• Tip of the Day: Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Pen

    Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Pen

    Dvorak is enthusiastic about Paper Mate InkJoy Gel pens after a savvy bank teller turned him on to their silky smoothness while he was endorsing his paper bank cheques. At NoAgendaFun we have a similar appreciation for a competing pen, the Pilot G2 07. Someday we hope to have a ‘Write-Off’ and compare these to scribes of the pen world.

    A cool think about this Tip of the Day, was that Adam recalled JCD talking about this pen years ago, and a show Producer quickly found the audio snippet, thanks to the amazing No Agenda Show Notes which has transcriptions of all the No Agenda episodes linked to the audio track.

    John C Dvorak: So, this goes back about 15 years. I was at Mechanics Bank, and they would turn over their tellers frequently. One of the tellers was particular about her pens, and she handed me one to sign something. I asked her, “Wow, what is this?” She told me she was always looking for the best pens because she used them all day. She had found this pen, and I’ve been using it ever since. It’s smooth, with no friction, no forcing—just an amazing product. It’s the Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Pen, the 0.7mm medium tip. Once you start using these, you’ll never go back to any other pen.

    Adam Curry: I remember us discussing pens on the show for several episodes, and I think we also landed on the Paper Mate back then. Do you recall?

    John C Dvorak: Not really, but the InkJoy specifically stands out. It makes sense—Paper Mate has been around forever.

    Adam Curry: November 24, 2016—episode 880 of No Agenda—where we discussed these pens. Seems you liked them back then, too.

    John C Dvorak: Yep, it’s a fantastic pen.

    [No Agenda Show #1706

  • Tip of the Day: Blend Your Chia Seeds

    Adding Chia Seeds to the blender to thicken up your drink

    Apparently people like to blend Chia seeds to their smoothies to thicken them up, but they can have difficulty have them blend into their beverage. John C. Dvorak suggests blending for a bit, then letting them soak for five minutes, then blend again. It’ll thicken your drink up into a nice goo!

    John C. Dvorak: Yeah, well, chia seeds—they sell them now as a nutritional thing you can add to your food. For people who don’t know, if you add a couple tablespoons of chia seeds—which are pretty tasteless—to a smoothie, milkshake, or anything like that, it’ll thicken it up like crazy. It acts as a natural thickener. The only thing is, the seeds are hard as a rock.
    Adam Curry: Do they get stuck in your teeth?
    John C. Dvorak: No, here’s the tip. You’ve got to put them through the blender and then wait five minutes so the chia seeds soak in the smoothie or juice and soften up. After that, blend it again, and it turns into a thick goo—the seeds are gone, and they won’t stick in your teeth. That’s my culinary tip of the day.
    Adam Curry: Coming soon from Gateway Publishing: toomanyseeds.com. Alright everybody, tip of the day—wow, John, dynamite.
    John C. Dvorak: Yeah, okay. Well, people will appreciate it.

    [No Agenda #1705]

  • Tip of the Day: NFL Network’s ‘Football Live’ is Cheaper than NFL RedZone

    NFL Network
    NFL Network

    This is a bit of a confusing tip as I can’t find any show called “NFL Football LIVE” listed on the NFL Network so we’ll have to take JCD’s work that this is available. Apparently, if you subscribe to YouTube TV, NFL Network is an included channel and this show (or feature) will give you nice highlight summaries of games. This is compared to NFL Red Zone, which costs another $10.99 to your YouTube TV package price.

    John C Dvorak: I have, I have, actually two tips again, one general tip, but one tip for a very select portion of the audience. If you get have Google TV,

    Adam Curry: Google YouTube TV ?

    John C Dvorak: Google I mean, sorry, YouTube TV, I don’t know. I always say that, and if you type in Google TV, get some other thing. Yeah, it’s different. It’s no good.

    Adam Curry: No, it sucks.

    John C Dvorak: There used to be a thing for NFL viewers, it’s for people who like watching football. There’s a thing called the Red Zone, which is a terrific, but you have to pay for it as terrific summary site. You don’t watch any football games. Just watch this in real time. It tells you what’s going on. But if you go to turn to the NFL networks, they have this thing like football today live, they have the during the set, during the football games on Sunday. Go to this, it’s a clone. It’s a clone. It’s a cheap clone of the Red Zone. And it’s just, it’s actually maybe better, because there’s more than one guy doing it. I’m just a tip for you football viewers.

    Adam Curry: Is it cheaper? Or was free? It’s free?

    John C Dvorak: Yeah, it’s free. If you got YouTube TV, you get the NFL Network free, and you just, you got it, you can watch this instead, and it doesn’t cost you anything. So anyway, it’s just kind of a good ball, guys.

    Adam Curry: Good tip. Good tip!

    [No Agenda #1705]

  • Tip of the Day: Masterbuilt® 30-inch Digital Electric Vertical BBQ Smoker

    Masterbuilt® 30-inch Digital Electric Vertical BBQ Smoker

    ‘John says he’s cooked over many different types of flames but this gourmand is now recommending the Masterbuilt 30-inch Digital Electric Vertical BBQ Smoker. It burns a pellet but is more affordable than the fancy Tragers out there. It’s currently only $250 on Amazon. What a deal! Here’s a link to the pellet holder JCD also recommended for cold smoking.

    John C. Dvorak: Okay, so I’ve been cooking over a fire for the last 40-50 years.

    Adam Curry: What kind of fire?

    John C. Dvorak: All kinds—open fire, every cooking method. One of the best things out there is a vertical smoker, like the Cajun Cooker. It used charcoal, and Brinkman bought it and ruined the brand. But now, people are getting into these Traeger smokers—Horowitz has one.

    Adam Curry: I have a Pit Boss.

    John C. Dvorak: They can get expensive, especially Traegers.

    Adam Curry: Mine was a gift for my 60th birthday, so it was free!

    John C. Dvorak: Well, that’s a good deal. I’ve been experimenting, and I think it’s time to try these devices. They’re for people who don’t want to deal with learning how to cook with fire. I’ve been using the Masterbuilt, a 30-inch digital electric smoker that uses wood chunks. You can probably put pellets in it too. You plug it in, set it for 12, 15, or 16 hours, and let it go.

    Adam Curry: You use it outside, right?

    John C. Dvorak: Yeah, obviously. It looks like a small refrigerator and can hold a lot—four pork butts or two 12-pound turkeys. It’s a vertical smoker with four racks. The model I’ve been using is the MB20071117.

    Adam Curry: How much does that cost?

    John C. Dvorak: The MSRP is $250, but I got it for $188 during Amazon Prime Day. For people who like the idea of slow cooking, this smoker is great. It doesn’t go above 270 degrees, designed to cook between 220 and 270.

    Adam Curry: That sounds perfect.

    John C. Dvorak: The thing with using fire is you’ve got to be careful. A Texas-style side burner can suddenly spike to 350 or 375 degrees. With this electric smoker, there’s no risk of that. It’s kind of a cheat, but a lot of people could benefit from it. Not everyone wants to cook with burning wood all the time, and it’s way cheaper than spending $500 on a Traeger or a propane device.

    [No Agenda #1704]

  • Tip of the Day: Thai Chiles from the Hmong Farmers

    Thai Chili Peppers

    One of John C. Dvorak’s pastimes is visiting the Hmong Farmer’s market. There’s much better deals than the bougie farm-to-table type. I’d often visit the farmer’s market in Oakland’s Old Town. Many Hmong farmers were represented and I’d bag terrific bargains during the last hour the market was open. Most of the food is organically grown, just not certified. This tip focuses on the hot Thai Chilies.

    John C. Dvorak: “These are tips, so they’re short and sweet. Here’s another foodie tip: I buy hot chilies from the Hmong at the farmer’s market, usually on Saturdays. They have varying heat levels, but the Thai chilies they grow are small and thin-skinned, unlike meaty chilies like jalapeños, which are much meatier. Serrano peppers are also pretty meaty.

    But these thin-skinned Thai chilies? You can buy them, and even though they’re often expensive, they will last forever if you freeze them. Seriously, you can freeze them and they’ll stay good for decades.”

