thanks

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Its diabetes 2 need i say …
not sure about splenda, but my mom is diabetic and uses "stevia"… natural extract that’s hella sweeter than sugar. you also might want to try using a natural honey or brown sugar (which is not nearly as bad in moderation of course)

It says right on the bag/box "suitable for people with diabetes". Call your doctor to confirm.
It substitutes 1:1.
Easy as the pie you’re going to go bake me.
splenda is great for baking for diabetics. Be sure you are also monitoring the other ingredients you use (whole grains better that bleached/processed flour).
no offense, but regular splenda in baked products really is disgusting. there is a "baking blend" of splenda and sugar that is decent, but the granulated splenda alone is baked food is disgusting.

dawt. when i first started using it, i tried to make sugar cookies mixing splenda just like sugar. they were veeeeerrrry salty.

from the Splenda website:
SPLENDA® is the brand name for the ingredient sucralose. It is made through a patented, multi-step process that starts with sugar and converts it to a no calorie, non-carbohydrate sweetener. The process selectively replaces three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms. Chlorine is present naturally in many of the foods and beverages that we eat and drink every day ranging from lettuce, mushrooms and table salt. In the case of sucralose, its addition converts sucrose to sucralose, which is essentially inert. The result is an exceptionally stable sweetener that tastes like sugar, but without sugar’s calories. After consumption, sucralose passes through the body without being broken down for energy, so it has no calories, and the body does not recognize it as a carbohydrate.

best i can guess is the extra chlorine from the splenda had a chemical reaction with the sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in the ingredients, and basically made salt. that’s the most basic layman’s term logic i can figure out.
Splenda Sucks– Have you ever had Diet Coke w Splenda?

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Does anyone have some good, legit resources for learning about forclosures? Any stories, good or bad, from your own experiences? Anything I should look out for especially?
If it’s that good of a deal, it’s going to be gone by spring. 1 of two things is going to happen. 1. it’s a pile of shit inside and needs 100K in work. or 2. it’s actually a good deal and you need to jump on it.

If you’re set on not moving untill the spring. Don’t even bother looking for houses now. You’ll find one you love and will be dissapointed when it’s gone in a week.

Houses in most areas are staying on the market for months. Although with that kind of price, it wont last long.
The problems with foreclosures is that people are pissed they are losing their house and they tear the hell out of it. Somethings that are visible and somethings that arent. Like people will flush big objects down the toilets, plug drains on purpose, punch holes in the wall, and just be overall destructive.

my sisters house had that. even though it wasnt a forclosure. when we helped move them in none of the toilets would flush and all the sinks and drains were plugged. took a couple of hours to get all of the sinks working properly. even needed to rip some ubends out and snake the bathroom sink.
assholes

Didn’t they have the house inspected before they closed on it? A thorough inspection will cover all those things and more.

yeah it was inspected before the closing but they didnt move in until a month after the closing because the people were moving out still and rented it for a month.
with forclosures sometimes you dont get an inspection or you have to evict tenants yourself when you buy it..
Only government insured loans require an inspection. But it is a good idea to get one done even if it isnt a loan requirement.
Yes, but even if you get an inspection, it is (as was mentioned above) generally immediately after you sign the purchase agreement, not right before you move in. So it won’t catch that kind of thing.

At best, you might catch a few things in the pre-close walkthrough (if you have one).
If you order the inspection yourself, you can have it done whenever you want as long as it is not a closing condition.
Well, we didn’t buy a forclosure. Got a much better house. Will post pics after I’ve stripped the poo-colored wallpaper.

wallpaper sucks, there are a lot of homes that i liked except for the amount of energy and time it would take to remove the grannypaper from the walls

Congrats on the house.

Sounds like your already getting familiar with the joys of home ownership.
I saw this report that was done saying that right now we’re experiencing the highest rate of defaulted home loans in history because of all the people that got sub-prime mortgages and purchased houses they basically couldn’t afford.

So if you want a foreclosure home, now would be a good time to look probably.

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The power for the disposal could be tied into an already existing circuit if one is available.

The dishwasher should be on it’s own separate circuit.

