About Don Munsil

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  How do I respond to the statement, "I have a date with Jesus tonight."

  7 0 Some choices: "That two-timing jerk! He said he loved me!" "I hope he doesn't use that 'this is my body, broken for you' line. That one's got whiskers on it." "Don't order bread or fish or you'll never get out of the restaurant." I'll be here all week! Try the veal! Don Munsil answered in Whatever over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 13 more answers »

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  What is the best item to be found in Uwajimaya?

  2 0 Asian crunchy snacks are great. Calbee Shrimp Chips. Calbee Green Pea Crisps. (They're not the same as the ones at Trader Joes; the ones in Asian groceries have powdered fish in them and taste much better.) Fried rice crackers. Pretty much any snack by Calbee is worth trying. The BBQ corn snacks don't taste like any kind of BBQ I've ever had, but have a nice savory soy-sauce and corn flavor unlike any American snack. Don Munsil answered in Food & Drink over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 25 more answers »

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  Corn dogs (and/or drive-ins) on the Eastside?

  1 0 I'm sad to say the nearest place I know of with corn dogs is in Seattle: Danny's Wonder Freeze in the Pike Place Market. It's a tiny window in the pedestrian hall just across from the big newsstand, right near DeLaurenti's. It's a serious hand-dipped corn dog just like the State Fair. And you can get an egg cream or a dipped cone while you're there. There is also a Hot Dog On A Stick in the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. Matt's Gourmet Hot Dogs in Totem Lake doesn't have corn dogs, but does have good chili dogs and Chicago-style dogs. As for drive-ins, I second the recommendation for Burgermaster. It also seems like it wouldn't be too difficult to fry a corn dog. The batter isn't much more complicated than corn bread, and I think you could make it in a skillet the way you'd make pan-fried chicken - fry one side, then turn it over with tongs and fry the other. It might be a little uneven, but I bet it'll taste great. Good luck! Don Munsil answered in Food & Drink over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 7 more answers »

• Comment on astro's answer…

  0 0 I beg to differ; IMO Burgermaster is right up there with the best local burger joints anywhere. It's not as good as, say, the Campus U-Tote-Em in Ellensburg, or Red Mill, but still a top-notch greaseburger. Don Munsil commented over 2 years ago

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  What's the best way to poach an egg?

  2 0 I basically use Cook's Illustrated's method, and it seems to work quite well. - Use a high-sided non-stick skillet with a lid, and fill it almost full of water (at least 1.5 inches of water). If you have no lid, improvise with a big plate or go buy a generic lid. - Add about a tablespoon of vinegar (to help set the white) and a teaspoon or so of salt (for flavor) - Bring water to a full rolling boil. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into teacups or shallow bowls, one egg per cup. This technique won't work for more than about 4 eggs in a 10-12 inch skillet. - Once the water is fully boiling, turn the heat OFF. Wait about 10-20 seconds for the water to go to a bare simmer. Quickly slide the eggs into the water, two at a time (one bowl/cup in each hand). I actually put the cups in the water and turn them to let the egg float out. - Cover the pan and wait 4-5 minutes. In four minutes, you'll have a runny poached egg. In five, it'll be soft-set but still a bit runny. Start the toaster now (if you're having toast). - Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the pan. Keep in mind that some of the egg white will form billowy shreds like egg drop soup no matter what you do, but the bulk of the egg will form a nice tight oval sitting on the bottom of the pan. Don't worry about the shreds of egg white floating in the water; use the slotted spoon to gently slide under the main oval and pull it out. If you like your eggs firmer, then instead of turning the heat all the way off, you should turn it to low. If you're using an electric stove, then turn another burner to low and move the pan to the new burner. The old one will remain hot too long and will stay boiling. That's it! The silicone egg poacher sounds like a workable idea, but not really necessary. Don Munsil answered in Food & Drink over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 8 more answers »

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  What is there to do in Portland, Maine?

  2 0 Make a pilgrimage to the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth (which is a suburb of Portland). It's at Two Lights, which is a great place to visit just for the scenery. Two lighthouses right on the rocky shore. Even on cloudy cold days it's a beautiful spot. Recommended items: the lobster roll, the fried shrimp boat. But it's all very very good. It closes for the season at the end of October, so I hope you'll be going earlier than that. http://lobstershacktwolights.com/ Don Munsil answered in Trips & Travel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 4 more answers »

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  How do you fix a sticky keyhole?

  4 0 The short answer is lubricant. You would want to avoid using anything sticky or thick. If the oil is sticky it will collect dust and form a cluster of crud that will, as you say, gum up the lock. But that's not going to happen instantly, and the crud can generally be cleaned out if it happens. If the key is hard to get into the lock, that means the pins aren't sliding up easily. You need to get lubricant into the pins. That means you need a spray lubricant, unless you want to pull the lock, disassemble it, clean it, lubricate it and put it back. You can use WD-40 or spray graphite, or frankly, just about any other spray lubricant; locks are not a super-high-tech device where very specific lubricants are necessary. Just don't use anything thick. I use WD-40, but some locksmiths swear by graphite. Graphite isn't sticky, but in my view it's not as effective a lubricant. Also, the carrier for spray graphite is not as good at clearing out any crud that has already gummed up the lock (if any). Bottom line: good old WD-40 would be fine. It's nothing more complicated than a light machine oil in a volatile carrier. The carrier carries the machine oil into all the crevices, then evaporates, leaving a thin layer of machine oil, which is exactly what you want. Push the thin tube into the lock, not very far (certainly not all the way to the end), and give it a few short squirts. Some of it will run out, so make sure you have some paper towels and maybe some rubbing alcohol to clean off the drips. Wait a few seconds, then push the key in and out to work the oil into the pins. The key should feel easier to push in right away. If it doesn't, then lubrication is probably not your problem, but you can try a few more squirts and working the key a bit more. If it loosens, great. If it doesn't, you can do the whole disassembly and cleaning thing, but you're probably better off replacing the lock at that point. Don Munsil answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 8 more answers »

• Comment on Lilting Missive's answer…

  0 0 While it's theoretically possible to create a DRM system for AVI files, I don't know of any offhand. At least I don't know of any that used the extension "AVI." I think DivX created a DRM format that used AVI as the container, but the file extension was .DIVX, and it was never popular. Don Munsil commented over 2 years ago

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  Can avi files be transfered via flash drive?

  0 0 In general, AVI files can be moved via flash drives, but one issue is that by default flash drives are formatted with FAT32, which has a maximum file size of 4GB. So if you have any AVIs larger than 4GB, they won't work with an off-the-shelf flash drive or memory card. To get around this, you can reformat the flash drive with one of the file systems that support huge files. My recommendation is exFAT, which is supported by Windows 7 natively and Vista and XP as of the latest service packs. It's compact, fast, and designed for flash memory. If you want something with better interoperability with Macs and Linux, right now NTFS is easier to read on those systems. But I expect that to change soon, and NTFS is very heavyweight in terms of space and performance. Don Munsil answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 3 more answers »

• Comment on Don Munsil's answer…

  0 0 Addendum: One mid-priced camera worth looking at is the Panasonic FX500. Consumer Reports thought it had a usable picture up to ISO 1600, though I don't know their methodology. The user reviews on DPReview are stellar. And it has a f/2.8 lens, which should be helpful in low-light. In general Panasonic has been putting out some very nice stuff recently. I'm mostly a Canon guy, but I do own a Panasonic LX2 (the predecessor to the LX3) and I like it. Don Munsil commented over 2 years ago

• See all of my 0 Questions , 10 Answers and 4 Comments