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Destroy the Palm Trees - Five Reasons Why Palm Trees Need To Go Away

This article is selected for 123ish 3D Gold Coin Art Collection NFT      I'm here to tell you about a vegetable menace that is the AIDS of the plant world. If you live in most parts of North America, these plants have you surrounded.  They're butt-ugly brown sticks thrusting phallically into the sky in unnatural rows, crowned by a spidery fright-wig of spikes. They look like a raspberry on a stick.        I'm talking, of course, about the omnipresent palm tree, found everywhere in your city. It doesn't matter…
Score: 17.02

Implement Two-factor-authentication in Rails with Devise, ActiveModel::Otp, and Google Authenticator

by Kevin

Background  There are many gems for implementing two-factor authentication for Rails app out there. But, most of them don't work properly with Devise out from the box.   Some gems offering seamless integration with Devise gem never work smoothly with our existing Rails app. This is why we share our experience and strategy to implement two-factor authentication using Devise and ActiveModel::Otp gems.        This implementation, based on our experience, works very well with the latest Google Authenticator app…
Score: 7.09

How To Build An EDH Deck For Magic: The Gathering

This article is selected for 123ish 3D Gold Coin Art Collection NFT      Ready For Commander?  Commander, also called "EDH" (stands for "Elder Dragon Highlander," an outdated in-joke), is the most popular format of the collectible trading card game Magic: The Gathering, counting over-all formats.  While EDH doesn't appear much in competitive formats when the tournament is over, and the last booster box handed out, look for the players to be huddled up in the corner over a Commander game.  It has every…
Score: 5.98

The Biggest and Best Lego Sets Ever

    This may come as a shock to some of you, but… I'm a geek! Geeks are marked by a natural inclination for complex, involved toys and expensive, solitary hobbies. But in between building the ultimate gaming PC or tinkering with Arduino kits to make custom Christmas light patterns, there's one hallmark geek toy that doesn't get brought up much.  I'm talking, of course, about Lego. Sure, we all remember the canonical brick building toy from our childhoods. Back when Legos just came in a loose bucket of…
Score: 3.36

Complete Guide Magic: The Gathering EDH Commanders You Will Never Get Tired Of Playing

    Over and over again, the number one question you see in any MTG:EDH forum is "What commander should I build next?"  Commander, the most casual and fun format of Magic: The Gathering, is a bit more involved than other formats. You have to build a 100-card deck, and every card has to be unique except for basic lands. Plus it allows anything - barring a short ban list - from any expansion set over the years; the game is rapidly approaching its 30th anniversary. So it has one of the biggest available…
Score: 3.11

Suburban Grass Lawns

The Environmental Holocaust of Grass Lawns

    Hello, I'm "Penguin" Pete, the guy with the indignant rant about palm trees you all seem to love. I'm back today to talk about an even worse environmental blight, and even more pervasive intrusion on our living space: GRASS!  You don't notice grass. Those of you who live in cities are barely even accustomed to seeing plants anymore, so you never stop to think that our obsession to coat the Earth in a fuzzy layer of green micro-plants is anything abnormal. But we have all grown up used to suburban…
Score: 1.76
Star Wars

Leave The Star Wars Holiday Special Alone!

It's a Christmas tradition in geek culture as ingrained as Magic: the Gathering booster pack stocking stuffers: making fun of the Star Wars Holiday Special.  And well we should: It has definitely not aged well, to damn it the faintest.  Reviewing it is a guaranteed hit on YouTube, so every major reviewer has a shot at it.  Let's get a few out of the way:  The Nostalgia Critic has the funniest review, hands-down:      The Cinema Snob has a great runner-up:      Dark Corners has a shorter, sweeter review:      Even…
Score: 1.68
Oregon

8 Must-Visit Places in Coastal Oregon - Perfect Getaway with Outdoor Explorations and Wanderings

On my first full day in Oregon, I met a woman who asked me how long I would be staying. I replied that I would only be there for the summer while I completed my internship. She then proceeded to warn me, with a sly smile on her face, that I should be careful or Oregon will steal my heart and I will not want to leave.    I went back home at the end of that summer, but the words spoken prophetically by the woman in the cafe rang true. I did not go to Oregon expecting it to steal my heart the way it…
Score: 1.0
Home Cooking