All of the ones I have had have been 120Vac.
I hope you have easy access from the kitchen to the panel. Most older houses have the panel underneath which is smart but most newer homes have it quite far away. You are going to have to run a separate feed from the appliance to the panel. This can get really expensive depending on the distance not because of the wire length so much as the time it will take to run it through the wall.

Not sure on the garburator but here we put it in on it’s separate line. YOu might be able to junction another one though.
I’m still in the framing stage, so it’ll be all good to run the wires through the studs. I’m SURE my electrician will know, but I wanted to make sure everything was good. Do you normally run a DW and a disposer on a GFI or not? I know you do not want the fridge on a GFI circuit.

Also, anyone know if there is an issue running coax, cat5e, and possible speaker wire in the same bundle? I know you only run romex in its track for safety and interference issues, but could I run my surround, coax, and data strands in a single bundle.? And how big can I make a hole in a vertical 2×4 for running any cables? I’ll go 1" for the homewire, but all the others may be bigger than 1" if they’re all run in one bundle. Just trying to educate myself so I won’t sound like a tool when I meet with the electrical guy. He said I can supply all the materials and drill my own holes in the I joists and studs if I want to save money. That’s damn cool right there; he’ll even supply a materials list.

To get specific, let’s look at the 2005 NEC.

Could the disposal be tied into an existing circuit? Yes and no. If the disposal is furnished with a cord and plug attachment by the manufacturer, that means it is UL listed for installation in such fashion. This is important because the two 20A small appliance branch circuits required for 1 and 2 family dwellings per Article 210.11(C)(1) have their use qualified under 210.23 which deals with permissible loads. 210.23(A) has an exception which reads:

The small appliance branch circuits, laundry branch circuits, and bathroom branch circuits required in dwelling unit(s) by 210.11(C)(1), (C)(2), and (C)(3) shall supply only the receptacle outlets specified in that section.

So, that would indicate that if the disposal plugs into a receptacle with a cord and plug, it’s compliant, right? No. Under 210.52(B), dwelling unit receptacle outlets, more specifically small appliance outlets come under further definition, and this part 210.52(B)(1) is important:

the two or more 20-ampere small-appliance branch circuits required by 210.11(C)(1) shall serve all wall and floor receptacle outlets…

Therefore, a disposal being attached to the underside of a sink is most likely going to be situated within a cabinet, and therefore cannot be connected to either a wall or floor outlet, as no mention of receptacle outlets within cabinets exists. Further, 210.52(B)(2) states: The two or more small-appliance branch circuits specified in 210.52(B)(1) shall have no other outlets. So, the idea of adding an outlet within the cabinet to feed the disposal is prohibited.

In conclusion, tying the disposal into an existing circuit, either via a receptacle outlet or direct wiring is only permissible if it is not one of the dedicated small appliance branch circuits.

The statement that a dishwasher should be on its own separate circuit depends on the appliance. A 20A 120V circuit is good for 2400W, and if we are conservative and rate the maximum continuous load of the circuit at 80%, that brings the figure down to 1920W. Older, less efficient dishwashers were probably good candidates for a dedicated supply with no other loads. However, modern energy efficient units are sometimes furnished with cord and plug connections, the cord being 16/3, which is rated to carry 13A under table 400.5(A) in the B+ column, as only two conductors are current carrying.

Check the ampacity/wattage rating of the dishwasher, add that to the ampacity/wattage rating of the disposal, and if you are less than or equal to
1920W (amps x volts), you are safe feeding both appliances with a single 20A branch.

Sorry for the length of this post, but sometimes multiple references and explanations are required to cover all salient points.

Let’s first look at your GFCI question. The 2005 NEC lists required locations for 1 and 2 family dwellings in Article 210.8. Nothing in that article requires GFCI protection for a dishwasher or garbage disposal. Note that if a disposal is cord and plug connected to a receptacle within a cabinet, and the receptacle is duplex style and located close to the front inside edge of the cabinet, such that it is likely to be used for other purposes, I would install a GFCI receptacle in that location, purely to err on the side of safety.

