before boiling, squeeze half a lemon into the water.  Cut the peel into several pieces, place in the water also.)  Cook until they are starting to get soft, but not completely done.  (30 minutes or so?)

Slice into 2 or 3 inch pieces.  Place into your prepared pan, add about 1/2 cup of the potato water.  Squeeze remaining lemon juice over the potatoes, sprinkle with 3/4 cup of raw sugar (more or less to taste).  Cover with foil or lid.  Bake 350F about 10-15 minutes.   Remove cover, bake 10-15 more minutes or until degree of doneness is obtained.  Baste with sauce once during this time.

Moderate lemon flavor, sweet, but not sticky sweet.  Let me know how you like them please.

I thought I left a comment last week, but apparently it didn't take…..

Amazing that this guy would tear apart his car, motorcycle battery, home security system etc. just to squirt a cat.  And they came back for more so apparently it didn't deter them too much!  But it is great fun to watch and this guy must be a genius to have figured out how to do all that stuff.

This recipe needs no alterations – so I'm giving it to you exactly as it is printed in the book.  I just had a taste for this and thought you might too.

Baked Caramel Custard

Caramelize 1/2 cup sugar over low heat, stirring constantly.  Pour a little into each of six (6) custard cups or one large baking dish.  Set aside to harden.  (too easy, I'll leave that alone)….

Custard:

2 eggs or 4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups milk (whole)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg or cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional although I can't imagine custard without it)

Beat egs, sugar and salt slightly to mix.  Scald the milk, pour over egg mixture, add flavorings.

Pour into custard cups.  Place cups in a pan, add hot water to reach up the sides of the cups 1 inch.  Bake 30-35 minutes.

When unmolded, the caramel runs down the side of the custard, forming a sauce.  Really easy, really good!

Well, it is May 18, 2011 and still cold and rainy here in Michigan.  Nothing like the weather should be at this time of year.  Somehow my favorite grocery store got the most beautiful, blemish free, huge ears of sweet corn and the absolute bargain price was 10 for $2.00.  So I decided to make Corn Chowder.  I've added a couple things, such as the vegetable bouillon cube and parsley flakes but otherwise it is pretty close to the original recipe.

A slightly humorous story - many years ago our staff went to a very fancy restaurant (it was a 4 story, exquisite Victorian house - lots of carved wood, leaded glass etc. - built by a very rich Detroit industrialist in the early 1900s converted to a restaurant)for a birthday or something and I didn't have a lot of money on me, so I ordered the Corn Chowder.  First came the beautiful plate, then the paper lace doiley and then the low soup bowl with broad rim which was decorated in vegetable paste.  This was 10 or 15 years ago, so I thought $8.00 for soup at lunch was pretty pricey.  But that wasn't the worst of it - there was about 5 level tablespoons of milky liquid in the bowl and 8 kernels of corn, garnished with fresh parsley. Talk about a small portion…  Fairly tasty but it was a good thing there was a bread basket on the table or I would have been VERY hungry back at work.  Needless to say, I didn't eat there again.  I think you'll like Betty Crocker's corn chowder a bit better than what I was served....

Corn Chowder

2 onions or more to taste, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 good sized carrots, diced (mine were skinny so I used 6 or 7)
2 cups celery, diced rather fine
2 or 3 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups water
2 cups milk (I used fat free)
2 T oil, 1 T butter (omit oil if using bacon)
1/2 cup cooked ham, or raw bacon, minced
Parsley flakes if desired
Low sodium vegetable bouiillion cube
3 large ears of corn, cut corn off  (I did this in a large bowl so the corn stays put instead of flying all over)

Of course, any of the above amounts may be changed to suit your personal preference.

Saute onions, garlic, carrots, celery and ham or bacon with oil and/or butter for 10 minutes.  Add a few Tbsp. water, continue sauteeing for 5 more minutes or onions are soft and a bit golden.  Add water, corn and potatoes.  Simmer for 45 minutes.  Last five minutes, add milk.  Stir occasionally while cooking.

****Another variation would be to make the soup without the corn, puree the cooked soup and then add the corn which you have cooked separately.