Stuck Screw

I had a stuck screw in my garage several years ago that was blocking the next project. I knew I needed to do my research about stubborn screw removal before getting frustrated. When the first step worked, I thought I had "over-researched" the topic, but two days later my best friend texted me that some guys were getting frustrated at a stuck screw, they weren't impressed her best friend is an engineer, so did I have some suggestions? My immediate reply: too long for a text, check your email. We don't know which step worked (just that they removed the screw after exposure to my list), but I no longer feel like I did too much research!

My record so far is all screws were removed by a much bigger screwdriver (12 inches / 30 centimeters long!), except one (a stripped Phillips #2 #4-40 inside a computer) that turned after a few minutes of a heat gun.

Here are the steps I collected, and the order I would try them.

1. Try a different screwdriver: larger head, longer handle.
2. For stripped or worn screws, improve screwdriver's grip with: rubber band, steel wool, duct tape (sticky side on screw), green abrasive pad from a kitchen sponge, friction paste (like Drive Grip by Vibra-Tite), abrasive paste from car repair shops.
3. Heat the screw for 2-3 minutes with a hair dryer or heat gun or small torch or soldering gun, and try again.
4. Chill the screw with ice cubes, and try again.
5. For screws into metal that might be rusty, or might have paint or debris, clean around the screw as much as possible, apply a rust penetrant (Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster, WD-40) or paint stripper, wait 15 minutes, try again.
6. If headroom, tighten a drill chuck over the screw head, and unscrew with drill.
7. If headroom, remove with a pair of pliers. Flatten opposite sides with a file or dremel to improve gripping.
8. Tap the screwdriver with a hammer, primarily for Phillips head. For a standard #2, drive a #1 bit into the screw. Tap the screwdriver while turning (improvised manual impact screwdriver).
9. Use a manual impact driver. (manual better than electric for forward thrust)
10. Drill a shallow hole into the head, so the screwdriver sits deeper.
11. Use a dremel to cut a slot all the way across, and use a large slotted screwdriver.
12. Adhere a nut to the head with welding adhesive, let dry recommended time, use ratchet.
13. Drill a pilot hole, and then use a screw extractor.
14. Use a hole saw to remove the screw and a plug of wood around it; replace the plug of wood with one without a stuck screw.
15. Drill out the whole screw.

References:

• wikiHow: How to Remove a Stripped Screw
• wikiHow: How to Remove a Stuck Screw
• Wikipedia: impact driver about forward thrust

MRI

Many years ago, I had an MRI as part of a research study. As you might now, it's VERY LOUD inside an MRI machine, even with earplugs on. I followed the suggestion to close my eyes before entering The Machine, and I was in there for about an hour. However, I didn't expect to have an MRI again, so I opened my eyes as I was coming out. I had no idea that the "ceiling" was an inch from my nose! I managed not to panic only because I was almost clear when I discovered how tight it was. I took a nap while I was in there, despite the racket, and apparently I didn't twitch at all - the research study got very detailed results from me.

Fast forward to Friday, when I had another MRI. I have to say, the machines are far more open and expansive now! It was still loud, and the sounds were less regular this time, but it wasn't claustrophobic this time - I had more than a foot from my nose to the inside top of the scanner. This scan only lasted 20 minutes, so I didn't even get a nap this time. Did I mention it was REALLY LOUD in there, even with ear plugs? This video gives you a good idea, just remember that you're inside the noise, and it's LOUD despite ear plugs, and not all of it sounds like the MRI can be functioning properly. Even when I was holding still, the machine was sometimes shaking me! I amused myself by remembering the robot origins of dubstep, and making up my own to go with the sounds. So of course someone has already made dubstep from MRI sounds! I found my second MRI was neither boring (because I amused myself) nor terrifying (I expected smaller). The tech even covered me with a warm blanket!

Also, some of the comments on the first video are spot-on!

• Doctor: We've upgraded our MRI machine Me: It has a higher resolution now? Doctor: No, it has a better bass
• Skrillex : I Am Father Of Dubstep. MRI Scan : Hold My Beer
• Needs more cowbell

Science with Chocolate Chip Cookies

Step 1: Define the result of a successful experiment. In this case, I sought a chocolate chip cookie that was delicious and oh-so-soft.