Grilling Fish for Health and Flavor, Direct Grilling, Baskets, Foil Wrapping, and Plank Grilling

by ChefPerry

  Grilling Fish for Health and FlavorChef Perry P. Perkins  Many of us are looking for healthier grilling options without sacrificing great flavor.  When my readers contact me asking about great-tasting, guilt-free grilling, I always point them to one of my favorite food groups: fish and seafood. It's hard to beat a succulent, tender bite of firm salmon or tuna, with a crispy char on the outside and just a hint of smoke, fresh from the grill.  Fish and seafood are so simple to cook outdoors...and…
Score: 1.35

Proper Kitchen Knife Technique - Chopping, Slicing, and Dicing for Safe, Less Waste & Better Taste

by ChefPerry

    If you’re going to spend any time in the kitchen, you’re going to have to learn how to chop vegetables. Proper chopping, slicing, and dicing techniques help us reduce waste, stay safe, and improve the taste and texture of our dishes.   Those of us who grew up under tyrannical chef-fathers, toiling away in the Dickens-Esque sweat-shops of their prep kitchens (sorry Dad, just trying to make a point…), may have spent months or years doing little else than chopping veggies, and take the techniques…
Score: 1.16

Good Food Starts with Good Food

by ChefPerry

    One of the biggest factors in cooking good food is using good food to cook. This is a point we stress over and over, with every kid that comes through our cooking program.  Not expensive food, not even "fancy" food (though that can be a lot of fun when you can swing it), but good, real, recognizable food. Start small, instead of buying that can of diced tomatoes, buy three Roma tomatoes (about the same price), dice them in a bowl, and sprinkle a little salt and sugar on them.  10 minutes later…
Score: 1.06
New Music

The Joys of Music Exploration – Diving into the “New Arrivals” Deep End

by CFC123

As a teenager, discovering music is the best feeling in the world. I think most people transition through their influences the same way I did – first your parents, then your friends, then yourself. Graduating to that last step can be a challenge, but knowing the right sources opens doors to incredible musical possibilities you may never have considered.    With Spotify algorithms and radio services like Pandora, finding music is quicker than ever. Once you select or listen to something you like…
Score: 1.0
Community Groups

The A-hole paradigm

by Dominus

   Some of us think that they are better than everybody else. Being the superior beings that they are, they see no need to give poor mortals like us any attention and treat us like the underdeveloped nuisances they see us as. Surprisingly, such specimens can be found in all the social layers, offending their way through life while exercising their God-given right to do whatever they see fit. They seem to be filling their ranks more efficiently these days. We see the famous ones on TV, on the…
Score: 1.11
European Union

An American's Take on Brexit

Being an American, much of the news from across the globe is filtered out by mainstream news sites and channels unless it is something that has a direct correlation to American culture, politics, safety, etc. Because of that, I do my best to diversify the sources from which I get my news - using BBC World News, CNN, NBC, my local stations, and a few other category specific news outlets in order to get a grasp on the news from as many sources as possible and from as many diverse opinions as I…
Score: 1.06
Hong Kong protests and China

The Road To Hong Kong

  Good morning class.  Today we're going to talk about China, and why you never, never should.  For the people of Hong Kong, the story of their strife with China began in March of 2019, when the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill by the Hong Kong government triggered widespread panic overconcerns that China could subject Hong Kong to its draconian laws and crippling human rights record. Some more.  Hong Kong and China… It's complicated! The British gave Hong Kong, a formerly…
Score: 1.28
Accessories

Advice For Buying A Great Handbag

It just so happens that I'm in the market for a new handbag. But I always have the problem of wanting to buy a purse because it's pretty or stylish, but then I never actually get around to using it. I always end up realizing something is wrong with it later on. Maybe it isn't big enough for all my things, the snaps are annoying, there aren't enough different compartments, and so on. So I did some research on how to buy a purse I'll love and really use. I think it's pretty important to choose the…
Score: 1.17
Health Myths

Popular Old Wives Tales From My Childhood

Growing up in West Virginia, I spent a lot of time with older people and I've heard a lot of old wives tales. Some of them are funny, some of them are just plain wrong, but surprisingly some of them actually have some truth to them. Here are just a few of the things I've heard.   1. Put a bar of soap in your bed sheets to prevent leg cramps. If that isn't the weirdest and silliest thing I've ever heard, I don't know what is. Despite the fact that there have been no scientific studies to explain…
Score: 1.23