Wait, what? So, we are padding?
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Wait, what? So, we are padding?
Or maybe just adding to the conversation. That could be it.
Space X launch scrubbed due to weather with 16:54 left on the countdown.
Better safe than sorry, glad the presence of dignitaries didn't sway decision-making away from safety procedures.
Next launch opportunity is Sunday.
It was supposed to be 85 F out today. Instead it is 93 F. I would have preferred 85 F.
It looks really nice outside my window. I think I'll go check it out now that I have finished work for the day.
My fried rice is sticking to my wok.
I haven’t used it in nearly a decade.
More storms
Needing to do something with leftovers.
I'm thinking about your wok like the toys in Toy Story 3. The Drewsk's name is Andrew. I saw that movie, about Andy's toys, shortly before he left for college. The rest of my kids wanted to know why Mom was sobbing so much.
I’ve found the frozen fried rice offerings from the warehouse stores to be adequate for my purposes and do less from scratch cooking than I used to in the past which kind of eliminated the need for me to make my own fried rice.
I bought a rice steamer a few years ago. On a use:cost basis, it is one of my better “investments.”
I was given a rice cooker one Christmas, and while I use it and like it, I could always cook a pretty pot of rice with just my Paul Revere copper bottom pot w/lid.
As for frozen rice, Innovasians fried rice and steamed rice aren't bad when you only want to take five minutes.
“Somehow HBO has managed to out Quibi Quibi here.” - Molly Wood
I’ve been seeing lots of ads for HBO Max. I’m hearing it isn’t all that yet.
My Panasonic is about 30 years old. I still use it a couple times a week.
I could use a new set of knives.
I probably could too. I need a lot of other new things in my kitchen first, including a new kitchen.
Hail last night. I didn’t bother to check my parked outside car yet.
I'm at work right now, waiting for a program with millions of observations to run. Luckily, after it runs, I'll be down to under 3000 observations.
She looks like Martina Hingis to me.
My data hell begins next week after we close out the month.
I am now, for the first time since March 16th, caught up at work. I'm not done with the project but I am done with everything that had to get done by tomorrow. The added stress of this project on top of what has been going on in the world has been difficult.
Hour+ Zoom interview went well. I do not think they can afford me, but we shall see.
New thermometer...
Who knew that would be a threadkiller? Should I set up a poll?
People run hot and cold on the subject.
I’ve had to temper my answers.
You may have frozen everyone out of the discussion.
I have a new attitude.
It's actually a bit humid in these parts this evening. Unusual.
I tried
Random night time post.
I swam into work this morning. 97% humidity, and it WASN'T raining. Blech!
My battery backup wasn't supplying power this morning. Weird. I guess it is a decade old. But this is the first time that has ever happened.
Still inactive it appears.
Some things and people NEVER change.
Arrrrrgh.
Must be some pretty tough commutes this morning.
Only 88 here today.
Time to mow the lawn.
For those of you waiting with baited breath, A Midsummer Night's Dream beat Macbeth in the finals to win the coveted title of "Favorite Shakespeare Play of Lisa's FB Friends"
Hand in hand with fairy grace
Will we sing and bless this place
I was a bit surprised at the outcome. There were several rounds where I couldn’t pick a favorite.
I did have to vote against King Lear because of a live production I saw (Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 1993). The production itself was good, but I found myself thinking, “would all of you just die, already?” because the play dragged on for so long. Their production of The Tempest was fantastic, as was The Merry Wives of Windsor. My friend Google told me that the 4th production from that season was Pericles, and I don’t remember it at all. I’ve seen a couple of good productions of Much Ado About Nothing, making it one of my favorites. A favorite from the Shakespeare class I took in college was The Merchant of Venice.
That's not really surprising. ;)
I've been in a production of Pericles and I don't remember it at all either. (Just kidding, but, having been in a production of Pericles, I can say that there is a very good reason its one of the least performed of Shakespeare's plays.)