Step 2: Do background research. Wow, this was fun! Most of my old links were dead, but here's a fantastic new crop (including some of the same information at new homes):

• Serious Eats - The Food Lab: The Science of the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Baker Bettie: The Science of The Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Cookie Science: How to Make Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
• NPR - The Salt: The Science Behind Baking Your Ideal Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Chocolate Chip Cookies 12 ways (a side-by-side comparison of fats, sweeteners and a gluten-free flour)

Are you hungry now? I couldn't wait to get started!

Step 3: Based on your research, create a likely plan. I selected these ingredients for their characteristics:

• margarine, creamed from the refrigerator (creamed for cakier cookies, lighter and firmer; warmer butter yields denser cookies)
• brown (tall and moist) and white (thin and crisp) sugars, with some syrup
• more flour (cake flour for softer cookies)
• chill dough 24hr (to elevate flavor; cool dough for compact cookies with less spread)

I'm lactose-intolerant, so margarine is less likely to cause me digestive issues later; I often say "butter" and mean "butter or margarine, probably margarine if I'm eating it". The recipe I selected as a starting point is The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from Amy's Healthy Baking because softness was a key goal for that recipe too. Aside: I am never going to call chocolate chip cookies healthy, but some recipes are less bad than others.

Detour: One chocolate chip cookie recipe that is less unhealthy that my Very Picky Eater actually loves is for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Candid Appetite. However, since I always modify recipes, I made that recipe, but with fresh sweet potato purée instead of fresh pumpkin purée (other substitutions would include butternut squash, actually in many cans of "pumpkin pie filling"), and skipping the nutmeg and allspice and walnuts because I know my audience. However, based on my experience, I recommend that you do not use purple sweet potatoes because the cookies were an unappetizing shade of blue-green on the inside! The color initially made me think of copper sulfate (not anhydrous), and I don't want my food to look like that! Luckily, the cookies were delicious and we ate them all ... while laughing about how terrible they looked.

Another Detour: My Very Picky Eater also loves these Chocolate Chip Chocolate Zucchini Cookies. Again, since I always modify recipes, I use zucchini purée (I also drain off some of the liquid, so the purée is slightly thicker - more like wet batter) because shredded zucchini was a notable texture (picky eaters and unexpected textures do not mix happily), with no cinnamon or walnuts (because I know my target audience). I'm not going to lie to my children "just because it's easier" so for both of these recipes, my picky eater knows that I put vegetables in his cookies and he still loves them.

Step 4: Experiment! Did you think I would start my science at this step? No, I know the value of careful planning! There were many batches of chocolate chip cookies, and a winner emerged that best fit the criteria for success.

Step 5: Document and publish your results for other scientists to verify. OK, here goes!

Yield: 34 cookies

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: minimum 4 hours and 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly with no compression)
• 1/2 Tbs aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 Tbs clear gel, or 1/2 Tbs arrowroot powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 Tbs butter, melted (I was persuaded / asked nicely to use butter instead)
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 Tbs skim milk
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 2 Tbs mini chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

1. On a flexible sheet, sift together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter and egg until fluffy. Whisk in the milk and vanilla extract. Stir in the brown sugar, smearing out any clumps along the side of the bowl. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the regular chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips.
2. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the chilled cookie dough into 24 balls, and place on the prepared baking sheets. Make sure each cookie has visible chocolate chips, pressing more into the top of each as needed. Flatten slightly to about 3/4-inch thick. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to sit on the warm baking sheet for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Recipe Notes:

• Do NOT overbake these cookies! After 10-12 minutes in the oven, they’ll still look and feel slightly underdone, but they’ll continue to bake and set on the warm baking sheet for the 10 minutes after. Remember: these cookies should be soft!
• Second batch should be in for less time (first batch was fine at 11 minutes, but second batch was crispier).
• Cornstarch has a (faint) bitter flavor in this recipe, so use gel (best) or arrowroot powder instead. This ingredient adds softness and thickness.
• Other scientific notes from the original base recipes:
  
  • less butter, and melted for chewiness
  • more vanilla for buttery flavor
  • brown sugar for moisture and chew
  • regular and mini chips for more chocolate throughout
  • chilling for thickness
  • baking 10-12 minutes for softness

Equipment: cookie scoop, cookie sheet, measuring, mixing bowl, oven, refrigerator

Enjoy!

Morning Bowl of Chocolate

Most mornings, I have a "bowl of chocolate" for breakfast. This is one of the few breakfasts that holds me until (or beyond) lunch time, and I like not having a strong urge to snack between breakfast and lunch. Sometimes I make the cinnamon variant and eat it with fruit, but my default is chocolate.

