Uncle Ernie Says...#2

Hello Again Blog fans…

When you hear the words "paint thinner", you probably imagine some very strong, smelly, industrial-type chemical. This chemical also goes by the name "mineral spirits"…and is a VERY simple and practical cleaning solvent. It's also practically odorless :)

If you have issues with soap scum in your bathtub or shower, fear not! Take an old rag, dampen it with mineral spirits, and rub. It erases the waxy film with little elbow grease. You may need to go over the area a second time with the same method depending on how "scummy" the area may be.

Ever tried removing a label or sticker from something and the adhesive just wants to "stick" around? Peel off what you can CAREFULLY. Then use the same method mentioned above…the solvent quickly breaks down the gum and you end up with a clean, stick-free surface.

Those of us that LOVE our cars…seems like there are always spots of tar on the lower fenders that ordinary washing only wants to smear. Lightly rub a small rag dampened with mineral spirits over the spot and it disappears immediately! And don't be afraid to use it on your finish…remember it's a thinner…NOT a paint REMOVER. Follow up with a spray wax since the solvent will erase any wax that may have been in that area.

Lastly, if you have filmy windows around the house, give em a light rub with mineral spirits followed by your favorite window cleaner.

Happy Cleaning!

Pittsburgh Penguins - Matt Cooke

If Mario Lemieux really wants to stand by his statement and subsequent proposal to the NHL for head hits, then he should never have Matt Cooke play another game as a Pittsburgh Penguin. Matt Cooke was told both by head coach Dan Bylsma and general manager Ray Shero that his cheap-shot crap had to stop. And what did he do yesterday? He hit the New York Rangers' Ryan McDonagh in the head with a blatant elbow. WHY???? There has to be something about Cooke's head when he's on the ice that has to be evaluated. I know the game is fast and you have to react quickly, but if you go back and look at what he did, he had plenty of time to decide to hit or not hit. And it doesn't matter whether or not McDonagh has a concussion, etc. This is about him being a cheap-shot asshole. Plain and simple. Look, I love the Pens as much as any other Pens' fan, but you have to call a spade a spade. And this spade is beyond black, if there ever could be such a thing. At the time of this posting, nothing has yet to be determined by the NHL as to Cooke's discipline, but I think the Penguins' organ-I-zation needs to do more. Mario sent out his statement after the Islanders' debacle. Shero went to the GM meetings to try and get a change to the head-shots policy of the NHL. Neither got much of an acknowledgment. And then Matt Cooke does this yesterday. This is a HUGE black eye on the Penguins, and they have to do something. Yes, the NHL will come down fairly hard on Matt Cooke for what he did, but I think the Penguins need to do more. What that is, I don't know. There are lots of possibilities (scratching, release, etc.). At the end of the day, I can't see Matt Cooke being a Pittsburgh Penguin next year. My opinion only. Thank you.

Uncle Ernie Says...#1 - SuperClean

Good Morning Campers!
Uncle Ernie here with a review of a product that I've come to love. SuperClean.
What makes it SUPER? Its ability to cut through grease & oil, and the way it breaks up tough stains.
You won't find it with the Windex, or the Tilex, or the Murphy's Oil Soap. That's because it's a MEAN cleaner!!! Go to the automotive section of your favorite mega-store and look for the purple gallon jug.
A warning...if you intend to use SuperClean - full strength or diluted - please wear gloves (playtex gloves or chemical-resistant form-fitting gloves). This stuff is caustic, and will harm your skin if you're not careful. Also...if left too long on painted surfaces, it could damage the paint. Look on the back of the jug for dilution ratios for different uses. I usually keep some in a spray bottle at a 2-parts-water-to-1-part-cleaner ratio for general cleaning purposes.
Cost: between $7 & $8.
And please keep out of the reach of children :)

Marcellus, coal, etc. vs. oil

I have a question. Why is it that we can drill for natural gas, dig for coal, etc, but yet not drill for oil without people getting their fucking panties in a bunch? What the hell is the difference? Drill for oil, for God's sake. What can it hurt? All it can do is help us with our energy costs. Oh, I know some of you will say "well, that's just a drop in the bucket." My retort is, at what point do you finally fucking say "enough is enough" and we start doing our own thing as a country??? Think about that, please, and get back to me when you have an intelligent response that makes sense to the contrary of this blog post. Thank you.

Westmoreland County Employees

I've had the displeasure of having to go to the Westmoreland County Courthouse for certain things over the past several months, and after having to try to call them today, with no luck, it reminded me about how the county-paid people work. When I've been there, they act like you're nothing. You're just a fly on their hand. "hurry up and get out of here" Same thing when you call. I just called today, and once again, like every time before, I have to leave a voicemail so that that person can get back to me when they're done smoking/eating/gossipping/etc...terrible...I had one question and here I still sit 2-3 hours later without an answer....I left a voicemail 90 minutes ago and here I sit with nothing. This is what what we pay for in Westmoreland County? Are you kidding me? And for those that think I was just kidding about the whole "smoking/eating/gossipping/etc" thing, then you've either never been past the courthouse many times or you've never known anyone that has worked there...I have knowledge from both sides, and, to me, it's unbelievable...it seems like all they do is sit outside and bullshit and smoke...but that's what your tax money is paying for if you live in Westmoreland County.

