2026QOTD October 16-20
Oct. 15th, 2026 02:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
christopher575Full list of October questions here.
16. Do you remember any characters from comics or comic strips when you were young that people today might not be familiar with?
Beetle Bailey, Andy Capp, B.C., Prince Valiant, Dagwood, Opus the penguin and Bill the cat. I'll admit, I might not actually remember Andy Capp comics, I may have just seen the snacks.
17. It’s International Repair Day – have you ever tried to repair things yourself?
Repair or even modify. A recent example is my car's fob. I've never used its panic button on purpose, and it's pretty annoying when it happens accidentally. I took it apart hoping to find a way to disable the panic button, but I couldn't pry the piece of metal on the circuit board off.
The repair I'm most proud of is when I fixed our last dishwasher's door. The rope on the pulley system that stops the door from falling open with a thud had snapped, so it fell open with a thud. It wasn't under warranty, and a visit from a technician alone would have been $200. I'm guessing the repair would have been another $200-300, and parts would have been $50 or more. That's about as much as a new dishwasher, so I guess what I'd say about all that is the only repairs that are worth it these days are warranty repairs.
18. From October 17th to November 8th, in Croatia, the Truffle Festival is celebrated. Do you like the flavour (e.g. truffle oil, truffle-infused pasta, or cheese with truffles or something else)?
I'm not sure I've had a great example of truffle before because I think it's just ok. I bet the good stuff is amazing.
19. On International Gin and Tonic Day – will you be raising a glass?
I'll talk about this in a friends-only post soon.
20. Today is International Chef’s Day (created in 2004 by esteemed chef Dr Bill Gallagher) and is focused on educating children around the world about the importance of eating healthy, promoting the career of chefs and helping change local communities. What was the last thing you made from scratch to eat?
This! Something I haven't talked about yet is that my appetite changed after I was sick with diverticulitis. I'm just not as hungry as I used to be, so I don't keep many snacks around now and meals are a little different sometimes. A few weeks ago when we had Vietnamese for dinner, I ordered banh hoi (vermicelli noodle salad) with no noodles. And that's when I realized the sauce, nuoc cham, is a top tier salad dressing.
I've made my own before, but it's fresh and doesn't keep very long, so I decided to try making some and freezing it in an ice cube tray. It worked, though it's not as nice as the fresh version because I strained out all the garlic and chilis after the flavors married overnight. The ice cubes are a bit slushy, but tasted great when they thawed.
The photo above is from my taste test, and I was hungry enough that day to want some noodles, but we didn't have any rice vermicelli like I thought. So I used rotini, and it was great. The version from a restaurant is a lot bigger, so it makes more sense to skip the noodles entirely when they're making it. At home you can do a more reasonable portion.
My annual exam is in a few weeks and I'll talk to my doctor about my appetite. I'm sure he'll say my appetite is more "normal" now and will call it good news. Or, if he has a concern, we'll look into it.
16. Do you remember any characters from comics or comic strips when you were young that people today might not be familiar with?
Beetle Bailey, Andy Capp, B.C., Prince Valiant, Dagwood, Opus the penguin and Bill the cat. I'll admit, I might not actually remember Andy Capp comics, I may have just seen the snacks.
17. It’s International Repair Day – have you ever tried to repair things yourself?
Repair or even modify. A recent example is my car's fob. I've never used its panic button on purpose, and it's pretty annoying when it happens accidentally. I took it apart hoping to find a way to disable the panic button, but I couldn't pry the piece of metal on the circuit board off.
The repair I'm most proud of is when I fixed our last dishwasher's door. The rope on the pulley system that stops the door from falling open with a thud had snapped, so it fell open with a thud. It wasn't under warranty, and a visit from a technician alone would have been $200. I'm guessing the repair would have been another $200-300, and parts would have been $50 or more. That's about as much as a new dishwasher, so I guess what I'd say about all that is the only repairs that are worth it these days are warranty repairs.
18. From October 17th to November 8th, in Croatia, the Truffle Festival is celebrated. Do you like the flavour (e.g. truffle oil, truffle-infused pasta, or cheese with truffles or something else)?
I'm not sure I've had a great example of truffle before because I think it's just ok. I bet the good stuff is amazing.
19. On International Gin and Tonic Day – will you be raising a glass?
I'll talk about this in a friends-only post soon.
20. Today is International Chef’s Day (created in 2004 by esteemed chef Dr Bill Gallagher) and is focused on educating children around the world about the importance of eating healthy, promoting the career of chefs and helping change local communities. What was the last thing you made from scratch to eat?
This! Something I haven't talked about yet is that my appetite changed after I was sick with diverticulitis. I'm just not as hungry as I used to be, so I don't keep many snacks around now and meals are a little different sometimes. A few weeks ago when we had Vietnamese for dinner, I ordered banh hoi (vermicelli noodle salad) with no noodles. And that's when I realized the sauce, nuoc cham, is a top tier salad dressing.
I've made my own before, but it's fresh and doesn't keep very long, so I decided to try making some and freezing it in an ice cube tray. It worked, though it's not as nice as the fresh version because I strained out all the garlic and chilis after the flavors married overnight. The ice cubes are a bit slushy, but tasted great when they thawed.
The photo above is from my taste test, and I was hungry enough that day to want some noodles, but we didn't have any rice vermicelli like I thought. So I used rotini, and it was great. The version from a restaurant is a lot bigger, so it makes more sense to skip the noodles entirely when they're making it. At home you can do a more reasonable portion.
My annual exam is in a few weeks and I'll talk to my doctor about my appetite. I'm sure he'll say my appetite is more "normal" now and will call it good news. Or, if he has a concern, we'll look into it.