The worst production of Shakespeare play I have seen to date was a King Lear. It was terrible and yeah, Lear is too long, you gotta cut it.
I am rather surprised by the outcome, I figured Hamlet had it in the bag, even if it's not my favorite.
I didn’t vote. Haven’t read much Shakespeare since high school.
I just had the joke explained to me.
I get it now.
Makes it less funny?
Well, Space Force is done. And the yard is mowed. Getting kinda bored today.
It’s getting kinda warm here for me to consider baking in the afternoon. Now, early morning makes sense for me.
The Big Sick or the Netflix version of Always Be My Maybe?
Business at my store today was almost like regular May Saturdays. Quite refreshing and uplifting.
That's good news, Mtn.Devil!
My son who is transferring still has things in his dorm room at UVM. We have been given a 4 hour window next Sunday to move everything out. It will take us less than an hour. He can only bring one person into the dorm with him though. I don't if that is one total or one at a time. I will probably be faster at helping him pack and my husband will be faster at getting the stuff out, so, we are hoping that we can switch off. We cannot stay over night in Vermont. We cannot go shopping either. Our plan is to get T-Bone moved out then go over to Paddies apartment. We'll take Paddies to the grocery store and wait in the care while he shops. Then we'll go get some take-out, eat it at Paddies, then head home.
If and when Vermont allows non-Vermonters to stay in their hotels, I'm going up to visit Paddies for a longer stay. That will be my summer vacation. I may go with the hubby down to Maryland at some point too. Maybe.
I did watch The Big Sick. I thought it was a very good film, but not sure what category to classify it in. I don’t think Rom Com is correct.
Sigh, here we are again.
Good morning!
And welcome back, ArkieDukie.
I'm looking forward to the boredom phase. I keep thinking "soon" then I have more work.
I may look back on this post in a month and think, "Be careful what you wish for."
I have not yet seen "The Big Sick".
Things have slowed down slightly for me. I’ve written a paper (waiting for revisions), finished an online immunology certification through Coursera, and am over halfway though an online Python certification. We’re starting to open up again, which means we are running at 30% capacity. I go in to work once a week.
Monthly reporting and analysis starts tomorrow. Unfortunately, that work doesn't wind down until the middle of the month.
Really pleased with my first try at Italian bread.
Two movies from 2019 that disappointed me not because they were bad movies but because they were marketed completely incorrectly, Yesterday and Last Christmas.
Yesterday was a RomCom marketed as a think piece and Last Christmas was a think piece marketed as a RomCom. Yesterday really, really, really dropped the ball on an excellent premise, but, what Last Christmas did was pretty close to unconscionable. I went by myself on a day where I was feeling depressed looking for a "watch some beautiful people fall in love" pick-me up. Yeah, no, so not the right movie for that.
Yes, I’m wary of movie marketing.
Any comedy suggestions?
Schitt's Creek.
I'm going to give Space Force a try now that it's out on Netflix.
The problem I'm running into is pace. She gets bored and loses interest if things don't happen quickly. Which makes it difficult if I haven't already seen the film.
I've seen a couple episodes of Schitt's Creek. It would be too slow. I guess there was the initial action of everything being confiscated by the Feds in the very first scene but the pace quickly dropped from there.
Maybe a slightly older Sandler film?
As a point of fact: I know Jack Schitt.
T-Bone and the Drewsk on summer hiatus?
It may have to go to a weekly format.
I'm about to yada yada myself to sleep.
Yada, yada, and good night,
with roses bedight
with lilies bespread
yada, yada, wee bed
Yada, yada, yada, and now I’m wide awake.
It is a shame that the necessary attributes for being a good politician are not pulled from the same skill set as the necessary attributes required for being a good elected official.
True story. To me, it seems as though people have gotten lazy in researching candidates. Elections have become more about name recognition and less about actual qualifications.
In the past, I’ve threatened to change my name to None of the Above and run for political office. The problem is, I’m afraid I would win.
