1.) It depends on the neighborhood, but generally it is warned against. I leave my car unlocked most of the time at home, but my parents will lock theirs even if they know they are only going into the house for a few seconds. My parents have that expectation, but that stems from about 20 years ago when the guy living behind them was a known tweaker and thief.In your country/location:
(1) If you leave something valuable (a tool set, purse, wallet, etc.) in plan sight inside your car, is there a societal expectation that someone will break into your car because you were stupid enough to leave something valuable in plain sight?
That's kind of amusing, because as I've mentioned, around here if you leave your car unlocked someone will very politely go through it and steal all the change, leaving everything else neatly stacked on your car seats. But you can leave your front door unlocked 24/7. Nobody tries to rob the houses.
(2) If you leave something valuable on the ground in front of your house, is the expectation that someone will walk off with it?2.) Since I've moved back to the area, their seems to have been a decrease in that sort of thing, but an increase of people being stupid with firearms, like firing them into the air. Again, my parents expect it, but one of our neighbors was out of town for like 3 days, a package got delivered to them, left by the mailbox next to the street, and was left undisturbed that entire time. See tweaker comment above.
Oh, don't get me started on the firearms thing. We lived in the Richmond hills for a while. Every Fourth of July and New Year's a guy about a block up from us would go out at midnight, fire his revolver six times into the air over the heavily-populated area below, then go back in to (presumably) sleep off his drunk.
EDIT: And nobody sleeps off their drunk clothed. Nobody.
Now I'm horribly curious. Not a fan of firearms, but as someone who grew up close to some historic sites that would regularly do demonstrations and/or mark the hours by a cannon "shot," why wouldn't folks just load some blanks?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Now I'm horribly curious. Not a fan of firearms, but as someone who grew up close to some historic sites that would regularly do demonstrations and/or mark the hours by a cannon "shot," why wouldn't folks just load some blanks?
Blanks require forethought, a trait sorely lacking in those who want to shoot off firearms to celebrate things.
And yes, I have personally spoken with at least two people who thought this way. "Well, if I'm holding them at gunpoint but my gun is filled with blanks and they try something, then I'm screwed!"
EDIT: By comparison, of the four home burglaries of my friends and family that I know about, two occurred while people were home. In the first case my mother-in-law let out an ear-piercing shriek on seeing them and the perpetrators immediately fled empty-handed. In the second the person in the house attempted to physically assault the intruder and the intruder fled empty-handed. Surprise, surprise, statistically by a surprisingly vast margin, unless you belong to specific ethnic groups known to keep large amounts of ready cash in the house, home intruders would rather run than confront you.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I may have just created a monster.
Impus Major: I'm sick of all these [government] people committing crimes and getting away with it!
NobodysHome: Well, it's a fundamental failure of our system; only Congress can prosecute crimes against Congress and they're declining to do so. The Department of Justice decides whether or not to prosecute federal crimes and they're declining to do so. So once you have a system where people say, "OK, we're not going to prosecute people on our team," the system breaks down.
Impus Major: That's not right! There's no other system in this country where one person decides whether or not to prosecute a crime! For example, if I commit a murder there's not one person who can decide not to prosecute me for it!
NobodysHome: Oh, yes, there is! That would go to the Alameda County D.A. and they would decide whether or not you should be prosecuted.
Impus Major: So you mean if I get in good with the D.A....
NobodysHome: I'm gonna cut off that train of thought right there.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The mind boggles.
On a happier, completely unrelated note, although more menacing to some, it looks like the powers of fashion - at least in my part of the world - have decided that this season will at long last include more greens than it has for a while.
Which means that a bunch of shops have basically set up Qunnessaa traps in their windows, making skipping around town that much more perilous.
Spring is arriving up here, and I'm starting to look forward to when the magnolias and hyacinths will start blooming.
Impus Major: That's not right! There's no other system in this country where one person decides whether or not to prosecute a crime! For example, if I commit a murder there's not one person who can decide not to prosecute me for it!
Had he someone specific in mind or was that more of a general thought?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The mind boggles.
On a happier, completely unrelated note, although more menacing to some, it looks like the powers of fashion - at least in my part of the world - have decided that this season will at long last include more greens than it has for a while.
