John M

Ok, so I have cooked tri-tip several times using charcoal. I use a dry rub, and after searing the meat over the hot coals, I place it in the cool part of the Webber to smoke for about an hour and a half. Then, for an additional half hour, I add the sauce and let that cook on for a total of 2 hours cooking time. This always worked fine for about a 1 1/2 to 2 pound tri tip roast. Nicely cooked, great smoky flavor.

So recently I tried switching to oak. Just regular untreated oak wood like the kind you get delivered for your fireplace. I used oak to make burgers, which I smoked using the same method described above only a shorter cooking time (about a half hour) and I did not add sauce while smoking. Again, no problems.

Then I used oak for tri-tip, same cooking time as with charcoal, add sauce in the last half hour, all the same. The meat was well cooked, seared over an open flame to start and seemed fine in color and texture. But the taste was horrible. Probably the most horrible barbeque I have ever had, maybe the worst meal I ever made. It tasted like an ashtray, almost acrid, pretty much inedible.

Where did I go wrong?

I'm working on a case where the time a text message was sent is important. The GPS on the phone has it in Northern California. The case is in Northern California. On the phone text log, the text was sent at 4 a.m. (UTC+0) Does that mean the text was sent at 4 a.m. according to California time?

There are two laptops in a house. Both laptops get internet from a wireless router. While at the house, only one laptop can use the internet at a time because the other laptop gets a "limited or no connectivity" prompt since the IP address cannot be established. When the laptop with an internet connection gets turned off, the other laptop which previously could not connect can suddenly get an IP address and use the internet. The router at the house appears functional. Both laptops are functional. When either laptop is taken to an office in town with wireless, both laptops can use the internet simultaneously without issue. Why does this happen?

This is a very specific question, does anyone have the citation to a California case where the alleged victim of a violation of a restraining order lured the defendant to him/her? The situation is this, the protected party called defendant to her home to take care of the kids. Then the protected party notified law enforcement of a violation of restraining order. Does anyone have a california case dealing with this situation?

I understand that China "pegs" their currency to the U.S. dollar, although some have called it a soft peg. I understand that China does this to keep their currency undervalued so that their exporters have an advantage and foreign importers are at a disadvantage. My question is this, why would pegging create that advantage?

Let's say that the rate was 1 U.S. dollar to 10 Chinese yuan (I think it's actually 6.8). If the rate was always 1 U.S. dollar to 10 Chinese yuan, why would that make a difference? After all, if China decided to do business in dimes rather than dollars, wouldn't it all amount to the same thing? How does pegging actually change the underlying value of currency?

This question and debate made me think about it http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201001...

Say there was a law in the works that would allow any prisoner to petition the state for lethal injection. The state would be mandated to fully screen the prisoner for mental competency before granting the petition. If the prisoner was serving life without parole or was awaiting a death penalty, no mental health screening would be necessary. Would you agree with this law?

Bear in mind that suicide in prison is currently absolutely forbidden and guards will do all they can to prevent a prisoner from killing themselves.

I read a particular hardboiled noir type book years ago and I can't remember the title. I recall a detective and a mob enforcer team up even though the enforcer had had an affair with the detective's wife at one point. There was a serial killer involved who used the jaws of an animal in place of his own teeth to kill. I think a wolverine's jaws, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts?

I am not looking to watch this fight for free. I am willing to pay if I don't have to download anything and if I can watch this fight streaming on my laptop from a reliable website I feel confident in giving card information to. I do not have a tv, I do not have cable. Any possibilities?

I don't know why HBO doesn't offer this service, or if they do, why it's so hard to find on their website. I also looked at the MGM website, they don't have it.

I have a little smith .38 snub in matte silver. It's getting some strange corrosion, shaped almost like a water stain, in the finish. I'm it's going to spread to the steal. I can't seem to police it off either. I'd like to get the gun blued because I'm really disappointed with the present finish. Can such a thing be done?