Sigh...sigh.
Starting the process of baking another loaf of sourdough bread, a process that will stretch into tomorrow.
When I went to the grocery store yesterday, there still wasn’t any yeast. Flour was more plentiful than in past trips. I stocked up. Keeping sourdough starter happy takes a bit of flour, as does baking bread. Want to be sure I have enough.
I remember a couple decades ago, bread making machines were all the rage. Have they been dusted off and put to use or is that a bridge too far?
I shared some of my yeast with a neighbor walking down the street the other day. I get the large package from Costco so had plenty to share.
I bought one so I could make gluten free communion bread for church. I take about 15 minutes to get everything started before bed and then cut the bread in the morning before church. This is why I get the large package of yeast - and why I had plenty to share since I haven't baked communion bread since the first Sunday in March. We have communion the first Sunday of every month.
I have not made many gluten breads - I would want to eat most of the loaf slathered in butter as soon as it was finished baking.
I bought the La Brea Bakery Cookbook, mostly for the recipe for their Chocolate Cherry bread (used to get it at Harris Teeter). The book is still seasoning on the shelf. I figure it needs another year before I actually bake anything in it.
Yeah, tar pit bread would likely not be the highlight of a menu.
Who knew the visual acuity of this group needed so much help?
I don't bake my own bread. At least not yet.
I never had the fever for the flavor of new Pringles.
Pillsbury strawberry cake made before breakfast. Yes, I did lick the batter off the beater ???. The name escapes me.
Sure, beater, I knew what you meant. But I don't know what the official name of that thing is either.
One of my former mission trip kids has already had to re-schedule and down size his wedding because of Covid. Instead of a 170 guest wedding in April he was going to have a 40 guest wedding this coming Friday. Due follow up* violence to the peaceful protests, their venue has warned them they might not be able to have the wedding after all. Plans are in place for an emergency back up.
* I use follow up because there have typically been many hours of protests and then, once night has fallen and, usually, after the mayor has commented on the peaceful nature of the protests and the talks he has had with the participants, someone starts throwing bottles at the police and destroying businesses.
Yeah, I see no reason to be out after dark these days. Most days actually, but especially now.
Long commutes must have changed everyone’s plans today.
Indeed. Taking a break at the moment. Going back to work soon.
In a 25 person conference call is a bit easier when I don’t have to present.
I really could use a new mixing bowl.
Maybe I should get a bread maker?
I got new mixing bowls for Christmas in 2018 from my sons. It is what I asked for. I have told them that they are old enough now to buy present for people themselves and that since I hope they will someday have families, they should learn to give gifts. Consequently, I tell them something that I want for Christmas then suggest times for them to go shopping together. It's a lot of work teaching my sons to be good gift givers. I'd give myself a B- on the task so far.
So, after talking to him outside for 20 minutes my neighbor noted that he likely had the coronavirus in March.
Why does he think that? I felt kinda sick and unusually tired for about a week in January. I sincerely doubt it was Covid 19.
Because he had a bad respiratory infection, tested negative for the flu, was sick for a couple weeks and at the time tests for Covid-19 were super limited. He's been recovered for nearly two months, so I guess I shoudn't worry. He put his house up for sale today, which is why he and I were talking outside. No masks about 10 feet apart, I was uphill of him.
I recommended he get an antibody test, but he didn't seem convinced. He has a lot of family in town and they are often comingling in vehicles, etc.
I’ve been working on a paper for several months and am finally ready to submit. Today I wrote a letter to the editor in chief of the top journal in my field; I wanted to gauge their interest in my paper before I submitted. I was thinking it would take a few days to hear back. Imagine my surprise when I heard back from him within a few hours. He thinks my paper sounds highly relevant, and he asked me to send him the manuscript number when it’s submitted so he can herd it through the review process. I may or may not have danced a jig in my living room.
This particular paper rebuts two different studies, both in VERY high profile journals. A colleague has suggested that I will need an armed guard if this paper is accepted.
