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ApisMellifera
| Favorite team: | Air Force  |
| Location: | SWLA |
| Biography: | |
| Interests: | |
| Occupation: | |
| Number of Posts: | 774 |
| Registered on: | 4/3/2023 |
| Online Status: | Not Online |
Recent Posts
Message
re: Is a reel mower worth it?
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/20/26 at 9:58 am to AlxTgr
quote:
There may be some internal bias as well from missing fairways and having to hit out of Bermuda rough.
:lol:
I preferred St. Aug too at first because that's all I had growing up. When I moved into my current house, it was a new build that I had to add a lot of dirt so that the backyard didn't stay wet. I seeded with a hybrid bermuda after doing a lot of research stemming from fighting the slow recovery of centipede in an almost pure sand yard in coastal Florida. 8 years later I wouldn't dream of going back.
Cutting can be a pain, especially during busy times (tax season) or weeks of a lot of rain, but for me personally it's worth it. I know it isn't for everyone though.
0
re: Is a reel mower worth it?
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/20/26 at 7:37 am to AlxTgr
quote:
It blows my mind that people voluntarily have Bermuda lawns.
Why's that?
I've had St. Aug, Centipede, and Bermuda at different points. By far my favorite is bermuda. It requires more cutting and fertilizing, but it's tough as nails, recovers from damage quickly (thanks to 4 kids and a dog who could burn a hole through concrete with his pee), and provides an amazing turf for my kids to run barefoot on.
IMO, the biggest reasons to not have bermuda is if you have a lot of shade or just don't have the time/want to cut frequently. Both of which are very valid.
My experience with St. Aug was that there were disease issues and the large blades always stuck to feet and didn't feel as good to walk on. Centipede just couldn't keep up being constantly damaged from dogs alone.
re: Pizza Dough
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/18/26 at 7:47 am to SATNIGHTS
This poolish recipe has never failed me.
The Perect Pizza Dough by Vito Iacopelli
The Perect Pizza Dough by Vito Iacopelli
quote:
Servings: 8 Pizza's
Ingredients
POOLISH:
300ml Lukewarm Water
5g Dry Yeast
5g Honey
300g 00 Flour
DOUGH:
700ml Lukewarm Water
40g Salt
1,250g 00 Flour
Steps
POOLISH:
-Mix together all ingredients
-Cover and set at room temperature for 1-hour
-After rest place overnight in fridge
DOUGH:
-NOTE: Remove Poolish from frig 30-45 min to bring to room temperature. In a large bowl, add the Poolish, flour and all of the salt. IMPORANT: Add water a little at a time. DO NOT add all at once. Flour needs to absorb water little by little before adding more.
-Using a Kitchenaid stand mixer with dough hook, mix for 8-10 minutes; or hand knead for 10+ mins---dough will be sticky but together.
-Remove bowl and keeping top on top always, using bench scraper work dough with hands kinda like a big ball, with fingers underneath lifting dough off board, repeat.
-Coat a little olive oil in mixing bowl then gently place dough in bowl; allow to rest/rise for 1-hour with cover.
-Remove dough onto work board; coat your hands with olive oil and pat on top of the dough. Use a clean towel to cover dough after cutting each piece.
-Weigh dough on scale; 250 - 310 gr per ball. Keeping top always on top, fold dough under itself, turn and repeat. Shape dough on counter, small circles, pulling dough ball toward you several times to seal bottom side. Keep your hands oiled so dough remains soft and pliable. This method makes nice round balls.
-Coat a sheet pan with flour and place dough balls about 2-3 fingers apart; little oil on top dough balls and cover with plastic wrap.
-Rest at room temp for 2-hours. Store in frig up to 5-days.
Notes
I ALWAYS use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer vs. hand-kneading. My dough comes out perfect every time.
re: Is a reel mower worth it?
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/18/26 at 7:38 am to PapaPogey
It depends on a lot of different things.
How big of a yard do you have?
Do you have the ability to cut 2-3 times a week?
How flat is the yard?
Do you have debris you'll have to pick up frequently (pine cones, limbs, etc.)?
A reel mower isn't really something you can pick up and choose to mow with when you feel like it. The grass needs to be pretty close to the cut height already for it not to get bound up.