Refrigerator on a GFCI isn’t clearly a no. Most refrigerator receptacles are located behind the appliance, and as such meet the "not readily accessible" rule. However, I have seen refrigerators plugged into receptacles which were located in such position as to make them fall under 210.8(A)(6) which includes kitchens, where the receptacles are installed to serve the countertop appliances, and as such would require GFCI protection.

Bundling all of your low voltage data cabling shouldn’t be a problem, but I’d read the technical documents on what you’re planning to connect, incase there are advisories or prohibitions.

Holes in bearing wall framing, per either IRC 602.6 or UBC 2320.11.9 are limited to 40% of the member depth. Translated, a 2 x 4, which is finished @ 3 3/8" (3.375"), has a maximum permissible through bore of 1.35", just under 1 3/8", but do not allow the through bore to have its edge closer than 5/8" to the interior plane, per the above IRC section, and UBC 2320.11.10.

You’ve used the key word when it comes to handling your power wiring, and that is "bundling". When branch feeder cables are closely spaced, they may lose their ability to freely liberate heat caused by current flow, and this can lead to insulation breakdown, and fire.

The factors to be considered include the AWG of conductors, the insulation temperature rating (60°C or 90°C), how many conductors are being bundled, and for what linear distance. This number of variables precludes my offering an intelligent answer, so I would advise contacting the Authority Having Jurisdiction, or AHJ and asking them what they will permit. Some aspects of code are subject to the interpretation of the inspector, so it’s better to find out what they will accept before beginning work.
Thanks a bunch Kazoo! I’m thinking more of running the speaker wire separately from the cat5 and coax. I’m running three cat5 lines to each jack. Yes, three cat5 lines! My buddy who works at Verizon and does this stuff all day for a living said people underbuild ALL THE TIME. Million dollar mansions and they think "We’ll add jacks later to save $50 per run while it’s being framed." Well, he has to tell them they will now have staples, buried phone lines, cable under siding, and a hole drilled through their new crib. With all that’s on a phone line these days (data, voice, satellite, etc), he said if you ever want two phone lines and all the the other goodies (future expansion), run 3 cat5 cables and make the odd colored one for the phone line. He told me it’s impossible to troubleshoot some situations these days because all the wires in the gray phone line are used up, so he has to run a new line in those cases too. Point being, if I run all that cat5 (or cat6) there will never be any troubleshooting or expansion issues. Plus, the cat5 is twisted in a strand as to not casue interference/crosstalk like a simple gray phone line can.

Heat is a concern and he told me to keep all runs under 300′, which will be no problem. I figure I’ll mount the speaker wire in the highest hole, the cat5 in the middle hole, and the electrical romex in the lower hole to avoid any interference issues. Trust me, I will not go cheap on the material! The electrician told me he normally does a 15% markup on parts (and others do 100% and use cheap stuff), but he would tell me what to get and it will be right. I think I’m all set thanks to this forum, my buddy at Verizon, and the electrician. It’s cool when an independent 35 year experienced electrician and his partner say "We’ll run anything anywhere you want and within code, but tell us about the phone and speaker stuff because we generally don’t do that. We will run it, but find out where to terminate and how you want it done…" That’s old school!

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It came with a food processor attachment which I think will come in handy. Maybe some fresh salsa?

I just made my first smoothie with: 2 apples, 2 bananas. 1 orange, about 3 cups milk, 3 cups ice, and 2-3 tablespoons of honey.

It came out ‘ok’ and no matter what I know I just had a damn healthy meal. But it wasnt really super tasty. And I would like some advice as to what I can do with this thing.

If you know a recipe or have any tips for making things with a blender or food processor, please help me out. I really wanna shed some extra weight and the better the stuff I learn to make the more I’m gonna use it.

Thanks for any help peoples.
For smoothies? Use some berries, maybe?

and wtf, honey?
why honey? Try including some protein shake to it to add more substance than sugars from the fruits.

I’d try bananas, star berries, and maybe a little lowfat vanilla icecream to give it a smoother feel.
I buy a big bag of chopped-up frozen fruit at costco. Dump some of that into the blender, fill to the top of the fruit with whatever kind of juice is on hand, and blend. Always good.