True. I bought mine in November at Kohl’s, on sale. I had an additional 30% off, plus I got Kohl’s cash. I got the artisan model, and I believe it was around $130 with all the discounts (not including the Kohl’s Cash). It was an incredible deal. I was able to use the Kohl’s Cash to buy my dad’s Christmas present.
I have a pasta roller attachment for the mixer, and also a pasta cutter. Makes it super easy to make homemade lasagna.
No. But they do anything. And for bread, instead of a little square thingy you can make big loaves (or many small loaves) and freeze what you don’t plant to use immediately.
(I’ll second the pasta rolling/cutting attachment although I haven’t done it in awhile).
They are not, but I totally scored on mine a number of years back when Amazon was having daily deals around the holidays. Somehow, I managed a Pro-600 (regularly $500) for about $185. I later bought the ice cream maker attachment. Pretty cool for making small batches.
Make sure the bowl has been in the coldest part of the freezer for several days and keep it in there until right before you need it. And get the custard or whatever you're using as cold as possible. It will be a bit softer than some, but it can get really thick around the edges. You should stop and scrape. And just put it in the freezer to firm up more. I am hoping to try out some Ben and Jerry's recipes this summer. It makes great sorbet!
Hmmm, so it has a lot of uses...
Add me to the list of Kitchen Aid fans. My wife is an avid bread baker (has been since well before the lockdown), so our dough hooks have quite a lot of miles on them. We've also had a lot of fun with the pasta maker attachment, which I refer to as the "grownup Play Doh Fun Factory," and then my personal favorite is the meat grinder attachment, with which I've gotten pretty darned good at house-ground burgers.
They are indeed expensive, but as people have noted, there are frequent deals if you pay attention, and it's a very versatile and durable machine.
It's definitely more expensive than your typical grocery store ground beef, but my goodness, it's so much more flavorful. Last week, I used a mix of about 2/3 chuck steak and 1/3 sirloin, and I always throw in a couple of strips of bacon. My cost came out to like $3.75 per half-pound burger, with way better flavor than just a standard store package. I haven't bought pre-ground beef in years.
I also love it for grinding pork or poultry to make Italian sausage/similar for use in pasta sauces, lasagna, etc. There is also an accessory for sausage stuffing so you can make your own in casings. I don't have that particular toy (yet) but have definitely been happy with my grinder results.
Thanks, been checking videos and sites since then.
For sausage, sounds like:
1. Keep everything cold at every step, and double grind.
2. Don’t overfill, leave room to get air out and to tie off.
3. Prick casing to let air out when cooking.
For ground meat, sounds like cold, patient, and double grind is the coin of the realm.
Any other words of experience? Looking forward to trying it maybe this weekend!
Asheville = Larpville
I'm thinking I need a stand-up mixer but I will settle for a new washing machine. I've finally convinced the hubby. Later in the summer we're getting a new one.
My kitchen, I don't really know where I would put a stand-up mixer. I believe I have mentioned before that I hate the "open concept" design most rennovation shows go for on HGTV, but, my kitchen needs seriously help. I kinda want to take down a wall, a small one, that separates the kitchen from the "mud room".
My Pro-600 is huge and heavy! I knew it would not be one of those appliances to take in and out of a cabinet. When I moved, I made sure there was enough clearance b/tw my counter and the cabinets above. It JUST cleared it. I keep it pushed into the corner on a placemat for easy pulling-out, and I keep a stylish dishtowel draped over it to keep the dust out. And I can hide my rolling pins behind it!
The downside to pasta is all the heat and water to cook it. Though I’ve been reading lately that I’m doing it wrong.
Or wait for my husband's company to go public. He's part owner of this and when pressed will admit that he is a "grandfather" of the technology. (He had some of the early ideas and trained many of the people still working on it.) https://www.hyperfine.io/
My 2010 Corolla is scheduled to hit 100k miles today. Hoping for another 400k :cool: