Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

weirdness. one of the other sites I used to play werewolf on...
a guy that used to play
was the perp of a murder suicide. Murdered his wife then stepped in front of a train

this is what werewolf does to you

It's why it was justifiably shunted off to another forum. Meanwhile, us poor Hattrickers also were and were never heard from again

SI

[bob]

My city has a bulk trash drop off location for residents. Amazingly, it is not open on Saturday's. Only 7 - 4 during the week days.

[Edward64]

More power to Dick Van Dyke in doing what he wants to do. He does look pretty good at 97, but I have to believe that is too old to be driving.

(Wife and I still have hopes there'll be fully self-driving cars in the next 10 years but I'm thinking that is too optimistic now)

[Ksyrup]

I think I read that after last week's incident, he's been referred by LE to the DMV to take a driving test to keep his license.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Edward64

(Wife and I still have hopes there'll be fully self-driving cars in the next 10 years but I'm thinking that is too optimistic now)

The way I heard someone in the industry put it:

Driverless cars are 95% of the way there. But the 5% left is an order of magnitude harder than the 95% that came before it.

[Ksyrup]

Even if it was conclusively proven to be 100% safe, there's still human interaction/reaction to combat. My parents car has lane assist and a couple other hands-off features and I had absolutely no confidence in them while I was driving and it was more stressful thinking about it then just manually driving. Obviously I've probably only got another 30 years or so on this planet as a full time driver and over time people will get used to it and adopt it, but I don't see any way my brain will allow me to accept it.

[JPhillips]

Just saw this.

Tony Gwynn has more assists in college (590) at SDSU than strikeouts in his 20 year major league baseball career (434)

[CrimsonFox]

I did not realize that both Kristen Johnston and Lady Gaga had Lupus. House was wrong!

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

I did not realize that both Kristen Johnston and Lady Gaga had Lupus. House was wrong!

It's never Lupus!

SI

[NobodyHere]

Asteroid the size of 33 armadillos to pass Earth Sunday - NASA

This is the first time I've ever heard armadillos being used as a unit of measurement.

[Ghost Econ]

Man, that's about 52 bushels of bananas

[Edward64]

Powdered beer. Essentially, not bad.

I'll try it for the novelty (and I do like dry beer).

We try powdered beer from Germany... and were VERY surprised by the tasteÂ* | Daily Mail Online

The future of beer... just add water! We try powdered lager from Germany... and were VERY surprised by the taste

It is ready to drink in 90 seconds and all you need is a glass, water and a spoon

Powder looks like normal beer once it's whisked in, but will it stand a taste test?

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Asteroid the size of 33 armadillos to pass Earth Sunday - NASA

This is the first time I've ever heard armadillos being used as a unit of measurement.

This is just one in a long line of "Americans will use anything but metric to measure something"

SI

[Ghost Econ]

I get that I'm not in IT, but which is more efficient when checking for problems when migrating from office to office 365:

Setting up an IT chat where everyone can post and request to have their account reviewed in case emails got lost; or

Just reviewing everyone's outlook?

Now we're just getting pings every few minutes from a new request in chat because we don't know if any emails are missing.

I kinda understand if there's like 500 employees, but we have under 100. I don't see how this solution is better for anyone.

[Edward64]

I'd go with the former and not latter.

If it was the latter, unless it was egregious, how would IT know (by reviewing everyone's outlook) something was missing?

If it's the former, one can identify I'm missing X, Y, Z and the IT guy can track down the specific missing stuff and the cause. It's always helpful to have specific "stuff" to track down.

[Edward64]

I've always wanted to try a reproduction of ancient Egyptian beer that they've found remnants (?) of in pottery but absolutely no desire for mammoth meatballs.

My guess is they are way off in their market analysis. Better to grow wagyu beef than mammoth meat.

Meatball from long-extinct mammoth created by food firm | Meat industry | The Guardian

A mammoth meatball has been created by a cultivated meat company, resurrecting the flesh of the long-extinct animals.

The project aims to demonstrate the potential of meat grown from cells, without the slaughter of animals, and to highlight the link between large-scale livestock production and the destruction of wildlife and the climate crisis.

The mammoth meatball was produced by Vow, an Australian company, which is taking a different approach to cultured meat.