True. Those big bags of frozen fruit are amazing for smoothies. My ex used to do this all the time.

Cool I’ll have to pick up a bag of frozen fruit from there. I looked at a smoothie recipe website and the one thing many of the recipes have in that I totally forgot about is yogurt.

I add honey because I love it and its full of all kinds of good things. Its one of the best sugar sources you can find, but of course being a sugar you dont want too much of it. It has antioxidants and is a real easy for your body to breakdown and assimilate…giving you energy quickly.

A lot of people underestimate the benefits of honey, but from what I have read its mega good for you. And of course it taste so freaking good.

You get the mixed fruit ones and you’re all set. Here’s my no fail recipe:

3-4 spoonfuls of vanilla or plain non-fat yogurt
Fill up the blender about 2/3 with fruit
4-8oz of fruit juice of your choice
1 scoop of protein powder (optional)
4-8oz of soy milk (or cows milk if your stomach tolerates it)

and blend

I like my smoothies sweeter so I put in a few packets of Splenda.

Just don’t put a lot of milk or ice. Both dilute the taste of the fruit and make it less flavorful and sweet.

Personally I don’t like ice in mine. The frozen fruit is a better subsitute if you want it super cold.

Yep, frozen fruit, juice(I like OJ), and sherbet. Great snack!!
Anyone have a recommendation for a reasonably priced blender that can actually chop ice rather than just bounce the cubes around? I’ve tried three different blenders that claim they can chop/crush ice and returned all of them because they could do a damn thing with ice cubes.

this will sound stupid cuz its on tv all the time… but i love my magic bullet… perfect for smoothies, protein shakes, destroying ice cubes and if you order on tv you get a blender top and a juicer too.
vita-prep

a bit steep at almost 500 ( you can pick one up for 300 or so) But its what we use at the restaurant. It will make ice turn to dust
I think I’ll give the Magic Bullet a try. I’ve heard others mention it too. It seemed too small to get the job done, but it’s certainly worth a try before dropping hundreds of dollars on a freakin blender. Otherwise it might be that vita-prep or some other $300 blender a friend recommended. Coiincidently, it was also one that was on a TV ad. I’ve seen his work though so I do know it can pulverize ice. It’s just a really expensive way to do it.

My usual protein shake:

half a banana
tablespoon of natural peanut butter
chocolate whey
lowfat milk
icecubes

I think it’s pretty damn good and easy, you can also add some bran cereal for some extra fiber and texture
trust me… if you don’t put too much in the magic bullet you will get great shakes and will not regret the purchase, although it doesn’t live up to everything it says i can do on tv, but perfect for smoothies, shakes, etc.. it will not really chop things just blend them like the highest level on a regular blender…

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Buy European coffee, ground as finely as you can get it, so it’ll last longer. The reason you shouldn’t buy South American coffee is because European coffee is grown in Africa, and like I tell people at work, Africa has hashish in the dirt while South America has cocaine in the dirt. (It’s not really accurate, of course, but it’s a good explanation of the different types of caffeine buzz you get from the two types of coffee. African coffee is much smoother, less jittery.)

I’d skip tea. It doesn’t have anywhere near as much caffeine in it, though it’s good for loading up on antioxidants. I drink it in the afternoon instead.

- – -

Another suggestion: skip the milk. Personally, I think milk or cream in coffee makes it taste too thick and heavy, so I drink it black with sugar instead.
try heroin..

or my personal favorite.. Yerba Mate
Take a couple vitamin b complex and eat a good breakfast. Best pick me up ever.

