OT: General OT Thread #43 - Fugu Appreciation Thread

[Jesus comma Brodin]

All food recommendations are welcome. We'll probably eat at Barbecoa which looks like a nice restaurant, but that's about all we have planned so far.

Sushi: Sushisamba
Indian: Dishoom (Shoreditch Location has a lot else around it)
Steak: So many... Oblix West in the Shard ($$$ but the views are insane,) also suggest Hawksmoore Air Street
Cocktails: Bull in a China Shop, The Gibson but if you're looking for an experience, there are a bunch of proper 'Speakeasy' style places. My favorite is, Evans and Peele Detective Agency. Great cocktails and fun time

Make sure you go to the Shard for a cocktail at the least, great views 40 floors over the top of London Bridge and Westminster.

 

[Lapa]

Sushi: Sushisamba
Indian: Dishoom (Shoreditch Location has a lot else around it)
Steak: So many... Oblix West in the Shard ($$$ but the views are insane,) also suggest Hawksmoore Air Street
Cocktails: Bull in a China Shop, The Gibson but if you're looking for an experience, there are a bunch of proper 'Speakeasy' style places. My favorite is, Evans and Peele Detective Agency. Great cocktails and fun time

Make sure you go to the Shard for a cocktail at the least, great views 40 floors over the top of London Bridge and Westminster.

Thanks for these!

 

[Wabit]

Bah, no good deed goes unpunished. We (the wife, the kid, and I) were driving around town doing some errands this afternoon, and found a dog (a shih tzu looking thing) that thought playing in traffic, on a busy road, was a good idea.
-Stopped, got the dog out of the street, and checked him over: unhurt, dirty, collar but no tags, friendly, a little scared, and a little skinny/underfed.
-Made the Dad joke: I went to a zoo once and the only animal it had was one dog. It was a shih tzu.
-Door knocked around the area, no joy.
-Called the Humane Society was closed for the day.
--Called the police to see if anyone had reported a lost dog matching the description, no joy. Police said they'd take the dog, but would prefer not to use police resources to take care of it. No biggie, I can take a dog in for the night until the Humane Society opens tomorrow.
-Tell the kid (and wife) don't get attached and don't name the dog. I repeat this many times.
-Stopped in at our vet to do a chip scan, no joy on the chip.
-Went to the dog wash and gave him a bath. No fleas or ticks found. We did find out it was not a light brown color, but actually was mostly white fur.
-Go get the dog a new collar, the one he had on would fit my German Shepard Dog (GSD), a leash, and a flea collar.
-Post some pictures on lost/found dog websites.
-Go home and introduce the dogs. The little stray shih tzu meeting: a high strung, only dog, protective GSD, on her own turf. There's an hour of my life I'll never get back, but they seem okay around each other.

A little while later I order a pizza, go to pick it up, drool over the Viper GTS in the parking lot, come home. I was gone all of 10 minutes. My 12yo daughter says to me:
-The dog was probably abandoned and not lost (I agree, but hoping someone calls for it).
-The dog's name is now Fleury (after MAF, the wife has been all in on Vegas this year).
-The vet appointment is on Monday.
-The groomers appointment is on Tuesday.

I mentioned the Humane Society (no kill shelter) and the kid starts crying and the wife is killing me in new and interesting ways with her eyes. I guess we are now a 2 dog and 3 cat house.

 

[TaLoN]

Bah, no good deed goes unpunished. We (the wife, the kid, and I) were driving around town doing some errands this afternoon, and found a dog (a shih tzu looking thing) that thought playing in traffic, on a busy road, was a good idea.
-Stopped, got the dog out of the street, and checked him over: unhurt, dirty, collar but no tags, friendly, a little scared, and a little skinny/underfed.
-Made the Dad joke: I went to a zoo once and the only animal it had was one dog. It was a shih tzu.
-Door knocked around the area, no joy.
-Called the Humane Society was closed for the day.
--Called the police to see if anyone had reported a lost dog matching the description, no joy. Police said they'd take the dog, but would prefer not to use police resources to take care of it. No biggie, I can take a dog in for the night until the Humane Society opens tomorrow.
-Tell the kid (and wife) don't get attached and don't name the dog. I repeat this many times.
-Stopped in at our vet to do a chip scan, no joy on the chip.
-Went to the dog wash and gave him a bath. No fleas or ticks found. We did find out it was not a light brown color, but actually was mostly white fur.
-Go get the dog a new collar, the one he had on would fit my German Shepard Dog (GSD), a leash, and a flea collar.
-Post some pictures on lost/found dog websites.
-Go home and introduce the dogs. The little stray shih tzu meeting: a high strung, only dog, protective GSD, on her own turf. There's an hour of my life I'll never get back, but they seem okay around each other.