There are scores of companies working on replacements for conventional meat, such as chicken, pork and beef. But Vow is aiming to mix and match cells from unconventional species to create new kinds of meat.

[thesloppy]

Do y'all rinse rice before cooking? Some foodies/pedants/Asian cultures will scoff & insist it's necessary (to wash off excess starch). I do/have/sometimes and even have a special bowl for it...all of which is to say: I don't think I can actually tell the difference.

[stevew]

I never did, but now I do. I do think it’s a bit fluffier if you clean it and let it soak for a tiny bit.

[thesloppy]

I also think the people who talk about washing rice religiously are always talking about that short-grain white rice that is super starchy, but I'm usually cooking some long-grain basmati type shit

[Edward64]

I always rinse the rice. My wife complains about me washing away nutrients etc. but I've seen plenty of "extra non-rice" in rice.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Do y'all rinse rice before cooking? Some foodies/pedants/Asian cultures will scoff & insist it's necessary (to wash off excess starch). I do/have/sometimes and even have a special bowl for it...all of which is to say: I don't think I can actually tell the difference.

No. I barely have the patience to cook it, let alone anything else.

[Ksyrup]

I've never even heard of washing rice. Peas, yes - when I make split pea soup, I wash them and pick out the bad ones. But rice? Never.

[Ghost Econ]

If it's an easy meal, then I'll probably wash it. If I have enough other stuff to focus on, the rice is lucky I remember to add it to the water.

[Kodos]

I like the rice that comes in a bag and nukes in 1:30.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I like the rice that comes in a bag and nukes in 1:30.

This

Or at least us the boil in a bag one

[GrantDawg]

I thought it was interesting that I was listening to a chef podcast, and she was asked if she washed her vegetables before cooking them at home. She said "no." She did it while working because she had to, but she never did when cooking for herself.

[Ksyrup]

We definitely wash most fruits and vegetables. Strawberries especially can be an issue. Salad, we likely won't wash as we buy the pre-packaged cartons that are supposed to be washed already. But if we're buying regular heads of lettuce, or spinach, or cucumbers, squash, apples, grapes, etc., then yes we wash it.

[Edward64]

I buy my rice from the asian groceries and they're imported from Asia. I guess it could be different if your rice comes from Arkansas but trust me on this, vast, vast majority of asians in Asia rinse their rice.

It's like men not washing their hands in Hartsfield airport after taking a leak. It doesn't need to be the recommended 2 min (?) of soap & hot water, but for God's sake just do a quick rinse.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I like the rice that comes in a bag and nukes in 1:30.

I had Uncle Ben's rice in college, quick and convenient, but not very good.

If you regularly eat rice, I recommend you buy a cheap rice cooker on Amazon ($30, not the $100+ kind). The rice comes out so much better.

[cartman]

I've washed my rice since a disaster the first time I cooked sushi rice. I didn't rinse, and the rice stuck to EVERYTHING. You are basically rinsing off a layer of starch that prevents/reduces clumping.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I thought it was interesting that I was listening to a chef podcast, and she was asked if she washed her vegetables before cooking them at home. She said "no." She did it while working because she had to, but she never did when cooking for herself.

We wash all our vegetables & fruits. I see plenty of shoppers touching & sampling stuff.

The only time I don't is with lettuce where I peel off the outer layer(s). Soggy lettuce on a sandwich is not great.

And com'on, no way you're going to eat unwashed potatoes ... right?

[stevew]

The people that wash beef in the sink need to stop. That’s gross.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

No. I barely have the patience to cook it, let alone anything else.

This is literally why rice cookers were invented. Rinse some rice, throw it in the cooker, throw in roughly twice that amount of water, turn it on, come back 30 minutes later.


In general, you should wash rice. Debris in the rice is an inevitability of the production process, for one reason, and in addition for the short-grain varieties, you're removing some of the starch which otherwise would make it gummy & clumpy (unless, of course, that's what you want).

You should wash fruit & vegetables. Want to know why? Observe your fellow citizens in the produce section of your grocery store, as they wipe their noses and then pick up and put back stuff, or cough and sneeze everywhere. If you grow your own vegetables you should also wash those unless you're a big fan of including animal & avian urine & poop in your diet.