I purchased a reel mower but I just don't have the time to do it. I honestly could squeeze it in after work throughout the week but I think it would become a chore instead of something I enjoy. As it stands, I haven't been able to dedicate the time needed so far this year just to combat the weeds. I'm hoping to change that here very soon.
In a perfect world, I would have everything else under control and just pick it up in the evenings to use as a small workout instead of sitting my butt on the couch.
What you may be able to do is just get a self-propel as a happy medium. Much quicker and I find it mows much better than my ztr.
How big of a yard do you have?
Do you have the ability to cut 2-3 times a week?
How flat is the yard?
Do you have debris you'll have to pick up frequently (pine cones, limbs, etc.)?
A reel mower isn't really something you can pick up and choose to mow with when you feel like it. The grass needs to be pretty close to the cut height already for it not to get bound up.
I purchased a reel mower but I just don't have the time to do it. I honestly could squeeze it in after work throughout the week but I think it would become a chore instead of something I enjoy. As it stands, I haven't been able to dedicate the time needed so far this year just to combat the weeds. I'm hoping to change that here very soon.
In a perfect world, I would have everything else under control and just pick it up in the evenings to use as a small workout instead of sitting my butt on the couch.
What you may be able to do is just get a self-propel as a happy medium. Much quicker and I find it mows much better than my ztr.
re: Moving soon and need recs on some items: UPDATED
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/14/26 at 4:29 pm to King of New Orleans
quote:
I didn’t realize they were that frowned upon.
In general, yes but there's always an exception to every rule.
I got this Whirlpool back in 2018 and haven't had a single issue with it (knock on wood). I mainly got it because it has dual icemakers so if the one in the door went out, I had a backup. I also was looking for one that the icemaker didn't take up a quarter of the room in the fridge area. Between both icemakers, I don't run out of ice even if we have people over.
re: AI in the Workplace - Open Discussion
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/14/26 at 12:47 pm to Lazy But Talented
quote:
What is your role and what industry are you in?
CPA and team manager at a public accounting firm.
quote:
Did your company already have any type of automation in place before the AI push, and if so...what were you using?
No, there weren't many standardized processes before I came along. Everything was custom to each client. For a little over a year, I have been working with one of the partners to get SOPs established with the hope of automating some of the routine tasks.
quote:
Who is spearheading the AI transformation at your company? Is it leadership, IT, or someone else?
The above-mentioned partner and myself.
quote:
Are you feeling pressure to move faster than is realistic or is your team handling the pace well?
The only pressure I feel is self-inflicted. I'm starting to see how much it can help and want to get there as fast as possible because I hate wasting time.
For example, right now I'm in Claude building out a skill that we can use to sort through transactions to separate business vs personal expenses. From there it will categorize the business expenses that we can then use on the tax return and also highlight transactions that need to be discussed with the client. It will do all of this using 3 SOPs we have already built for this process.
Doing this manually takes a ton of time, especially when trying to clean up the vendor list. When I get this skill working how I want, it will turn what used to be a task that took at least an hour (sometimes 3-4 depending on the number of transactions) into a 5-minute process.
Now, what also needs to be ironed out is security and making sure any client info is scrubbed from the document before uploading.
re: Odd grassy weed
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/11/26 at 11:48 am to CrawDude
quote:
Can’t provide an ID though I’m quite sure it’s not Torpedograss. The LSU AgCenter has a new horticultural & turf weed extension specialist Colton Blankenship LINK - you might want to send him these photos and details you provided on TD and see what he thinks. If he can’t ID usually they’ll send the photo to others colleagues to see what they think it might be. Easier to ID a grassy “weed” when it has a seedhead.
I ended up sending him an email but the pictures didn't go through the first time. I may just end up pointing him to this thread. :lol:
re: Odd grassy weed
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/8/26 at 6:55 pm to DickTater
I think I have the same thing. Lime green patches throughout the yard. Real soft blades. Celsius knocks it back for a little bit but comes right back. Never produces a seed head.
re: Ronk or Crawdude. Fertilizer price
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/8/26 at 10:51 am to Ziggy
quote:
I'll have to quit my full time job to do that, especially with trying to fit that in between rains, etc.
I let my 8 and 9 year old cut for the first time last week. I had them split the back with the self propel and I took the front with the ZTR. The 8 year old wanted to use the reel mower. Made it about 50ft before he said nahh :lol:
I've neglected my lawn so far this year due to work which is a shame since I seeded it with Princess 77 when I moved in. I need to get a post emergent down ASAP.
