EmirOfShmo

1 hour ago, Fan since a Fetus said:

I’m going to try that. For samosas I use the following recipe. The only thing I will add is to let the potato mixture sit in the fridge for 24 hours or so. Let all those flavors mix together

 

Delicious Samosas yum yum

 

 

I’ve never liked lamb kabobs. butter chicken is always great as long as it’s not overcooked and doesn’t just taste like tomato sauce

I did add about a teaspoon of garam masala to it. Then at the end I added chopped fresh cilantro. 

24 minutes ago, Fan since a Fetus said:

I see this was answered. If you are ever interested in Indian food, maybe you already are, man I don’t know, butter chicken is a great place to start. Pair it up with a veggie samosa and a mango lassi for a meal of deliciousness. 
 

I used to hate Indian food without trying it. Those 3 things got me started. I still get them all the time as well. 

I just made this yesterday: Got the Sukhi's Tikka Masala at Costco, poured both bags into a pot, added a can of chickpeas, added a can of coconut milk (full fat),brought it to a boil, turned it off to let it cool & then vacuum sealed a bunch of 1 person servings. Oh, and ate some for lunch yesterday. All in ~$20 for 9 servings. My wife isn't wild about any Indian food so I make big batches of different curries & freeze them in single servings. Next on the list are veggie samosas using puff pastry. 

Not eating it right now, but this morning I stopped by Wendy's to try their $3 breakfast combo: English muffin, egg, cheese & bacon w/ a side of small seasoned potatoes. It was good & the price is perfect. I've never had it & don't eat breakfast out often, maybe once a month if I have an early morning delivery. Last month i had an Egg McMuffin & potatoes that cost $8.46! I hadn't been in a while and the sticker shock means I won't go back to McD's. 

Rosario batting 2nd is just stupid. Gallo w/ another 2 Ks & 0-4. Winker got hosed in the 8th on a horrible 3rd strike call. And 1-7 RISP. There's no consistent bat in the lineup. CJ batting sub ,210 in day games. Oof...

Just read an article that said only 6% of trials end in a hung jury. For me, it's hard to predict based on what I've read. Without seeing the jury reactions to questions, answers & court antics it's impossible for me to decide. This should have been televised. 

Key Trump Witness Confirms Damning Hush Money Emails

A string of emails sent by attorney Robert Costello appear to have undercut the witness’s credibility just moments before Donald Trump’s first criminal trial concluded for the day.

Costello had previously represented Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, and had allegedly offered a backchannel mode of communication between the former president and his former fixer (and current star defense witness) Michael Cohen in 2018.

But on Tuesday, the former federal prosecutor got caught up in a web of his own making and was forced to admit to mob-like tactics that undercut the defense’s core argument.

In one message from that year, Costello complained to his law partner Jeff Citron that Cohen was not cooperating, believing instead that Cohen was “slow playing us and the president.”

“What should I say to this asshole?” Costello wrote. “He’s playing with the most powerful man on the planet.”

“This email speaks for itself?” asked prosecutor Susan Hoffinger.

“Yes, it does,” Costello told the court.

“You lost control of Michael Cohen?” Hoffinger continued.

“Absolutely not,” Costello replied.

In another 2018 message between Costello and Citron, the Giuliani attorney wrote that “our issue is to get Cohen on the right page without giving the appearance that we are following instructions from Giuliani or the President.”

“We must reverse the Avenatti effect and restore this to a far more simple investigation of things that while they might not look good politically and nevertheless legal,” the message continued, referring to Michael Avenetti, a since disgraced attorney who represented Stormy Daniels, the former adult film actress that Trump is being accuses of paying hush money to in 2016.

The emails clearly show the extraordinary lengths that Trump and his aides used to try to silence Cohen—and suggest that they were engaged in a cover-up.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/key-trump-witness-confirms-damning-162744794.html

1 hour ago, LadySkinsFan said:

My monthly food budget this year was about $225/month. In July (month of all the increases in rent and health insurance), I have to decrease to $175. For me and Dancer. It's very meager, I won't afford fruit and fresh veggies. I'll buy frozen veggies. Wide variety and inexpensive. And go to the food banks every month. I went a few years ago and stopped because I made some budget changes. It's time to go back.

Damn, that's a tough budget. On the plus side, frozen veggies & fruit are very healthy & cheaper than fresh. 

https://umterps.com/news/2024/5/18/mens-lacrosse-mlax-quarterfinals-vs-duke-5-18.aspx?

21 minutes ago, purbeast said:

When I looked at using some Marriot Bonvoy points for a hotel we frequent in the Keys, it was like 250k points for a 5 night stay, that would have cost like $1800 if I paid in cash.  So say you get like 80k points for a bonus (which is even high) and that is worth like $600'ish if I were to use those points for the hotel.

 

On the flipside, the flights down there, I got 4 of them for like 50k total on Southwest.  Had I paid for those flights it would have been like $1500 or so.  

 

I've just never seen anything remotely close to being worth it for hotel points which is why I always go for points I can use for flights, and it also doesn't force me to use a certain brand of hotels, especially when going out of the country, which I tend to stay in non-US chain hotels.

 

As for the Hyatt cc, I am not sure what company makes that.  I just know that Chase has the 5/24 rule and that is basically all I get for cards anyways.

