Ask the person after you a random question

[LorenFL]

Ooooh, there's a faux Irish Pub kind of restaurant not too far from here that has a killer root beer float! I've probably had one within the past 2 years. They serve it in a big chilled thick glass cup that's so cold that the root beer freezes to the sides. Quality ice cream. Shrouded in whipped cream. Good stuff!

What is the most significant thing you've ever had stolen from you?

 

[Brian PacNW]

I believe the correct answer is that my wife stole my heart. That’s my answer if my wife is reading this.

I also had a $1000+ bike stolen from me via wire cutters. Got it back, surprisingly, after I filed a police report and it was found in a pawn shop.

How old were you when you started liking tomatoes?

 

[Jan D]

Still waiting for it to happen….
Just as well, since tomatoes are in the nightshade family, and can trigger inflammation if you have an auto-immune disease (in my case, rheumatoid arthritis).

What is your favorite food group?

 

[JEngle1122]

I haven't thought about food groups in ages. Dairy is a food group, isn't it? I choose dairy. I don't think I could function without the existence of cheddar cheese.

How many hangers are un-used or empty in your closet right now?

 

[Brian PacNW]

I’ve got a bunch of dry cleaners wire hangers for some reason. Maybe 15?

Have you ever started a fire using only primitive techniques? Friction, flint, etc?

 

[LorenFL]

Magnifying glass when I was a kid. Do sparks from welding count? I started a fire that way once or twice.

If you had to eat a fast food meal from the chain restaurant of your choice, what would it be?

 

[kkimura]

BonChon Garlic Soy Korean fried wings!

When was you fast food order actually fast, I mean less that a minute from ringing up the order to bag of food in your hands?

 

[Brian PacNW]

When I commute to work in the summers, I often stop at McD’s. They can be pretty darn fast if the order is just regular items.

What’s the neatest or coolest or scariest or most interesting tool you have used? Could be a power tool, hand tool, computer software tool, etc.

 

[LorenFL]

Wow, that's an open-ended question! A lot of tools can be scary until you get used to using them. I remember a time when I thought a circular saw was a scary tool. (The fact that I tried to cut my foot off with one when I was about 12 might be a factor there. Cut through my shoe... and my sock... but somehow did not even scratch my foot!) More recently, a lot of metal-fabricating tools can be scary. Welding can be scary, even more so using a plasma cutter. And an angle grinder is certainly a tool to be respected! In the kitchen, I bought myself a proper chef's knife for the first time in my life a couple years ago. Very quickly learned that an extremely sharp knife can be scary! Back to the garage, air tools are just plain cool. They can make any job quicker and easier.

I guess I'll go back to the angle grinder. It's cool, interesting, extremely useful, AND scary. I bought my first angle grinder shortly after I started playing with welding maybe 10 years ago. It's one of those tools that made me say "how have I gotten this far in my life without owning this tool???" It cuts through anything. Most cuts I'd have fumbled through with a hacksaw or tried to do with an itty-bitty Dremel cut-off wheel, are child's play with the angle grinder! Cutting metal (or most anything else). Cleaning up sloppy welds. Cutting the head off of a rusted bolt. You name it.

There really aren't a lot of tools on that "how did I get by so long without owning this" list. Two that come to mind: a 12" long 3/8 drive extension is an extremely handy tool when you need it. And a 24" long breaker bar is indispensable for loosening most overly tight fasteners.

But, since you said computer software... Norton Utilities was always pretty scary! So much power to completely ruin your hard drive and data with the click of a button!

What a fun question!

What is the oldest hand or power tool that you own? (I still own and use the Black & Decker circular saw, Craftsman claw hammer, and Craftsman measuring tape that I bought when I bought my first house in 1989. Though I do own a pair of my Mom's old upholstery scissors that surely date back to the mid-70's.)

 

[kkimura]

The oldest tools I own would be a set of Craftsman 1/2" drive sockets, ratchet wrench and breaker bar I bought in 1965.

What's the latest tool you've bought?

 

[Brian PacNW]

A combination pick+adze for digging in our rock-strewn clay soil.

Do you separate your clothes by color before washing?

 

[Farkvam]

Only into whites, lights and darks generally.

Do you have a place for everything and everything in its place?

 

[LorenFL]

I try to have a place for everything, but things are rarely "in their place". My organizational system is more "I remember where I put this, and that's where it normally is." As long as nobody moves my stuff, I'm good!

Do you own any functional piece of electronic equipment that still uses a vacuum tube? (I just watched a video about the origin of vacuum tubes)

 

[kkimura]

No tube gear today but I once had a Heathkit HW-101, Ham radio that was all tubes. It could transmit 100 watts with a pair of 6132 vacuum tubes.

It also was a rig you had to assemble yourself. Anyone build or assemble something?

 

[Joyful Uke]

Since no one has answered, I‘ll bite. I’ve assembled things like furniture and things like that, but nothing with tubes.

If you could have a magical power, what would it be?

 

[kkimura]

Time travel. Not to change history but to see it first hand.

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

 

[Brian PacNW]

Another planet.

What sport have you spent the most time playing?

 

[Jan D]

Sports have never really been my thing. I even disliked gym class at school. I did do a little bit of recreational volleyball, softball, and bowling in my younger days. Can’t say that I was good at any of them though. The only sport that ever became a major part of my life was ice skating. Skating made me happy because it felt like dancing on ice ~ and I love dancing.

The only two memorable sports highlights in my life have been (1) winning a skating competition, and (2) catching a line drive to 3rd base that won our team not only the game, but also the ladies softball league championship. Trust me, not a single person on my team (including myself) thought that I would actually catch that ball. I can only attribute it to divine intervention. I’ll never forget seeing all those dropped jaws when the ball hit my mitt - and stayed there.

If you could go back to a certain year or decade in your life, which one would it be, and why?

 

[kkimura]

Maybe the 70s. Just out of High School, taking those first steps that would lead me all over the world and back again.

Ever want to crew on a sailing ship going around the world?

 

[Brian PacNW]

Absolutely not.

Predict the year in which humans will set foot on Mars.