Vitamin B essentially assists your body in converting food into energy… a very good natural energy boost IMHO
Actually a correctly brewed cup of tea is supposed to have about 15% more caffeine than coffee…

But on a healthy note, good sleep and juice in the morning is probably the "right" way to go. In a real world though, if you’re trying to ease yourself off soft drinks then coffee is likely the best alternative. Beware of getting hooked though, sometimes you’ll get headaches on weekends if you don’t get your fix in the morning.
I really like doing black tea, a nice black tea, like English Breakfast in a good brand, brew for a few minutes(all of the caffeine will be out in 5 minutes), pull the bag out(without wringing), stir in between a teaspoon and tablespoon of honey until it’s melted into the tea, then add a little half and half until it gets creamy. it only takes a couple minutes and is a good alternative to coffee if you don’t like it, plus it doesn’t get any "equipment" dirty, so it’s my everyday choice instead of dirtying a french press or steam percolator style brewer thing, I don’t have to wash anything afterwards.

i agree with this. a good multivitamin is the best pick-me-up for me. it gives sustained energy throughout the day, instead of some shitty burst of energy that you ultimately crash from

Yeah, not a chance in hell. Well…maybe if the tea leaves are fully mature and bitter, and they’re left soaking in the tea while you drink it.

all of the caffeine in tea comes out in the first 5 minutes of brewing.

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My grandparents have one, they are both in their 70s and dont have the muscle or energy to push it but like to mow their own lawn for exercise.

Also, people that have large yards and dont have riders use them.
I’ve used and had one and they don’t cut as well as a gas powered mower.

Self propelled just means that they have drive wheels. The vast majority of self propelled mowers are gas powered.

I have a flat yard. I use it to get started on each pass, then I push it.

OH.

I thought he was talking about a manual push mower with no gas power or anything but now I see that makes no sense.

But yeah the gas mower I use is self propelled and my step dad in law got it because he has a bad back.

This is what I usually do to.
Aren’t push mowers self-propelled? You propel them yourself.

I agree that self-propelled mowers don’t cut as well. It seems as though when some of the power is being diverted to the wheels, the ability of the blade to cut and bag the grass is decreased. I noticed with my dad’s old Honda that there was a higher propensity to create semi-circles in the yard instead of smooth cuts. I’ve also found that when the bag gets heavier, the torque of the drive mechanism causes the mower to want to lift at the front. This may be the reason for the semi-circles in my dad’s yard, and probably doesn’t happen with front-wheel drive mechanisms.
I think I confused things up.

I was trying to say that push mowers with no gas power or anything don’t cut as well as gas powered mowers.

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basically i need something relatively strong to get the smell of beer/chicken/ketchup out of here.
i’d start by making sure that you thoroughly clean the place. vacuum the carpets and floors, then steam clean the carpets and mop the floors. dust all of your furniture (use a cleaning polish). maybe get an air purifier if for whatever reason you’ve got "moist" air. also try out some air fresheners from bed bath and beyond.

maybe that stuff that you sprinkle on the carpet and then vacuum up? Never tried it though.
Fabreeze in the spray bottle works really well at eliminating odors (the plastic one, not the aresol spray one). Nothing will mask unhygienic living though, make sure you clean your house really well–mop, dust, sweep, vacuum, etc.

Glade Vanilla candles are also pretty amazing–burn a few of those?

Also, take dryer sheets and put one in your air vent so when the air turns on you’ll get a refreshing smell with the cool air. They’ll have to be changed often, but they really do make a difference….just make sure that you tuck it in there far enough where you can’t see it hanging out-that’s tacky. lol I guess you could even take one and put it in your air return thing (Where you put your air filters–idk what it’s called).

Really though, just make sure you clean up after yourself so your place doesn’t smell…ladies don’t like smelly homes.

edit: To get odors out of your carpet sprinkle baking powder (the orange box) and let it sit for a few hours then vacuum it–a lot of the odor should be absorbed)
Vinegar is actually a pretty amazingly versatile product. It seems so counter-intuitive to use against odors:

plug in febreeze things from grocery store/walmart, they work wonders
It’s been a little chilly and rainy in SoCal lately, so here’s a couple that will make your house smell great.

1. Couple drops of vanilla extract in the oven and turn it on low

2. Get a 20qt stock pot and fill it up to the brim with water. Toss in one cinnamon stick and 4 knots of cloves, and turn on the gas nice and low. It’ll warm up your apartment and it smells great. If you can get your hands on an all-steel or all-aluminum stock pot then stick that fucker in the oven and kill two birds with one stone. Gas only, don’t do this with electric. Too expensive.