A little while later I order a pizza, go to pick it up, drool over the Viper GTS in the parking lot, come home. I was gone all of 10 minutes. My 12yo daughter says to me:
-The dog was probably abandoned and not lost (I agree, but hoping someone calls for it).
-The dog's name is now Fleury (after MAF, the wife has been all in on Vegas this year).
-The vet appointment is on Monday.
-The groomers appointment is on Tuesday.

I mentioned the Humane Society (no kill shelter) and the kid starts crying and the wife is killing me in new and interesting ways with her eyes. I guess we are now a 2 dog and 3 cat house.

Awww and a stray dog finds a new forever home!

 

[Wabit]

Awww and a stray dog finds a new forever home!

Just double checking, but you're not my wife in disguise are you?

All I wanted to do was get the free lawnmower I saw on Craigslist earlier today. I coulda made a few bucks fixing it and selling it.

 

[TaLoN]

Just double checking, but you're not my wife in disguise are you?

All I wanted to do was get the free lawnmower I saw on Craigslist earlier today. I coulda made a few bucks fixing it and selling it.

I'm just an animal lover. I've taken in more than 1 stray in my life. At one point I had a 1 dog, 2 cats, 1 bird home.

Now I have a 1 cat and 1 bird home as the dog and one of the cats lived full their full happy lives.

 

[Wabit]

I'm just an animal lover. I've taken in more than 1 stray in my life. At one point I had a 1 dog, 2 cats, 1 bird home.

Now I have a 1 cat and 1 bird home as the dog and one of the cats lived full their full happy lives.

So you're saying you need another dog? Perfect.

If you want another cat I can have one shipped to you from Qatar. My sis-in-law made her home into a shelter for all the stray cats there, last count was 23.

I like animals, but I don't really get attached to them. Growing up on a farm I guess has something to do with that.

 

[TaLoN]

So you're saying you need another dog? Perfect.

If you want another cat I can have one shipped to you from Qatar. My sis-in-law made her home into a shelter for all the stray cats there, last count was 23.

I like animals, but I don't really get attached to them. Growing up on a farm I guess has something to do with that.

LOL, totally not what I said. Nice try.

As for another cat... if I ever bring in another cat now, it will have to be a very certain type of temperament cat that would allow it to become friends with my Blue Quaker Parrot Mikko.

 

[Wabit]

LOL, totally not what I said. Nice try.

As for another cat... if I ever bring in another cat now, it will have to be a very certain type of temperament cat that would allow it to become friends with my Bird Mikko.

It was worth a shot.

No biggie on the cat. Was just an offer because she hits us up all the time, seeing if we know anyone that wants a free cat. It's a neat setup she has going on. She gets donations to cover some of the food and shipping, and a local vet clinic takes care of the fixing/shots for cost.

 

[TaLoN]

It was worth a shot.

No biggie on the cat. Was just an offer because she hits us up all the time, seeing if we know anyone that wants a free cat. It's a neat setup she has going on. She gets donations to cover some of the food and shipping, and a local vet clinic takes care of the fixing/shots for cost.

Maybe someday I'll get another cat... but when you have a situation where a cat and bird are such best friends as it is... and introducing a cat to another cat is already challenging enough, I'd just be so feaful with Mikko and a new cat.

I was already scared to death what my own cats were going to do with him, but apparently I struck gold with the cats I had because from the day I brought him home, both cats were instantly in love with him as a friend.

Yet I bring Mikko to other people's houses and their cats look at him and see LUNCH!

Here's Mikko and Punk'in... best friends!

 

[Wabit]

Cool pics. We couldn't have a bird. The big dog hates all things that fly. The cats and dogs don't get along either. So the house has a baby-gate up that separates them.

We do have a cat that seems to like birds, she sits in the window and chirps to one every morning.

 

[TaLoN]

The real problem is, Mikko has been living with cats that love him to death as friends since he was 6 months old (he's about to reach 7 yrso). He has no real fear of cats in general. He sees a cat and thinks "Hey that's a safe place to flutter over to and land on and be social!"

A cat that would be unfriendly would end up having an easy lunch if he was loose in the same room.

