New or Used.

Preference: Hatchback or SUV (for the trunk space).

Newly Wed and starting a family soon-ish, 1st time getting a car as well.

I'm at a loss on what gift to give to my nephew that's turning 2 in about a week.

How come LED Light Bulbs only last for about 2-3 Years?

I've bought and replaced a lot of light bulbs, and I noticed that all of them said "up to 20,000 hours" which would be about 5 years given 12 hours of daily use (which we definitely don't).

I'm looking to buy a Pixel 7 Pro and found a local shop offering two options: brand new and "brand new, soft-unlocked." I was told the soft-unlocked version is carrier-unlocked (likely from US carriers like Verizon) and will remain unlocked unless I factory reset it. If I do reset it, they said it’s a quick 5-minute fix to unlock again.

The price difference between the two is about $60. Does what they’re saying make sense, or should I be concerned about potential issues down the road?

The yellow arrow points to a leather cord tied similar to a poacher's knot to have an end loop.

The red arrow are ends of an elastic string which passes through a hole (one for each end) in the leather.

I need to tie the elastic string ends in such a way to secure both the leather cord, and on itself so that when the elastic is pulled, it will not stretch. Also it should be hard but not impossible to untie.

Also it should not be too bulky.

My SO and I discussed that engagement rings shouldn't be expensive.

What should I look for in good value rings? Lab grown diamonds? Fake diamonds? gold? white gold? silver? platinum?

Also, what kind of cut? Moissante vs Lab grown?

On non-Inverter ACs, I only need to use the power input (e.g. 800W) to calculate my energy cost for a 12-hour usage. (800*12/1000 = 9.6kW-hr)

On Inverter ACs though, I know they don't operate at 100% all the time, and most of the time the only information I get is their cooling capacity (e.g. 1hp ≈ 746W) and their EER (e.g. 12.2 kJ/hW).

How do I use these to get a rough estimate of the energy cost?

I Messed Up and Watched the AoT Summary Movies (Only the 1st Three) and Regretted it, What Scenes Were Cut Out from These Movies?

Context: I've watched up to the end of s3 and wanted to rewatch it just to refresh my memory before I start watching s4 til the end.

I thought it would be a great idea to just watch the summary movies since I've watched the 1st three seasons before.

After watching the 3rd summary movie though (that tackles the 1st half of s2), I realized how much stuff were taken out and the experience went wrong.

Now I plan to just watch the series again. But I wanted to know which scenes were taken out of these 3 summary movies so that I at least remember what I missed.

I followed this recipe and scaled it to 500g of flour (I made 15 tortillas).

It took me an hour and a half (2 hours if you count cleaning). I was wondering if there are better recipes out there to streamline the process.

I am trying to meal prep, that's why I want a big batch of flour tortillas so I can make a wrap and freeze (or freeze the tortilla individually).

I just got this using chatgpt:

Ingredients:

• 250 grams all-purpose flour

• 5 grams baking powder

• 3 grams salt

• 45 grams vegetable oil or melted butter

• About 180 grams warm water

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined.

2. Add the vegetable oil or melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Slowly add warm water, a little at a time, while stirring the mixture with a spoon or your hands until a dough forms. You may not need to use all of the water.

4. Once the dough comes together, knead it on a lightly floured surface for about 2-3 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.

5. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball.

6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough ball into a thin circle, about 15-20 centimeters in diameter.

7. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.

8. Place a rolled-out tortilla onto the hot skillet and cook for about 30-60 seconds on each side, or until lightly browned and bubbles start to form.

9. Remove the cooked tortilla from the skillet and keep warm in a clean kitchen towel while cooking the remaining tortillas.

10. Serve the freshly made flour tortillas warm with your favorite fillings or toppings.

Also, if I plan to freeze do I freeze it after cooking? or before cooking when they're flat? or round dough balls?

Can I Use my Multimeter to Test How Much Power my Appliance (TV) is Using?

I wanted to know if my TV actually uses only 50W of power.

If it's possible to use a multimeter to check, how do I do it and what should I avoid?

I want to go to Tokyo Racecourse or OI Racecourse

1. Do I need to book tickets in advance?

2. Would I be able to bet on horses even though I don't speak Japanese?

3. Which of the two (Tokyo Racecourse or OI Racecourse) should I go to?

4. Is it open on weekends? at nights? etc.

Going to Tokyo next week, here's our itinerary:

Day 01 - arrival (afternoon), shibuya, donki , and golden guy

Day 02 - Disneyland

Day 03 - tsukiji market, temple, and teamlab

Day 04 - mt fuji, and ski

Day 05 - free day or harry potter

Day 06 - Free day/Departure (night)

Just wanted to ask if there are any non-obvious things we should take note of?

edit: I'll add some more information.

We'll be travelling in a big group (16+) and we'd prefer to not move hotels.

The itinerary is kind of empty because we'd probably spend a longer amount of time than usual in every spot because of how big our group is.

Personally, I prefer food, some sightseeing, and shopping (thrift and souvenir shopping) which I'll probably do on the free day. (I was thinking somewhere along the lines of Shimokitazawa?)

I'll add:

~~1. Are there any Horse Racing Tracks where we can watch near Tokyo? (is it open on weekends?) ~~ I found Tokyo Racecourse and OI Racecourse.

1. Do I need to book tickets for the Horse Race Tracks ahead of time?

Just Got My Basic Board Game Table, Where and What Accessories Can I Add?

I commissioned this very basic board game/dining table so there isn't much going on right now.

I was wondering if I could add something detachable on the sides like cup holders or card holders.

I was thinking to hire a 3D print service or maybe there are ready-made stuff out there that I could buy instead.

I'm very excited to play on this table.

pics of the table

From this post, I got the idea to remove and replace the wheels altogether using a hacksaw.

Here's what it looks like right now. My problem now is that I can't remove the leftover metal shaft from the caster wheel.

I've tried using some lubricant and hammering it with a screwdriver but it didn't budge.

I was hoping I could disassemble it further, but I don't know how.

Can someone teach me how to disassemble the wheels? or maybe another way to remove the gunk from between the wheels so it can turn smoothly again.

pictures of the wheels

Can I Blend Frozen Cooked Shrimp (with Skin) to Create a Soup?

I have these frozen shrimps (leftover from the holidays) and I don't know what to do with it.

I was thinking I blend it up, and some water and stuff and it'd be like a soup.

Do you think it'd be a good idea?

Why don't I just defrost and cook you say? because it's already overcooked.