Hi, Rosita!
To sum everything - no, that’s too much.
Recently: various things have been happening with various people. Also the chronology of posts is weird. Properly functioning technology, biology, tautology, and really any kind of “ology” for me is a sometimes food.
You’re not missing out, but we are glad to have you back!
EDIT: FaWtL rules remain in existence, but having recognized this as top of the page: I got my clothes on, dang it!
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Being a tour guide always works better when naked.
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How to find what parts of your body are arthritic in one easy step.
1. Spray yourself with water for 10 hours in 42-68 degree temps.
I got to cut a bunch of pavers this morning, thus spraying my hands in about 42 degrees and now I get to spend the rest of my day pressure washing about 16 acres of pavers.
Yay!?
On the plus side, this will give me plenty of time to think of how I'm going to weaponize the pressure washer.
It turns out hands, knees and right foot.
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OK. This is kind of sad.
But not for the reasons you think...
Shiro, GothBard, and I are like that in every store we go into, and they don't pay us!!!
Kind of explains why restaurant and store managers remember us and welcome us back all the time...
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OK. This is kind of sad.
But not for the reasons you think...
Shiro, GothBard, and I are like that in every store we go into, and they don't pay us!!!
Kind of explains why restaurant and store managers remember us and welcome us back all the time...
I got a 20% discount last night because I was so nice.
Can someone tell me what’s disturbing about waistcoats?
I can understand the mind-numbing nature of the job, but, yeah, I’m kind of a chipper dude when I go places without being paid.
(But I think after four hours, I’d be pretty numbed, too.)
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I’d be frustrated with my son for evidencing so much avoidance behavior if I didn’t - and am to an extent, because I do - feel the same. So hard to concentrate. It’s not a hard assignment. So hard to make progress.
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The kind that doesn't have any potatoes in it...
WHAT?!
but that you pour over mashed potatoes and you're in hog heaven.
Ah, ok, that makes sense.
I figure beef, carrots, and boiler onions for the stew proper, then my mashed potatoes, and we'll be set, but I like to see all the recipes that are out there before doing my own thing.
Add some chopped peppers, mushrooms, and optionally tomatoes (tomato pulp preferably). You can thicken it with some sour cream or flour-based roux (I never tried the later, always using the former, though).
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A night of Thrilling Firsts.
1) As per NobodysHome, I discovered the joys of chefwear, namely those little round hats they make caterers wear. Well ventilated and keep the sweat out of your eyes, even if they do also kinda make me look like a Muslim priest.
2) I finally got the fleche to work in sparring. This will never happen again.
I’d be frustrated with my son for evidencing so much avoidance behavior if I didn’t - and am to an extent, because I do - feel the same. So hard to concentrate. It’s not a hard assignment. So hard to make progress.
HAH! Finished! Take *THAT* ADD!
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You know what? No.
I am not going to let my boss' desire to grind an axe or pick a fight keep me from doing what I am supposed to do. If he has a problem with something that's fine- let me try to fix it. Just because something hasn't been completed to satisfaction doesnt mean I am going to shut down.
Freehold gets cookies for being awesome.
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The kind that doesn't have any potatoes in it...WHAT?!
but that you pour over mashed potatoes and you're in hog heaven.Ah, ok, that makes sense.
Add some chopped peppers, mushrooms, and optionally tomatoes (tomato pulp preferably). You can thicken it with some sour cream or flour-based roux (I never tried the later, always using the former, though).I figure beef, carrots, and boiler onions for the stew proper, then my mashed potatoes, and we'll be set, but I like to see all the recipes that are out there before doing my own thing.
GothBard doesn't care for peppers, and tomatoes make it taste too much like chili.
Once I mastered how to make flour-based roux, I try to use it for all of my thickening. Unfortunately, I always end up utterly flabbergasted as just how much liquid a good roux can absorb. My experiments usually end up as, "Amazing sauce... amazing roux... throw sauce into roux. Sauce turns into hockey puck. No no no no no!!! Add 2 gallons of water to desolidify hockey puck. Sauce is now awful. Simmer for 3-4 hours to restore sauce."
Not an ideal solution...
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Oh, good. Vomit. WELP. The Eldest isn’t going to go to school tomorrow...