Which means that a bunch of shops have basically set up Qunnessaa traps in their windows, making skipping around town that much more perilous.
Spring is arriving up here, and I'm starting to look forward to when the magnolias and hyacinths will start blooming.
Buy a green veil and then use it as a blindfold to not look at the other shop's windows.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Buy a green veil and then use it as a blindfold to not look at the other shop's windows.The mind boggles.
On a happier, completely unrelated note, although more menacing to some, it looks like the powers of fashion - at least in my part of the world - have decided that this season will at long last include more greens than it has for a while.
Which means that a bunch of shops have basically set up Qunnessaa traps in their windows, making skipping around town that much more perilous.
Spring is arriving up here, and I'm starting to look forward to when the magnolias and hyacinths will start blooming.
I'm actually trying something adjacent to that: I found a reasonably good deal on some pretty linen at the local fabric shop, and am now agonizing about what to do with it, both in terms of what sort of top to cut it for, and then colours and patterns for embroidering it. It should keep me out of the worst trouble I could otherwise get into. :)
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Oh, no. Freehold has gone into manual breathing mode again. Let's hope it doesn't spread. Or cause people to become aware of when they blink. Or see their nose.
Or find out that they just lost The Game.
"Heart, Lungs, Liver, Nerves. Heart, Lungs, Liver, Nerves. Heart, Lungs, Liver, Nerves."
I swear, speaking of stupid reservation systems, Lowes is reminding me of certain politicians.
"You need to pick up by April 1 or we're going to cancel your order."
"We noticed that you didn't pick it up. You need to pick up by April 3 or we're going to cancel your order."
"We noticed that you didn't pick it up. You need to pick up by April 10 or we're going to cancel your order."
This final notice was from what looked like an actual human being so I wrote back a fairly snarky email about all my efforts to tell the morons I'd already picked up. I did not use the word "morons", but I was tempted.
We'll see whether the account in question was really a human, or just a bot in disguise.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So, I've survived many, many, many rounds of layoffs. While I haven't kept a lifetime record of how many times I've survived layoffs, the number is closer to 20 than 10. At least twice I was asked to sit there for 2-3 months while they decided what to do with me.
But at least for those times they said, "Just keep doing what you were doing before until we figure out what you should be doing," and I had plenty of work to keep me busy.
For this layoff, last year they told us we would no longer be developing curriculum so we needed to figure out what we would be doing to justify our existence. Before that project was even done they laid off almost all the rest of us. So now I'm sitting here, day after day, with no actual projects to work on. I've finished the required 14-hour training and have embarked on 28-hour certification training. I had one project I was working on, but we're mandated to use AI voices and the latest patch broke them.
So sitting around at work with absolutely nothing to do other than take hour after hour after hour of training on stuff I already know.
It is definitely not the most exciting nor wonderful thing in the world. But considering the state of the industry, it sure as he** beats being unemployed at the moment.
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Interview today.
Am on manual mode until afterwards.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Interview today.
Am on manual mode until afterwards.
Good luck!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Oh, this isn't menacing at all.
"Well, every day we can have the AI tell everyone what they should be doing, and at the end of the day we can measure managers against how well their teams performed what the AI told them to do."
We really do live in the stupidest timeline.
Package flew from Köln to Memphis yesterday. I'm supposed to get it tomorrow.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Oh, this isn't menacing at all.
"Well, every day we can have the AI tell everyone what they should be doing, and at the end of the day we can measure managers against how well their teams performed what the AI told them to do."
We really do live in the stupidest timeline.
BUTLERIAN JIHAD NOW
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Package flew from Köln to Memphis yesterday. I'm supposed to get it tomorrow.
Memphis, TN or Memphis, Egypt?
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Okay. Back to automatic. That went well, I think.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I suspect it's because I'm not Southern (Shiro says recipes there are very different), but I looked up "classic meatloaf recipe" and the first three hits all had a bunch of added brown sugar. In meatloaf. WTF?
I knew I was looking for ground beef, bread crumbs or oatmeal, onion, eggs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and either tomato paste or ketchup for the topping, plus maybe some oregano or thyme, but brown sugar? Who wants a sweet meatloaf? And since when is such a meatloaf "classic"?