The original source that my mother sent to me has vanished, but this Cinnamon Breakfast Muffin recipe is very close. I have adapted this recipe, based on food sensitivities (sugar instead of Splenda to minimize gastrointestinal consequences), happy accidents (tripling the yogurt, and doubling the ground flax), and experiments. Since I eat this almost every morning, I make a large batch of the dry ingredients in advance to save time in the morning. I have also learned that I can mix this a day or two in advance, store it in the refrigerator, and cook it in the morning (less thinking and time required to get to breakfast).

Once I had a routine, I wanted to try additions to the basic recipe. My current variations are to add almond butter (more protein and healthy fats), psyllium husk (fiber and prebiotic), hemp seeds (complete protein with all essential amino acids, nutrients, and some essential fatty acids), and chia seeds (antioxidants, fiber, nutrients, and protein). I discovered that I enjoyed the additions, but could no longer eat a "single serving" in one sitting. Generally recipes with baking powder should be baked soon after mixing with wet ingredients, but this recipe stores fine when I've made it up to a week in advance. By splitting the result into three bowls (with lids), I was able to keep my tasty recipe additions without overeating.

Chocolate Morning Mix Ingredients

• 2 cups flax seeds, ground into flax meal
• 2 Tbs up to 1/2 cup sugar (omit)
• 1/2 cup cocoa (or 2 Tbs ground cinnamon)
• 1/2 cup hemp seeds/hearts
• 3 Tbs chia seeds
• 2 Tbs baking powder
• 2 Tbs psyllium husk (not ground - use less if ground)

Morning "Bowl of Chocolate" Directions

1. Scramble 1 egg in a large microwave-safe bowl (recommended 3 cup capacity).
2. Scoop in 2 Tbs (up to 1/4 cup) of yogurt. I generally use plain yogurt.
3. Add in around 2 to 4 Tbs of sweet potato purée. Sometimes I use completely different purées, or combine mashed banana and sweet potatoes.
4. Mix in 2 to 3 Tbs of almond butter. (When I tried peanut butter, it tasted burnt, so I stick with almond butter.) While this doesn't have to be thoroughly mixed, it does help to break up most of the "chunks" in the almond butter, and to mix the egg and other items thoroughly.
5. Add 6 Tbs of morning mix, and combine. The mixture will thicken; once you're used to this recipe, you will be able to tell when it has thickened enough or when you need to add more mix.
6. Scoop one-third of this into two bowls with lids, and save that for following mornings (or for your best friend, as I've done before).
7. Microwave until done. The original recipe says 1 minute, but as I added more yogurt and other ingredients, I had to increase the time. In my 900-watt microwave, I cook a half-batch for 2 minutes (2:30 if it's not as thick as usual because I ran out of mix, 3 minutes if my purée was very liquid, or 90 seconds if it is thick).
8. Top with a thin layer of maple syrup. I found pancake syrup tasted odd with this.
9. Top with semisweet chocolate chips. I found that milk chocolate chips were the wrong flavor contrast for my preferences.
10. Enjoy while warm! It loses a lot of appeal after it cools. I find this is best when it's the first food I eat; later in the day, it tastes "too healthy" and isn't as enjoyable. In the morning, it's like chocolate cake; in the evening, I prefer "The One" Chocolate Mug Cake.

Almost every time I try something else for breakfast, I end up snacking before lunch and wishing I had stuck to my routine.

With both dairy (yogurt) and eggs, this is not allergy-friendly. I have not found this recipe to be adaptable to substitutions for either eggs or yogurt. It is, however, gluten free so long as the baking powder is GF.

Update: I have discovered that I can leave out the sugar from the original recipe, and I don't miss it. If it doesn't need the taste of sugar, why bother?

Rocker Bottom Shoes

I developed osteoarthritis in both knees at the age of 16 when I started running cross country. Many years ago, I read (in print!) that the leading cause of osteoarthritis in juveniles was dehydration, and I know I didn't increase my fluid intake when I started running (unfortunately; this is your cue to get more to drink so you stay hydrated). Thanks to my physical therapist, I am not (often) bothered by that knee pain. Yes, you can beat osteoarthritis! One of the suggestions from my physical therapist was always to wear athletic shoes for the cushioning and support. This has been the simplest fix so far! After a flare-up, I do need to treat the pain and perform my PT exercises regularly, but after that my "maintenance" state is just to wear good sneakers at all times.