 

For the SW ones yeah I get one personal and one business.  I don't own a business or anything either and it's super easy to get one still.  I don't apply at the same time though I will apply for one, get the bonus, then apply for the other.  I tried doing both at once before and I didn't get auto approved for them so I just do em apart since I'm not going to be using them at the same time anyways.

Yeah, I get it on the hotel cc's. However, with Marriott if you book 5 nights you are only charged points for 4 nights. I'm definitely not saying to convert any points to Marriott from other cards. And the actual card bonuses aren't anywhere near what they used to be nor are the room rates!

3 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

The only exception to this is Hyatt. The point value on redemption is insane. And they transfer from Chase, so like you said definitely get a Chase card(Chase also transfers to United as well).

 

I got a Marriott Boundless Bonvoy strictly because our wedding was at a Marriott, so we used that card to pay the hotel itself, which got us enough points for 5 nights at the Ritz Carlton in Maui. Other then that though I agree with you, hotel cards aren't ideal.

Good to know about converting Chase points to Hyatt. Thanks!

2 hours ago, purbeast said:

Oh one more thing.

 

Generally speaking, you are going to get way more bang for your buck with points if you use them on flights.

 

Like you mention you have some hilton points and stuff to use for hotels.  The effort it takes to get hilton points or marriot points, etc, is not worth the rewards you get out of them at all compared to flights.

 

Like 100k points to get you a hotel room will not save you nearly as much as money as 100k points to book a flight on United or Southwest would.  

I live in Richmond so flights are different. However, I agree with you on using points for airline tickets. I just saw SW is going to start flying from RIC to BWI, That really changes things for me. I need to look into getting some SW credit cards. 

I'm a longtime Marriott customer - lifetime Platinum level. I highly recommend joining their club. Their credit cards give you a free hotel certificate worth 35k points each year. You can use that and up to 15k points to book a room. Their resorts in the US & Caribbean are good - most are a solid C+/B. The Ritz & St. Regis hotels I've stayed at are all 9s as are their resorts (St.Thomas USVI is very nice). Pricey with points but well worth it. When I traveled for work, I would mostly stay at Marriott & Hilton hotels with those chains (i.e., Courtyard, Hampton Inn, full-service hotels, etc.) While Hilton have decent high-end hotels they don't have a lot of hotels where we like to go - the Caribbean. Yes, they have a few but their points per room are awful. I'm using the last of my Hilton points next February at the Embassy Suites in Aruba - 80k/night - not a deal. It seems most of their hotels are all a lot of points anytime I try to book a room. 

My newest - last 5 years - favorite hotel chain is Hyatt. I have 2 cards & my wife has 1. Each year you get a free hotel certificate for a Category 1-4 free night. Points at rooms are reasonable - of course depending on where & when you go. We used to stay at the Hyatt at the Wharf with our free certs for a weekend in DC. But of course they changed that hotel to a Cat 5 hotel last year....booo

I'm not sure I agree with you on the Marriott, Hyatt & Hilton points. If you can get 2 of each when they're running a special points offer you can probably get 5 nights free at a decent hotel. If you hold those points for a year & wait for your 2 freet night certs you can make it 7 free nights. Note - Pretty sure the Hilton cards are doing away - or have done away - with free cert night on card anniversary. 

I've stayed at IHG hotels but never got any of their credit cards. I might look into it to see if I can get a free week someplace decent with points.

You should look at where you think you will travel to see which chain fits your travel. Also, make sure you look at the spend requirements to get the bonus points.

I have a question for you: I read  the other day on Flyertalk.com that people with Hyatt cc's will cancel them after a year & re-apply in 30+ days. They get the bonus with the new card. Is that true? Also, which SW cc's do you recommend? Is 1 of the cc you get a business cc?

Edit: I've been able to book first class tix on AA to Curacao & return from Aruba this year & next year for 40k total. Awesome deal...

Moms for Liberty founder sent Florida GOP chair to bars prowling for hookups: police docs

Bridget Ziegler, the founder of the far-right, anti-gay Moms for Liberty group, sent out her husband, Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler, to bars to find women to bring home for sex, police documents reveal.

According to The Daily Beast, "Text messages quoted in a Sarasota Police Department (SPD) memo that was obtained by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune revealed how Ziegler sent her husband, Christian, hunting for a third sexual partner at local bars and directed him to send photos of possible hits. She allegedly told him to pretend to take pictures of his beer while photographing the women so he wouldn’t get caught sneaking pictures of them."

The report said that Bridget allegedly told her husband, "Don’t come home until your d--- is wet."

https://www.rawstory.com/mom-for-liberty-founder-bars/

12 minutes ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

You ever here of early voting Bill?

 

Many states start early voting in late September...

...and I really should be back at school

1 hour ago, PleaseBlitz said:

Well if I'm ever living out of a hotel by a steel mill in BFE Texas, and Applebee's is the only convenient place that sells food, and I'm trying to embezzle my per diem, then I will consider going to an Applebee's. 

Embezzle? We were paid a certain amount of money per day for meals. It didn't matter what you spent the difference was yours. I've also worked the other way with per diem - you're paid for the amount you actually spent up to the daily limit.