I'm trying to do slow roast pork shoulder. The recipe for the first stage instructs me to salt and pepper the roast, cover it, and then put it in the fridge for two to three days. What is this sitting in the fridge without any kind of oil or vinegar marinade supposed to do?

I'd like to play Total War: Empire, which requires the following:

2.4 Ghz processor

256 MB video card

1 GB RAM XP

15 GB hard disk space

I have an ATI mobility X1400 Radeon card, 256, which I guess is just ok. I have 1.5 GB of RAM and about 30GB of free hard disk space. My laptop has a centrino duo processor, with 1.66 ghz per processor.

Does the fact that I have two processors adding up to more ghz than required do the trick? Is my video card going to make the game virtually unplayable? Any recommendations, if its possible to upgrade, would be helpful.

My wife is using Firefox and trying to search for things in Google. When she searches, the correct titles of the websites come up, like Wikipedia, various shopping sites, etc. However, the actual web link goes to a shopping browser, not wikipedia, not amazon, etc. This is every single thing that comes up with every google search. We reloaded firefox, checked settings on google and ran antivirus. Nothing works. Thoughts?

Why is Germany "Germany" in English, Alemania in Spanish and Deutschland in German? If it were England, it's relatively consistent in each language.

So now with De la Hoya out of the picture, what is going to happen at welterweight in the next two years? I'm assuming Cotto/Margaritto 2 is going to happen, but what about Williams? Is Pacquiao going to stay at 147 or go back to lightweight? Is Hatton going to try to return to 147? I just can't see Pacquiao or Hatton beating huge guys like Cotto, Margaritto and Williams.

I was just wondering if there is going to be a reigning champ at welterweight in the near future or if we can just expect to see more huge fights that just raise more questions.

I felt it was a very convincing win by Hatton, but I thought Malignaggi's corner threw in the towel early. Malignaggi didn't seem to have much fight in him but he was on his feet and he wasn't getting consistently pummeled.

Here's an example of an irate person with 1 question, 95 points who has never answered a question: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArupX...

Do you look at askers before answering their questions? If they never pick a best answer, do you answer them? I've found that these hysterical long winded persons ask questions, get a several well written and lengthy answers, only to never pick a best answer.

This seems particularly bad in the legal section. I suppose this is because many of the people asking questions here are 1) messed up selfish people and/or 2) are too embarrassed to use their regular account.

I recently researched the tarp tent below:

http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=...

It is airy and easy to sent up like a tarp, has a bug mesh and a reliable floor. It doesn't require tent poles but can be set up with hiking poles and sleeps two. It is extremely light and packs very small.

I think this is the best shelter out on the market for two people, but it's expensive. Other manufacturers that make similar products (GoLite, Black Diamond) are either more expensive or not as good with fewer features.

Are there any other tarp tent manufacturers out there with better prices? I'm not interesting in anything that requires more than a hiking pole or two to set up or anything without a floor/bug net. Thanks.

1) The KM2000 by Original Eickhorn has Bohler N695 Steel.

http://www.original-eickhorn.de/index.php?ID=107&c...

2) The KM2000 by Waffentechnik Borkott/Eickhorn has 440A steel.

http://www.waffentechnik-solingen.com/KM2K_en.html

These two companies used to be one. Evidently the Brits bought Eickhorn the company which still makes knives in Solingen using the same production team. Eickhorn the family went off to make Waffentechnik. The two knives look the same, but which is stronger, tougher and all around better? How much difference does the steel make? Please don't suggest a third option.

Is there such a thing that, with a movement of the hand or arm, a knife pops out of your sleeve and into your hand? I've seen this in movies many times and I was just curious if the device actually existed or could somehow be improvised. PLEASE PLEASE do not waste time talking about how illegal it is, that would not be answering the question, I just want to know if this kind of thing exists or can be made.

Is there a maximum speed that water can be pushed through a pipe or hose such that it can't move any faster? What happens to water when it gets beyond that speed? Does it just not move faster or does it turn to steam?