3. Vacuum

Then the usual shit. Baking soda and vinegar in the garbage disposal, clean the bathroom, do the laundry, air the place out, clean out the fridge.

ALSO

Throw out your dryer sheets. Get a bottle of fabric softener and pour a little on a washcloth, work it into the material, and throw it in with your laundry. Cheaper, and works much better.
Your best bet is to air things out, make sure the trash is taken out at least a day before they come over, scrub your bathroom well. Moms pay attention to the floor around the toilet, and under the seat. The dust that gathers on your counter needs to be wiped down too. I’ve noticed that wiping surfaces down with Chlorox wipes kills 2 birds with 1 stone. They smell nice, and they get all the dust and junk off of stuff. Simmering a small pan of water with a cinnamon stick works too. Put cups or bowls with baking soda all around your apartment too, they’ll absorb odors. Air it out all day the day before they come over and make sure that your clothes are all clean.

How the hell do you air things out without opening windows?
just to reiterate what some others have said, Febreeze is awesome.

oh, and look under your couch/bed/etc for that food that someone left behind and you all forgot.

I commonly air my apartment out by closing all the doors and windows, and by shutting off all the fans. It’s a wonderful method.

Once that’s taken care of, I do pushups and jump rope in the living room for a couple hours, and then set my sweaty ass down on the sofa and try to leave a sweatring of salt directly on the leather. That helps, too.

Finally, I take some fish out of the freezer and stuff it into holes I punch in the drywall all over the apartment. Did you know that it’s more energy efficient to run your A/C on Heat than it is to use a heater? Who knew. Anyway, I leave a couple fillets of tilapia on top of the A/C and crank it up to 110 degrees and let it run for a few hours.

I’ve found that this is a great way to air out my apartment without opening any doors or windows and without using a fan.

No gym for home?

The reed in oil things work nice too, a little pricey but they work.
probably too late for this since it’s nearly the weekend

in addition to those said above –
empty all trash containers and wipe down inside and out with cleaner/vinegar

spray febreze on any curtains/cloth window treatments and couches, mattress in addition to floors

scrub around the toilet bowl exterior/interior and floor

run the stove vent insert through the dishwasher and get a degreaser onto and inside the range hood – just go ahead and buy a 6 pack of scotchbright pads if you’ve never done it, also a razor blade scraper, old grease is stinky!
I’ve got a better idea. If they say anything about your place, tell them they can always leave if they don’t like it.

Who pays the rent, bitch? You or them? Don’t forget that.

EDIT: But yeah, clean everything too. Clean is always good, regardless of who’s coming to visit. Just don’t forget that their authority ends at the front door of their house.

Cool suggestions. I need to get my room smelling fresh and clean again. I didn’t know about the vinger thing either
all of the above

I like to completely air out a place after cleaning, and before doing things like air fresheners

If you want to get rid of strong odours, bake coffee grinds (not used ) and ground cinnamon in the oven for half an hour or hour on low temperature

no joke, this works awesomely

Clean up the house of odd smells and light a scented candle now and again.
also clean out garbage cans with bleach

under sinks, under fridges, shit like that… you’d be surprised how much a quarter cup of spilled milk can stink up a place
IFL

I live in an apartment with no fans anywhere. Kitchen, bathroom, etc. Place stinks to high heaven after I cook. Smelled like chili for about a week, now it smells like fish (cooked salmon).

Does this vinegar trick really work or is it crap? Cheap and simple if it does work.

How about the Febreeze plug-ins? I saw it mentioned, but any other input on them?
Plugins make strong smells usually. Try misting with febreeze, run your fans and open your windows. That’s your best bet.

My apartment is pretty moist, I have a large fish tank going, my bathroom fan isn’t very effective, I boil beer inside, and I cook a lot, which means lots of moisture in the air. I come home every day and open up the windows to get rid of excess moisture and my apartment smells fresh most of the time.
I tried this vinegar trick. Put a couple cups out around the ol’ apartment and all it did was make my place smell like vinegar.

Picked up a Glade plug-in (clean linen scent, nothing outrageous). Gonna just mask it for now. I might try the baking soda trick for the carpet and see if that helps.

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