    Adam Curry: “Have you tested this yourself?”

    John C. Dvorak: “Oh yeah, I’ve got some that are five years old.”

    Adam Curry: “I want you to eat one on the next show. I want to hear how it goes.”

    John C. Dvorak: “No, you throw them in sauces or something. You don’t eat them straight.”

    Unknown: “For decades? So in 10 years, Tina will be like, ‘What is this thing here?’”

    [No Agenda #1700]

  • Tip of the Day: Audacity Audio Editor

    Audacity Audio Editor
    Audacity Audio Editor

    This is a terrific tip! if you want to edit audio files use the free Audacity Audio Editor. You can convert video to audio as well as convert audio to different formats. You can even record your system audio. We’ve been using Audacity for years here at NoAgendaFun.com.

    John explains:

    John C. Dvorak: With Audacity, you’ll need to adjust the settings a little bit, but it can record system audio. Just play a video, hit the record button, and Audacity will capture whatever is playing, turning it into an audio file. Then, you can tweak the file as needed.

    Adam Curry: I don’t really understand the tip. It’s a bit unclear to me.

    John C. Dvorak: He wanted to know how to create audio files on his computer. That’s what I’m recommending.

    Adam Curry: Okay, but you didn’t fully explain how to do it. You need to set the output to the input, right?

    John C. Dvorak: Yes, I said it can be a bit tricky. You’ll need to change some settings to make it work, but it will record the system sound. I’m not going to go into every detail—these are tips, not tutorials.

    [No Agenda #1701]

  • Tip of the Day: Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Pen

    Dvorak is enthusiastic about Paper Mate InkJoy Gel pens after a savvy bank teller turned him on to their silky smoothness while he was endorsing his paper bank cheques. At NoAgendaFun we have a similar appreciation for a competing pen, the Pilot G2 07. Someday we hope to have a ‘Write-Off’ and compare these to…

  • Tip of the Day: Blend Your Chia Seeds

    Tip of the Day: Blend Your Chia Seeds

    Apparently people like to blend Chia seeds to their smoothies to thicken them up, but they can have difficulty have them blend into their beverage. John C. Dvorak suggests blending for a bit, then letting them soak for five minutes, then blend again. It’ll thicken your drink up into a nice goo! John C. Dvorak: Yeah,…

  • Tip of the Day: NFL Network’s ‘Football Live’ is Cheaper than NFL RedZone

    Tip of the Day: NFL Network’s ‘Football Live’ is Cheaper than NFL RedZone

    This is a bit of a confusing tip as I can’t find any show called “NFL Football LIVE” listed on the NFL Network so we’ll have to take JCD’s work that this is available. Apparently, if you subscribe to YouTube TV, NFL Network is an included channel and this show (or feature) will give you…

  • Tip of the Day: Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Pen

    Dvorak is enthusiastic about Paper Mate InkJoy Gel pens after a savvy bank teller turned him on to their silky smoothness while he was endorsing his paper bank cheques. At NoAgendaFun we have a similar appreciation for a competing pen, the Pilot G2 07. Someday we hope to have a ‘Write-Off’ and compare these to…

  • Tip of the Day: Blend Your Chia Seeds

    Tip of the Day: Blend Your Chia Seeds

    Apparently people like to blend Chia seeds to their smoothies to thicken them up, but they can have difficulty have them blend into their beverage. John C. Dvorak suggests blending for a bit, then letting them soak for five minutes, then blend again. It’ll thicken your drink up into a nice goo! John C. Dvorak: Yeah,…

  • Tip of the Day: NFL Network’s ‘Football Live’ is Cheaper than NFL RedZone

    Tip of the Day: NFL Network’s ‘Football Live’ is Cheaper than NFL RedZone

    This is a bit of a confusing tip as I can’t find any show called “NFL Football LIVE” listed on the NFL Network so we’ll have to take JCD’s work that this is available. Apparently, if you subscribe to YouTube TV, NFL Network is an included channel and this show (or feature) will give you…