Based on my experience running cross country, I want my shoes to provide motion control as well as lots of cushioning. Motion control shoes ease the stress on my wobbly ankles, and hold my arch in a better position. I tend to pronate when I walk, and supinate when I run, so when my shoes provide proper cues for both conditions, I experience less pain. This is why I choose motion control over stability. However, I also have a very heavy stride, wearing through the soles of my shoes very quickly, so the more cushioning, the less pain I feel.

Until bilateral ankle pain visited me, I was a huge fan of rocker bottom shoes, specifically Skechers Shape Ups. Some Skechers are so cushioned that I call them "marshmallow shoes" for all that squishiness! Shape Ups are very cushioned! The rocker bottom forced me to roll into each step instead of stomping with my heel, thereby reducing heel and knee pain. Instead of needing a new pair of shoes every 3 months, I could generally wear one pair almost a year before I noticed the characteristic ache in my knees of needing new shoes. However, the arch support was negligible. I took a pair of 3/4-length shoe inserts, and cut out just the arch following the shape of some other inserts I had that built up the arch in layers that made it easy to see the shaping. I put that "just the arch" cut-out underneath the liner in my Skechers Shape Ups, and my feet were finally comfortable!

However, the rocker bottom is not stable on your front-back axis (it's fine side-to-side, which is why it didn't originally bother my ankles). You should not wear these hiking, mowing, or on uneven surfaces.

After 5 cushioned years in my Skechers Shape Ups, I hit 2 years of near-continuous ankle pain that is somewhat soothed with normal flat-bottom shoes. sigh However, if you have a heavy stride, you want a cushioning shoe, and you don't mind the lack of arch support or you don't mind adding your own arch support, these shoes were great! I'm looking for my next favorite shoes.

Raspberry Pi Zero W, back from noboot

I had a brief power outage recently, and my Raspberry Pi Zero W did not survive - but the original Raspberry Pi Zero right next to it came through the power bounce without problems! (Power and cable modem internet have been bouncy this month.)

I tried to power it up on two known-good power sources. I tried another micro USB power cable. I didn't see any lights any time I tried, so I thought this Zero W was completely dead.

Then I ran across this suggestion to try a different SD card. Since that's so simple to try, I did, and now my Raspberry Pi Zero W works again! The old SD card spewed errors all over dmesg when I tried to mount it on my computer, so that was definitely the problem.

So now I'll add trying a new SD card to the list with power and cable to get a Raspberry Pi to boot.

Chicken and Rice

I usually skip "me too" posts and comments, but how to cook moist and tender chicken breasts every time [from The Kitchn] does exactly that. I feel bad for not already sharing how easy and delicious this is!

I usually skip the first step of flattening the chicken. I've tried cooking chicken breasts both ways, and as long as I keep the thinner end of the chicken breast farther from the center of the heat and the pan, the end result is just as good in less time, with less of my kitchen exposed to raw chicken. I season very lightly with salt and garlic powder, but no pepper. I use either olive oil, or almond oil poured off my almond butter. It's especially tasty when some almond butter gets in the pan! If the chicken breasts are thick, I leave the heat on low for the second round of cooking for 10 minutes too. In less than 25 minutes, I have freshly cooked, delicious chicken breasts!

The chicken leaves some delicious broth in the pan, and often some bits of chicken. For my next step, I make rice with the chicken broth. I use my Progressive microwave rice cooker. So, for instance, if I make basmati rice, I add one scoop (about 3/4 cup) of basmati rice, and three scoops of liquid. I start with as much chicken broth as was left in the pan, and then I add cold water to fill three scoops. I microwave that for 18 minutes in my 900 Watt microwave. Then I take the rice out and stir it up. Since my crowd strongly prefers soft rice, I add two more scoops of water, sample it to adjust seasoning levels (usually just salt and garlic powder), and then microwave for another 12 minutes. Brown rice gets 21 minutes then 14 minutes; compared to the first round, the second round of cooking uses 2/3 of the water and 2/3 of the microwaving time. Now I'm up to an hour of cooking time, but 50 minutes of that is hands-off with no peeking so it's low effort.

From this point, it's a week of chicken and rice, but that's a delicious combination! Chicken with veggies over rice, chicken burrito bowl over rice, chicken stir-fry over rice, classic chicken and rice casserole, southwestern chicken and rice casserole, chicken fried rice, chicken and rice soup, pineapple chicken and rice, Greek chicken and rice, and that's just off the top of my head if you keep the chicken and rice paired together! I enjoy sliced chicken on my sandwiches, and rice is always a tasty side dish.