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I think the single greatest frustration faced by any of us when dealing with customer service is an immediate and obvious lack of understanding on the recipient's part:
NobodysHome: Dear financial institution, I'd like to convert my IRA to a managed account. Can I do that without opening a new account?
Customer Service Representative: Dear NobodysHome, we'd be GLAD to help you open a new managed account! Here are the steps to open a new account...
It's like, "FFS, if you can't even read my message, why the **** should I trust you with my money?"
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You know, my Mom was a teacher, my oldest sister is a teacher, and I never truly appreciated teachers until I was an adult and married one. I get it, now. To all my educators: I’m sorry. I get it now. It’s too late for us, yeah, but I appreciate your sacrifices.
You know, I wish I’d been able to say that to my grandmother before she passed. That’s pretty much exactly how I feel about our relationship.
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Cooking time!
I bought a giant chunk-o-beef from Costco last weekend, and I was going to make a pot roast but GothBard has requested beef stew; in particular, "The kind that doesn't have any potatoes in it, but that you pour over mashed potatoes and you're in hog heaven."
Anyone have such a slow cooker recipe? (I have an Easy Pot and Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking on my side, but I figured I could ask as well.)
I figure beef, carrots, and boiler onions for the stew proper, then my mashed potatoes, and we'll be set, but I like to see all the recipes that are out there before doing my own thing.
Amby's Mississippi "Mippippippi" Pot Roast
If you are cooking this in a slow cooker, be absolutely certain the slow cooker's inner pot is rated for heating on a stove burner before searing the chuck roast in it. If it isn't, instead sear your chuck roast in a large skillet or pan, then transfer into the slow cooker.
Pot Roast
1 3-4 lb chuck roast
6 (or more) garlic cloves, peeled & lightly smushed
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup diced yellow or white onion
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock (or broth)
1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon low sodium roasted beef base (or 3 bouillon cubes, but remember to reduce kosher salt below)
1 1/2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 tbsp kosher salt flakes
1/2 tbsp (Colgin) liquid smoke
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives (optional)
1/4 cup juice from jar of sweet cherry peppers or pepperoncini (below)
6-7 jarred whole sweet cherry peppers or pepperoncini
Gravy (optional)
2 tbsp of fat skimmed from cooked roast juices
2 tbsp of all-purpose flour
2 cups of cooked roast juices
Pierce chuck roast with tip of sharp paring knife to create pockets and stuff in whole garlic clove until clove is below surface or deeper. Repeat roughly evenly across all sides of roast with remaining cloves. Add olive oil to dutch oven or slow cooker's heat proof inner pot, and heat at medium/medium-high on stove burner until oil is shimmering, but immediately reduce heat if oil starts to smoke/burn. Add chuck roast and sear for 1-2 minutes on each side, including edges. Once done, transfer seared roast to plate and set aside.
Remove dutch oven/inner pot from burner. If using slow cooker, place inner pot back into cooker. Add in diced onion and 1/2 cup chicken stock, and scrape bottom of dutch oven/pot with wooden spoon to loosen up the brown bits (the fond) from seared roast. Add remaining chicken stock, then stir in beef base, soy sauce, kosher salt, liquid smoke, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper, and pepper juice. If adding parsley and/or chives, also add them now.
Return chuck roast to dutch oven/inner pot. Arrange peppers in seasoned chicken stock around roast. Place lid on dutch oven/pot. Slide dutch oven into kitchen oven and bake at 300°F - or - turn slow cooker on high setting. Cook for 2 hours, remove lid, and turn roast over. Cook for another hour, flip roast over again, and cook for remaining one hour. Plate up roast, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes or so.
If making gravy, use a large spoon/ladle to skim off fat from surface of cooked roast juices; discard all but 2 tbsp. Carefully pour the still-hot cooked juices through wire strainer into Pyrex/CorningWare/heat proof bowl, discarding cooked onion bits and herbs. Add reserved 2 tbsp of fat back into dutch oven/inner pot and return to stove burner. Heat fat on medium/medium-high and scrape bottom of pot with wooden spatula/spoon to loosen any remaining bits of fond. Once fat is hot, add flour. Scrape/stir often to brown flour in fat (the roux) to avoid burning it. Once flour is well-browned, slowly start to whisk in cooked juices while bringing to low boil. Continue to stir until gravy is bubbling and thickened, then remove from heat. Transfer gravy to serving bowl.