Ronk or Craw, would temps right now be good for Celsius or is there something else that would work better until it warms up another 5-10 degrees?
Also, is everyone just biting the bullet with a backpack sprayer or is there something else I can use to spray 15k sqft? I don't have a tractor mower or 4 wheeler to pull a tank.
re: Adding skills to Claude
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/8/26 at 10:12 am to DonJuanDaMiles
Just this morning I went ahead and got a Udemy course on Claude Code, Cowork, and Chat. 15 hours total of content.
I did this after reading an article on X about Cowork and plugins. The summary of it was how using it as a smart file organizer (which I was dabbling in yesterday and was pretty impressed with) was the "junior version" of Cowork. It went on to describe the process of how to build plugins and skills to create your own assistant tailored towards your role in the industry.
It also went deeper on how to not only build those skills but then how to test them, what to do when something goes wrong, and your cadence of how often to make changes and what the timeline should look like for improvement. It was very interesting.
I did this after reading an article on X about Cowork and plugins. The summary of it was how using it as a smart file organizer (which I was dabbling in yesterday and was pretty impressed with) was the "junior version" of Cowork. It went on to describe the process of how to build plugins and skills to create your own assistant tailored towards your role in the industry.
It also went deeper on how to not only build those skills but then how to test them, what to do when something goes wrong, and your cadence of how often to make changes and what the timeline should look like for improvement. It was very interesting.
re: HBO has officially renewed their Harry Potter series for Season 2
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/7/26 at 12:25 pm to chryso
quote:
Well, this IS HBO. I am sure there will be a lot more nudity and sex.
In a Harry Potter series about a bunch of kids? I sure hope not :lol:
re: Official US/Israel vs Iran war thread
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/6/26 at 3:02 am to moontigr
I have to assume at this point that Trump is doing his absolute best to separate any past actions as part of Epic Fury and any future actions as part of a new operation to get around the war powers time limit. He knows if it goes to vote, congress won't give him an extension so he has to make it absolutely clear that the previous operation has ended and anything else would fall under a different engagement, ultimately resetting the clock.
re: FBS coaches want 24 teams and an end to conference title games…
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/6/26 at 2:51 am to Ford Frenzy
quote:
It really sucks that enjoying and following LSU football which I did as a kid religiously is something I will not get to do as a parent
Amen. I won't have nearly the same passion which is something I never thought I'd sat 6-7 years ago.
re: Thouhts on RV's/Campers/Sprinter Vans
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/4/26 at 4:00 pm to LSUShock
I bought a Grand Design Imagine 2400BH last year. My wife and I had always kicked around the idea of getting a camper because we have a lot of family that have them. We weren't in the market but couldn't pass up the deal that fell into our lap.
We have had an incredible time so far. We have 4 kids ranging from 10 to 1 year old. We all have a blast and the kids are constantly asking when the next trip is.
Pros:
- Quality time with the family (absolute #1 for us) and gets everyone away from a screen.
- You know exactly what you have and what you don't (you aren't relying on what is at a cabin/condo/ etc.).
- The camper community is massive and overwhelmingly friendly. You meet a lot of nice people while camping.
- Limited storage makes you realize you don't need half the things you usually bring.
- Cooking your own meals helps cut down on costs that would otherwise go towards restaurants.
Cons:
- Something will break, it's inevitable. Get good at fixing things yourself.
- Setup/tear down time makes long trips for a weekend not worth it.
- The extra fuel cost is real.
- The prep needed before you go camping isn't for everyone. Checklists are the best way to make sure you aren't forgetting anything.
In the end, if you aren't a DIY type of person who can't handle beginner to moderate repairs, I would say getting a camper isn't for you. I also don't advise people getting one if they are trying to save money.
If you are looking to create memories with your family and know your way around a wrench, the go for it. Half the fun is trying new places and letting your kids go nuts then sitting around at the end of the day laughing about all the goofy things that have happened.
Because of my profession, we can't use our camper from mid-February to April 15th (taxes) but it's still worth it for us. I just pulled the cover off my camper last weekend in preparation for our first trip of the season. My wife was hesitant at first but now she's so glad we pulled the trigger. We're planning a quite a few trips this summer and already have a Labor Day meet up with some family booked. We're also planning a Disney trip and staying at the Campgrounds at Disney early next year.