Review: Subway Meatball Pepperoni sub

Yesterday, I had the chance to try Subway's new $5 Footlong sub, the Meatball Pepperoni. I am a big fan of their regular meatball sub, so I figured it must be better if they add pepperoni, and for the same price. At first I was skeptical, thinking that maybe they would cut back on the meatballs since they're adding pepperoni. So I asked the female "Sandwich Artist" about that and she ensured to me that the amount of meatballs was the same, they just add pepperoni. So, with that piece of information, I went ahead with my order. I always get my subs/pizza/burgers fairly plain because I want to taste the main ingredients. I don't want a huge salad on my sub and then be wondering where the meat is. So I got my sub toasted with provolone cheese and onions (I like that Subway offers red onions as opposed to regular white/yellow onions...red are a little tamer). Upon first taste, I couldn't even tell they put pepperoni on it, even though I could tell from sight that it was there. The pepperoni really added nothing to the taste. It just seemed like a regular footlong meatball sub to me. The bread was fine, the cheese was good, as they both usually are, but the pepperoni just seemed to be a throw-in to gain customer interest. This goes along with my experience of having lasagna that had pepperoni in addition to other meats (beef, sausage) and I could never tell the pepperoni was there. I guess I should have known better before I got this sub, but the pepperoni did not detract from the sub, it just added nothing, as far as taste goes. In closing, maybe you might have a better taste experience than I did, but I don't think you'll find any difference between it and the regular meatball sub. Enjoy.

Wendy's Chili Seasoning

If you're like me and you enjoy Wendy's chili, you've probably gotten a packet or 2 of their chili seasoning. I have always loved this stuff and it certainly makes their chili much better. Especially if you can get a few more packets, if you ask. But I have always been a guy that likes my chili to be more full-flavored. So about a year or so ago, I sought out to make my own "Wendy's chili seasoning." So after a few experiments, I think I found a close recipe to it. Here's how it goes:

2  12-oz. bottles regular hot sauce ( I used Crystal hot sauce this last time)
approx. 1.5 oz. ground cumin
approx. 1/2 cup  dried chopped garlic
approx. 1/3 cup dried chopped onions



You'll also need:
one large bottle with a very tight lid...I use an old 1.75 liter bourbon bottle that has a very tight cork in it

(note: I get my cumin, garlic, and onion at Big Lots)

Put all the ingredients together into your bottle and shake it up well to combine it all very well.

Let this steep for at least one week or longer. Shake the bottle whenever you think about it, but the more you shake it, the better your results will be, in my opinion.

You can then either use this as a finishing sauce on your chili after it's served, or you can use it as an extra seasoning in your chili while it is cooking, which I prefer.

I suppose you could use garlic powder and onion powder, but I have not tried that...I like the bits of garlic and onion in my finished chili.

Enjoy!

Rayovac sucks

Rayovac virtually promised lots of people that they would be getting a couple for a free lithium 9-volt battery if they signed up for their site and installed an app, but they didn't live up to their promise. Lots of us on facebook couldn't get thru to the site to get the coupon. I wonder what that app is gonna do? HMMM They're not gonna get my business ever again, and lots of others on Facebook, I am sure, agree with me.

Liked Abie and Bimbo's Before? Here's Why

I just found out why I loved Abie and Bimbo's Pizza in Greensburg, PA so much...they used provolone cheese...I just got some provolone from Shop N Save and it tasted exactly the same as Abie and Bimbo's pizza's cheese back in the mid-90's...I now know what I am gonna use for my own homemade pizza from now on

A Good Cheese

If you're looking for a great cheese to put on your homemade pizza or meatball hoagies, look no further than Sorrento Whole Milk Mozzarella cheese. This stuff is great. So creamy and delicious. Gives you that awesomely creamy mouth-feel when you eat it. It also has that great milky taste that makes good cheese what it should be. Yeah, it may have a bit more fat, but it's worth it.

Don't Buy Maxtor/Seagate products

I bought a Maxtor external hard drive for my computer about 5 years ago. It had worked fine, up until this past September when I got a new computer. Ever since then, the drive has never been recognised by my new PC. I've sold electronics for many years and also fixed computers for a couple of years. So I called Seagate about it, and the guy tried to make me feel like an idiot. He tried to make me do all kinds of things that I had already tried to do, without any luck. When it finally came to "crunch time" I said "so I guess I'm supposed to just demolish this hard drive?" His response was "you can do what you want to do. Is there anything else I can do for you today?" That goes to show how much they care about their customers and what they want people to do with their hard drives that only lasted 5 years. I'll never buy or suggest anyone buying a Seagate/Maxtor product ever again.

Review - Earthquake Malt Liquor

For those of you that like malt liquor to try to get a quick buzz, let me advise you against Earthquake Malt Liquor. This stuff is almost disgusting. It's almost like vinegar. When I tried it on its own, I almost spit it out. Almost. I had to cut it with another regular beer, since I didn't want to waste the $2 I spent on the 24 oz. can I bought. Once I did that, it was drinkable, but I feel that made it nothing more than an average malt liquor. If you're going for a quick buzz, go with the basics like Steel Reserve or Hurricane. Otherwise, stay away from Earthquake.