Edit:
GothBard doesn't care for peppers, and tomatoes make it taste too much like chili.I figure beef, carrots, and boiler onions for the stew proper, then my mashed potatoes, and we'll be set, but I like to see all the recipes that are out there before doing my own thing.Add some chopped peppers, mushrooms, and optionally tomatoes (tomato pulp preferably). You can thicken it with some sour cream or flour-based roux (I never tried the later, always using the former, though).
The pepper taste from the recipe above is very mild, and if someone didn't know what it was, they'd likely have some difficulty recognizing it. It's more reminiscent of pickles than peppers.
Once I mastered how to make flour-based roux, I try to use it for all of my thickening. Unfortunately, I always end up utterly flabbergasted as just how much liquid a good roux can absorb. My experiments usually end up as, "Amazing sauce... amazing roux... throw sauce into roux. Sauce turns into hockey puck. No no no no no!!! Add 2 gallons of water to desolidify hockey puck. Sauce is now awful. Simmer for 3-4 hours to restore sauce."
Not an ideal solution...
1 tbsp fat + 1 tbsp flour + 1 cup of seasoned liquid always works well for me, but I keep stirring, stirring, stirring.
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So has anybody started playing Pathfinder 2e? I just bought the core rulebook.
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I have it but haven't played too much, it's fun what little I have played though.
Alas, the General and the kids are firmly hooked on Starfinder.
So has anybody started playing Pathfinder 2e? I just bought the core rulebook.
I have not. I'm not sure how I feel about the rule changes, but so far, the lore changes in the Bestiary (from a brief perusal only) are just, like, finally, you know?
They have codified and clarified several things and organized them in ways that just make so much daggum sense.
As an example, I was looking for some fey, and discovered that nymphs is now a broad category that includes both dryads and ??? (naiads? nereids? one of those...) with the implication that there are more variants based on terrain/natural features, and the more stereotypical 1e "nymph" is a "queen" of that kind. It's nice to have a tie back to mythology like that, and also an organization for why "purty fey women" is a recurrent theme of that kind.
That is literally the only thing I remember right now (because that's the one I discussed most with my wife - it's the one she was the most interested in of the topics), but I recall feeling that several of those things just... felt nice to finally have a focus rather than feeling random.
I both like and dislike the fact that half-elves and half-orcs are feat-based options of a human. I'm guessing that they're going to do something similar for aasimar and tiefling (I'm uncertain if those were in the book), and they may do something similar for the various goblin subraces. Don't know how to feel about it, but... it's interesting, and relatively reasonable, considering the way they handle races.
I like the fact that spells are divided into kind, now: ritual, spell, and <other category I've forgotten>. I felt it was a neat-looking division and reasonable, but I don't fully understand the mechanics, so I'll have to go looking more.
Glad the alchemist is a base class, and the crusaders makes sense, though I'm still processing my emotions about it.
I think I recall they made undercasting a basic function of magic, now, which, you know, makes sense - though I may have just gotten that all shades of incorrect.
Anyway, that's pretty much all I've got, personally. I can't delve too heavily into either mechanics or lore, because it's been a few weeks since I got a chance to peruse the things (and given the cost it'll likely be a long time before I buy it, if I do... though if they come out with psionics - actual psionics, not the occult... thing... they did - I might just have to), and I've been busy with other game prep of various sorts since then.
I think Captain Yesterday has a lot to say on the subject!
EDIT: Ah! Ninja'd:
I have it but haven't played too much, it's fun what little I have played though.
Alas, the General and the kids are firmly hooked on Starfinder.
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It doesn't help that Age of Ashes is thoroughly uninteresting.
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I haven't touched it. PF1 and 5e cause enough conflicts in my head and I'm actively playing both, I have no real interest or reason to pick up a new system and confuse myself further.
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I finally got my severance pay from Toys R Us.
So, what was my five and a half years of service worth?
20.86.
Yup.
"You HAVE to spend that on something ridiculously frivolous!" - The General, my muse.
For the record, I'm buying a Pathfinder pocket edition with it.
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O_o
O_o
... why this guy said.
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How do they just NOW pay you? We were taking on employees from the Toys-R-Us closing back when I worked at Target, and I left Target to work for my grad school over a year ago.
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Add some chopped peppers, mushrooms, and optionally tomatoes (tomato pulp preferably). You can thicken it with some sour cream or flour-based roux (I never tried the later, always using the former, though).GothBard doesn't care for peppers, and tomatoes make it taste too much like chili.
I meant sweet bell peppers, not the spicy chilly peppers, by the way.
What about the mushrooms?
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The stew on the recipe section of the Guinness website is pretty good.
But that's problematic: all my favorite stew recipes involve braising the meat in some type of alcoholic beverage.
Although I wouldn't try it with Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill again. It gave the bison a bizarre aftertaste.
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I think the single greatest frustration faced by any of us when dealing with customer service is an immediate and obvious lack of understanding on the recipient's part:
NobodysHome: Dear financial institution, I'd like to convert my IRA to a managed account. Can I do that without opening a new account?
Customer Service Representative: Dear NobodysHome, we'd be GLAD to help you open a new managed account! Here are the steps to open a new account...It's like, "FFS, if you can't even read my message, why the **** should I trust you with my money?"
Depending on the institution, a converted account would indeed be a new account.
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I finally got my severance pay from Toys R Us.
So, what was my five and a half years of service worth?
20.86.
Yup.
"You HAVE to spend that on something ridiculously frivolous!" - The General, my muse.
For the record, I'm buying a Pathfinder pocket edition with it.
I would convert that to coinage, fill a hefty sock with said coinage, and crack people in the face with it whilst singing the Toys R Us theme song.
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There have been how many posts since the last time I was here?
Welcome back.
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Well.
This day sucks worse than the convention ever did. Ugh.
I am sorry to hear that. Hopefully the rest of your week goes better.
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~blinks as I look up from playing Stellaris~ Um... It is night time already? But... But... I have yet to get to Battleships and Mega Engineering! Just a few more turns before work!
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Freehold DM, I am up if you want to talk about your day.
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The stew on the recipe section of the Guinness website is pretty good.
But that's problematic: all my favorite stew recipes involve braising the meat in some type of alcoholic beverage.Although I wouldn't try it with Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill again. It gave the bison a bizarre aftertaste.
Er... I have no issues cooking with alcohol, since heat burns it all off. Pretty much everything I cook starts with some alcohol, whether sake or wine or beer or whatnot...
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I think the single greatest frustration faced by any of us when dealing with customer service is an immediate and obvious lack of understanding on the recipient's part:
NobodysHome: Dear financial institution, I'd like to convert my IRA to a managed account. Can I do that without opening a new account?
Customer Service Representative: Dear NobodysHome, we'd be GLAD to help you open a new managed account! Here are the steps to open a new account...It's like, "FFS, if you can't even read my message, why the **** should I trust you with my money?"
Depending on the institution, a converted account would indeed be a new account.
That's interesting. Because it's just, "I have an existing IRA. I want you to choose how to distribute the funds instead of me having to do it," doesn't seem like a big difference that needs a new account.
But what do I know?
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I think the single greatest frustration faced by any of us when dealing with customer service is an immediate and obvious lack of understanding on the recipient's part:
NobodysHome: Dear financial institution, I'd like to convert my IRA to a managed account. Can I do that without opening a new account?
Customer Service Representative: Dear NobodysHome, we'd be GLAD to help you open a new managed account! Here are the steps to open a new account...It's like, "FFS, if you can't even read my message, why the **** should I trust you with my money?"
Depending on the institution, a converted account would indeed be a new account.
That's interesting. Because it's just, "I have an existing IRA. I want you to choose how to distribute the funds instead of me having to do it," doesn't seem like a big difference that needs a new account.
But what do I know?
IIRC, it all hinges on whether or not the IRA(or whatever the original account is) ceases to exist.
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Holy carp, today was the mother of all bad Mondays.
Got to the solar plant, noticed one of our inverters was in alarm, which happens sometimes. It's always some mystery fault; so I went out to check the arrays, not expecting to see anything. Don't tell my boss, but I was listening to Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World as I walked...
And I found a failure. A catastrophic equipment failure. Actually five catastrophic equipment failures. Like the "She can't take anymore, she's gonna blow!" kind of failure. Except it had already blown, and I just found the slagged metal and ashes. Literally.
Oh and as an aside, I found out two weeks ago that I'm being fired in six months. Some other company bought half of my solar plant, and part of the deal is that they're taking over maintenance. My boss and I were just starting to think that our last few months would be nice and quiet...
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Wow, that's *not* good. Sorry to hear that!
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Cooking time!
I bought a giant chunk-o-beef from Costco last weekend, and I was going to make a pot roast but GothBard has requested beef stew; in particular, "The kind that doesn't have any potatoes in it, but that you pour over mashed potatoes and you're in hog heaven."
Anyone have such a slow cooker recipe? (I have an Easy Pot and Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking on my side, but I figured I could ask as well.)
I figure beef, carrots, and boiler onions for the stew proper, then my mashed potatoes, and we'll be set, but I like to see all the recipes that are out there before doing my own thing.
So this is for about 500 gram of meat. You're going to have to do conversion yourself.
a knifepoint of sambal
1-2 spoons of flour
50 g butter
500 g onions
2 spoons of vinegar
500 ml broth
5 cloves
2 bay leaves
Optional: reduce the broth by half and add a bottle of dark beer.
Other optional: Instead of vinegar you can add two spoons of apple butter, and a cut up apple.
Other optional: you can add a spoon of sugar if you like a bit more of a caramell taste to the stew.
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Holy carp, today was the mother of all bad Mondays.
Got to the solar plant, noticed one of our inverters was in alarm, which happens sometimes. It's always some mystery fault; so I went out to check the arrays, not expecting to see anything. Don't tell my boss, but I was listening to Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World as I walked...
And I found a failure. A catastrophic equipment failure. Actually five catastrophic equipment failures. Like the "She can't take anymore, she's gonna blow!" kind of failure. Except it had already blown, and I just found the slagged metal and ashes. Literally.
Oh and as an aside, I found out two weeks ago that I'm being fired in six months. Some other company bought half of my solar plant, and part of the deal is that they're taking over maintenance. My boss and I were just starting to think that our last few months would be nice and quiet...
Dayum TS, that sucks
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Holy carp, today was the mother of all bad Mondays.
Got to the solar plant, noticed one of our inverters was in alarm, which happens sometimes. It's always some mystery fault; so I went out to check the arrays, not expecting to see anything. Don't tell my boss, but I was listening to Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World as I walked...
And I found a failure. A catastrophic equipment failure. Actually five catastrophic equipment failures. Like the "She can't take anymore, she's gonna blow!" kind of failure. Except it had already blown, and I just found the slagged metal and ashes. Literally.
Oh and as an aside, I found out two weeks ago that I'm being fired in six months. Some other company bought half of my solar plant, and part of the deal is that they're taking over maintenance. My boss and I were just starting to think that our last few months would be nice and quiet...
Oof. I'm so sorry, my dude. I know it never feels good. Hugs and prayers.
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Oh, good. Vomit. WELP. The Eldest isn’t going to go to school tomorrow...
Also: woke up this morning when informed of my Eldest's second bout of vomit!
yyyyyyyyyyyyay.
But! He rocked it! He managed to get it into the toilet (recognizing the symptoms and running there, staying there, and waiting until he was finished), flushed, washed (hands and face), and changed his clothes!
Way to go, my little dude!
So sorry he's going through this, but proud of how well he's handling it.
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As WW reminded me this morning, Happy National Depression Day, everyone!
He's celebrating by having lunch with his crazy uncle Skipper, and yes, in true Southern fashion, that's his real name. Picture a cross between Uncle Fester and Lorenzo Music.
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The carpenter that does decks for us is named Scooter.
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What does he call his scooter?
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What does he call his scooter?
Skippy. Nobody really knows why.
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Good luck in the job hunt, TS. It thoroughly sucks to have to do that, but the good news is that you have some lead time to figure it out.