You should not wash meat, especially chicken. Washing meat, especially chicken, ends up spreading bacteria across your kitchen from the splashing (unless you're really, really careful). Bacteria that will be killed by the cooking process. Red meat & pork are not quite as bad, but it's still unnecessary. The same absolutely holds true for shellfish. Having said all that, it can sometimes be necessary to give actual fish a quick rinse due to bone/scale debris that can sometimes be left on the fish at purchase.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by stevew

The people that wash beef in the sink need to stop. That’s gross.

i only eat dirty beef

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

In general, you should wash rice. Debris in the rice is an inevitability of the production process, for one reason, and in addition for the short-grain varieties, you're removing some of the starch which otherwise would make it gummy & clumpy (unless, of course, that's what you want).

Yup

You should wash fruit & vegetables. Want to know why? Observe your fellow citizens in the produce section of your grocery store, as they wipe their noses and then pick up and put back stuff, or cough and sneeze everywhere. If you grow your own vegetables you should also wash those unless you're a big fan of including animal & avian urine & poop in your diet.

Yup

You should not wash meat, especially chicken. Washing meat, especially chicken, ends up spreading bacteria across your kitchen from the splashing (unless you're really, really careful). Bacteria that will be killed by the cooking process. Red meat & pork are not quite as bad, but it's still unnecessary. The same absolutely holds true for shellfish. Having said all that, it can sometimes be necessary to give actual fish a quick rinse due to bone/scale debris that can sometimes be left on the fish at purchase.

I don't wash chicken or beef or pork.

But I actually wash shrimp because (1) to help defrost it and/or (2) after de-veining.

[Ksyrup]

Washing meat seems like something that's been passed down from generations, like a family recipe. And at one time, it was probably necessary. But washing with water is no longer recommended because the spread of bacteria from splashing water is greater than ridding any bacteria that may reside on the meat itself. That said, there are certain types of acids (vinegar or lemon, most commonly) that help to neutralize bacteria. But 99% of the time, "washing" refers to water, not acid.

[PilotMan]

Much safer to wash your meat in the toilet.

[Ghost Econ]

That's why I have a bidet.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

That's why I have a bidet.

Did anyone else read "bidet" as "Biden"?

And did anyone besides me have to look up what a bidet is?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Did anyone else read "bidet" as "Biden"?

And did anyone besides me have to look up what a bidet is?

no and no

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Did anyone else read "bidet" as "Biden"?

And did anyone besides me have to look up what a bidet is?

[PilotMan]

That was pretty much my reaction to Japanese toilets as well.

[stevew]

I have a designated shitting toilet in the basement that has a bidet on it. Necessary for peace in a small house

[Ghost Econ]

Yeah, 1 has a bidet and one doesn't. My wife thinks it's stupid and refuses to use it. Meanwhile I'm over here clean as a whistle using the least TP possible. I refuse to shit at the other toilet and feel gross when I have to shit when I'm traveling.

[CrimsonFox]

bidet

[cartman]

I had LASIK back in 2000, but now I'm needing glasses for computer and close-in reading. I got them yesterday, and it is taking a while to get used to them. If I stand up with them on and look away from the computer, it is like I'm micro-dosing LSD

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by cartman

I had LASIK back in 2000, but now I'm needing glasses for computer and close-in reading. I got them yesterday, and it is taking a while to get used to them. If I stand up with them on and look away from the computer, it is like I'm micro-dosing LSD

For me at least, reading and computer glasses are 2 different "distances". I could not have 1 that accommodates both unless its like a bifocal?

I'm near sighted. I can mostly do without reading glasses. But I do have computer and driving glasses. Computer glasses are great and driving is necessary at nights.

Also, IMO progressive glasses are a rip off. They sell it as reading, intermediate and long but I cannot use them for reading or computers because I'll have to tilt my head all the time.

[CrimsonFox]

i am now shopping for bidet hookups

[JonInMiddleGA]

The Whattaburgers have started opening in Georgia and my social media is full of people screaming (literally, multiple ALL CAPS POSTS) their disappointment.

{shakes head} The things people get worked up over dismays me occasionally, even with my high bar for being surprised.

[JonInMiddleGA]

On an unrelated dola

The larder is a bit ... sparse, since I haven't replenished anything since my trip to south Florida.

That makes eating at home a little tough but I've proved up to the challenge tonight. Toast some bread and it's freshness is no longer an issue, pop open a can of classic Armour potted meat and voila : dinner