 

[Wabit]

The real problem is, Mikko has been living with cats that love him to death as friends since he was 6 months old (he's about to reach 7 yrso). He has no real fear of cats in general. He sees a cat and thinks "Hey that's a safe place to flutter over to and land on and be social!"

A cat that would be unfriendly would end up having an easy lunch if he was loose in the same room.

I totally understand. It's like that with a lot of pets or even small children. My GSD is great with people, probably the worst guard dog ever (unless the kid was in eminent danger from anything), but hates larger dogs than her.

The thing that really gets to me is parents who let their dogs/kids/themselves just run up willy nilly to any other dog and don't look for signs of distress in the animal. Just because your dog at home is fine with whatever doesn't mean mine is.

Random fact the official breed name is German Shepard Dog. I guess because they didn't want it confused with a German Shepard man (the guy who tends goats or sheep or whatever).

 

[Uberdachen]

Condolulations on your new family member! I dread finding strays. Experiences tend to range from rare heartwarming reunions to exasperation with humanity to greaaaaaaaat definitely needed another f***ing pet.

 

[SupremeNachos]

Is the site acting strange for anyone else? I just hopped on for the first time in a week (after the new pp update) and I can't see certain peoples avatars and I have to click post reply twice for it to go through.

 

[TaLoN]

The boards are imploding.

I think it's because the Caps just won the cup.

 

[Wild11MN]

Yeah, it's the traffic from the SCF.

 

[BigT2002]

Bah, no good deed goes unpunished. We (the wife, the kid, and I) were driving around town doing some errands this afternoon, and found a dog (a shih tzu looking thing) that thought playing in traffic, on a busy road, was a good idea.
-Stopped, got the dog out of the street, and checked him over: unhurt, dirty, collar but no tags, friendly, a little scared, and a little skinny/underfed.
-Made the Dad joke: I went to a zoo once and the only animal it had was one dog. It was a shih tzu.
-Door knocked around the area, no joy.
-Called the Humane Society was closed for the day.
--Called the police to see if anyone had reported a lost dog matching the description, no joy. Police said they'd take the dog, but would prefer not to use police resources to take care of it. No biggie, I can take a dog in for the night until the Humane Society opens tomorrow.
-Tell the kid (and wife) don't get attached and don't name the dog. I repeat this many times.
-Stopped in at our vet to do a chip scan, no joy on the chip.
-Went to the dog wash and gave him a bath. No fleas or ticks found. We did find out it was not a light brown color, but actually was mostly white fur.
-Go get the dog a new collar, the one he had on would fit my German Shepard Dog (GSD), a leash, and a flea collar.
-Post some pictures on lost/found dog websites.
-Go home and introduce the dogs. The little stray shih tzu meeting: a high strung, only dog, protective GSD, on her own turf. There's an hour of my life I'll never get back, but they seem okay around each other.

A little while later I order a pizza, go to pick it up, drool over the Viper GTS in the parking lot, come home. I was gone all of 10 minutes. My 12yo daughter says to me:
-The dog was probably abandoned and not lost (I agree, but hoping someone calls for it).
-The dog's name is now Fleury (after MAF, the wife has been all in on Vegas this year).
-The vet appointment is on Monday.
-The groomers appointment is on Tuesday.

I mentioned the Humane Society (no kill shelter) and the kid starts crying and the wife is killing me in new and interesting ways with her eyes. I guess we are now a 2 dog and 3 cat house.

GSD owner as well! Yes, they can take awhile to really let someone into the domicile they've basically been protecting lol. Hope they become good friends and this doesn't kill ya too much. I know it can be hard having more than what you expected to own.

 

[TaLoN]

So I guess I have a wheel bearing going bad on the Audi. I started hearing a slight droning noise at speed a few days ago. At first it seemed like it was tire noise... I put the car into neutral at speed and the droning stayed the same, so I knew it was at least tire/wheel related. I tried the "swerve test" but didn't notice any change in the noise or the feel of the car, so I wasn't able to identify anything further. Then as the week went on, the droning sound was getting progressively louder. It's pretty hard to ignore it at this point. At lunch tonight from work I did the "swerve test" again, and definitely felt the car grind a bit and heard the droning sound change in pitch when turning left... telltale sign of the right front wheel bearing going bad.

Considering the car is only approaching 40,000 miles I thought that was a little early for this issue to come up, so I checked google to see if there is anything known about this with the S4. It sounds like a TSB was issued for this very thing. The factory had some suspect wheel bearings I guess, but not known enough to be a full recall. If the bearings fail while the car is still in the factory warranty period they will swap them under warranty. Usually wheel bearings aren't considered a warranty item since they are considered more of a consumable like tires etc. I remember my Hyundai Tiburon - I went through two sets of wheel bearings in the front, the first set went out around 65k miles... that was well within the 10yr 100k warranty but that didn't cover the bearings.

At least it's a pleasant surprise to know I'll get the right front bearings swapped out for free. I'll ask them if they can just do both at the same time under warranty since the other isn't far behind in wear typically, but I won't be surprised if they say no to that. Warranty work usually requires the part to go bad before they'll change it.

Either way, looks like I'll be calling Audi to schedule service for Monday... and drive a little slower and wince as I hear that droning sound now. I know it's probably ok to drive on it until Monday (I drove well over 1k on droning bearings on the Tiburon in the past, this will just be 100 miles or so from now until Monday), but I also know that once the bearings fail, the result is catastrophic. That potential failure will just be continuously in my thoughts until it's repaired.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Anthony Bourdain died by suicide.

Such a loss, his travel shows really inspired me and my Fiancee to get out and go more places and he was such a great TV personality.

 

[Lapa]

Anthony Bourdain died by suicide.

Such a loss, his travel shows really inspired me and my Fiancee to get out and go more places and he was such a great TV personality.

Loved his shows.

RIP.

 

[Uberdachen]

Anthony Bourdain died by suicide.

Such a loss, his travel shows really inspired me and my Fiancee to get out and go more places and he was such a great TV personality.

Huge bummer. Liked all his stuff, especially Parts Unknown lately. He sure brought up those demons a lot...

 

[tomgilbertfan]

 

[Uberdachen]

I can't see Sean Brock without thinking this



But back to Bourdain:

 

[TaLoN]

So I guess I have a wheel bearing going bad on the Audi. I started hearing a slight droning noise at speed a few days ago. At first it seemed like it was tire noise... I put the car into neutral at speed and the droning stayed the same, so I knew it was at least tire/wheel related. I tried the "swerve test" but didn't notice any change in the noise or the feel of the car, so I wasn't able to identify anything further. Then as the week went on, the droning sound was getting progressively louder. It's pretty hard to ignore it at this point. At lunch tonight from work I did the "swerve test" again, and definitely felt the car grind a bit and heard the droning sound change in pitch when turning left... telltale sign of the right front wheel bearing going bad.

Considering the car is only approaching 40,000 miles I thought that was a little early for this issue to come up, so I checked google to see if there is anything known about this with the S4. It sounds like a TSB was issued for this very thing. The factory had some suspect wheel bearings I guess, but not known enough to be a full recall. If the bearings fail while the car is still in the factory warranty period they will swap them under warranty. Usually wheel bearings aren't considered a warranty item since they are considered more of a consumable like tires etc. I remember my Hyundai Tiburon - I went through two sets of wheel bearings in the front, the first set went out around 65k miles... that was well within the 10yr 100k warranty but that didn't cover the bearings.

At least it's a pleasant surprise to know I'll get the right front bearings swapped out for free. I'll ask them if they can just do both at the same time under warranty since the other isn't far behind in wear typically, but I won't be surprised if they say no to that. Warranty work usually requires the part to go bad before they'll change it.

Either way, looks like I'll be calling Audi to schedule service for Monday... and drive a little slower and wince as I hear that droning sound now. I know it's probably ok to drive on it until Monday (I drove well over 1k on droning bearings on the Tiburon in the past, this will just be 100 miles or so from now until Monday), but I also know that once the bearings fail, the result is catastrophic. That potential failure will just be continuously in my thoughts until it's repaired.

Well... unfortunately I couldn't get a Monday appointment, nothing available until Wednesday to swap out the wheel bearings. The bright side is, the weather at that time is expected to be so much better, so I'm going to have them do a full detail at the same time.

It'd be nice if the weather would cooperate more than it is though, since I'd rather drive it as little as possible in the mean time... yet rain in the forecast tonight and tomorrow night, so unable to drive the Shelby to work instead (yeah, I know, first world problems). I don't have to go anywhere Sunday and Monday though so the rain those days is no big deal. So once I get home from work Sunday morning, I don't have to go anywhere until Tuesday at the earliest, and the weather is supposed to be great that day so I'll be able to take the vert. That just then leaves the trip to the dealer Wednesday to get her fixed and shined.

Still should be fine, but that didn't stop me from having a perpetual wince going the entire 20 mile drive to work... especially on the freeway.