We have had an incredible time so far. We have 4 kids ranging from 10 to 1 year old. We all have a blast and the kids are constantly asking when the next trip is.
Pros:
- Quality time with the family (absolute #1 for us) and gets everyone away from a screen.
- You know exactly what you have and what you don't (you aren't relying on what is at a cabin/condo/ etc.).
- The camper community is massive and overwhelmingly friendly. You meet a lot of nice people while camping.
- Limited storage makes you realize you don't need half the things you usually bring.
- Cooking your own meals helps cut down on costs that would otherwise go towards restaurants.
Cons:
- Something will break, it's inevitable. Get good at fixing things yourself.
- Setup/tear down time makes long trips for a weekend not worth it.
- The extra fuel cost is real.
- The prep needed before you go camping isn't for everyone. Checklists are the best way to make sure you aren't forgetting anything.
In the end, if you aren't a DIY type of person who can't handle beginner to moderate repairs, I would say getting a camper isn't for you. I also don't advise people getting one if they are trying to save money.
If you are looking to create memories with your family and know your way around a wrench, the go for it. Half the fun is trying new places and letting your kids go nuts then sitting around at the end of the day laughing about all the goofy things that have happened.
Because of my profession, we can't use our camper from mid-February to April 15th (taxes) but it's still worth it for us. I just pulled the cover off my camper last weekend in preparation for our first trip of the season. My wife was hesitant at first but now she's so glad we pulled the trigger. We're planning a quite a few trips this summer and already have a Labor Day meet up with some family booked. We're also planning a Disney trip and staying at the Campgrounds at Disney early next year.
re: What was the worst news you ever had to break to someone?
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/4/26 at 12:14 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Earlier this year, we had to tell our 9 & 8 year old sons and my 4 year old daughter that my wife lost the baby.
What made it much worse was that they went with us to find out the gender. I had to rush them out of the room and tell them the machine was broken. We told them later that evening.
What made it much worse was that they went with us to find out the gender. I had to rush them out of the room and tell them the machine was broken. We told them later that evening.
re: Just starting Band of Brothers
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/1/26 at 7:05 pm to lsupride87
Dudes going to become a man in the first 10 minutes of episode 9 :lol:
re: Just starting Band of Brothers
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/1/26 at 1:01 pm to WG_Dawg
Like others have said, I'm jealous you get to watch it for the first time. I watch it at least twice a year.
Anyone who watches the entire series and doesn't get emotional on the last words of the series doesn't have a heart.
"No...but I served in a company of heroes."
Anyone who watches the entire series and doesn't get emotional on the last words of the series doesn't have a heart.
"No...but I served in a company of heroes."
re: Whole Home Generator / Specific Room Breaker Tripping
Posted by ApisMellifera on 5/1/26 at 4:44 am to captainahab
quote:
Change out the breaker, see if that cures the problem.
Do this or you could swap out the breaker with a matching one to see if the issue travels to the new circuit.
If it does, replace the breaker. If it doesn't there's another issue.
re: Official US/Israel vs Iran war thread
Posted by ApisMellifera on 4/21/26 at 3:21 pm to ninthward
quote:
If it were not for American taxpayer money, they'd be overrun in the first week of the conflict. They are in no position to support anyone; they can't fricking afford it. This just confirms youre a Ukrainebro and actually believe Ukraine has a sustainable military that can accomplish something.
They have extensive experience in drone warfare and have the opportunity to share that knowledge with one of their biggest contributors.
Just because you disagree with him on issues doesn’t mean you have to automatically disagree with everything that comes out his mouth.
re: Selling rental home: capital gains
Posted by ApisMellifera on 4/14/26 at 2:16 am to BabyTac
quote:
Just sell and don’t claim anything if you’ve owned the home for a few years. They’re less likely to catch it if you’re not selling multiple properties in consecutive years.
Did this with a rental in 2022 and never heard a peep. Worst case scenario they catch it and send you a bill for what you would’ve paid anyways. Worth the risk.
Never heard a peep, yet. The 1099-S may throw a monkey wrench into that plan.
quote:
Looking to see if there are any additional things I can do to reduce the taxable amount.
If not doing the 1031, try to think of anything and everything you've done to that house that you haven't already expensed that you can use to add to your basis.
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