I'm putting it out there because we've got enough of the U.S. covered that I'm hoping to find out whether it's a regional thing or a stupid modern thing.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I can't see how brown sugar might improve your Meatloaf Experience.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
OK. I'm feeling a little better about my job security. Apparently I am a terrifying troll who simply inhabits Global Megacorporation's recesses and the rules don't apply to me...
Never underestimate the power of being a terrifying monstrosity! We're the wave of the future!
...and the past. We always seem to just hang around...| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I suspect it's because I'm not Southern (Shiro says recipes there are very different), but I looked up "classic meatloaf recipe" and the first three hits all had a bunch of added brown sugar. In meatloaf. WTF?
I knew I was looking for ground beef, bread crumbs or oatmeal, onion, eggs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and either tomato paste or ketchup for the topping, plus maybe some oregano or thyme, but brown sugar? Who wants a sweet meatloaf? And since when is such a meatloaf "classic"?
I'm putting it out there because we've got enough of the U.S. covered that I'm hoping to find out whether it's a regional thing or a stupid modern thing.
Brown sugar is [redacted] stupid.
My only big substitution is that I use no additive potato flakes like Bob's red mill instead of breadcrumbs because it gives it a nicer texture.
(I hesitate to combine the words "meat" and "mouthfeel" when both Freehold and Vany are lurking nearby.)
My all-time favorite meatloaf involves adding the Jamaican curry powder that oak town spice shop carries into the mixture and blending some pickapeppa sauce into the ketchup on top.
But I like it to have a bit of a kick.
Brown sugar is [redacted] stupid.I suspect it's because I'm not Southern (Shiro says recipes there are very different), but I looked up "classic meatloaf recipe" and the first three hits all had a bunch of added brown sugar. In meatloaf. WTF?
I knew I was looking for ground beef, bread crumbs or oatmeal, onion, eggs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and either tomato paste or ketchup for the topping, plus maybe some oregano or thyme, but brown sugar? Who wants a sweet meatloaf? And since when is such a meatloaf "classic"?
I'm putting it out there because we've got enough of the U.S. covered that I'm hoping to find out whether it's a regional thing or a stupid modern thing.
Thank you. Case closed.
My only big substitution is that I use no additive potato flakes like Bob's red mill instead of breadcrumbs because it gives it a nicer texture.
(I hesitate to combine the words "meat" and "mouthfeel" when both Freehold and Vany are lurking nearby.)My all-time favorite meatloaf involves adding the Jamaican curry powder that oak town spice shop carries into the mixture and blending some pickapeppa sauce into the ketchup on top.
But I like it to have a bit of a kick.
Yeah, my grandmother used Quaker oats and I really liked it as a kid; we'll see how I react as an adult. We just buy ground beef by the bushel and I'm getting really tired of tacos and S&M, so I decided I'd explore branching out into meatloaf and I wanted something really simple and basic to start from. I happen to have that Jamaican curry powder in my pantry right now (I'm sure you are all astonishment), but for round 1 I'm going dirt-simple classic.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Brown sugar is [redacted] stupid.I suspect it's because I'm not Southern (Shiro says recipes there are very different), but I looked up "classic meatloaf recipe" and the first three hits all had a bunch of added brown sugar. In meatloaf. WTF?
I knew I was looking for ground beef, bread crumbs or oatmeal, onion, eggs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and either tomato paste or ketchup for the topping, plus maybe some oregano or thyme, but brown sugar? Who wants a sweet meatloaf? And since when is such a meatloaf "classic"?
I'm putting it out there because we've got enough of the U.S. covered that I'm hoping to find out whether it's a regional thing or a stupid modern thing.
Thank you. Case closed.
My only big substitution is that I use no additive potato flakes like Bob's red mill instead of breadcrumbs because it gives it a nicer texture.
(I hesitate to combine the words "meat" and "mouthfeel" when both Freehold and Vany are lurking nearby.)My all-time favorite meatloaf involves adding the Jamaican curry powder that oak town spice shop carries into the mixture and blending some pickapeppa sauce into the ketchup on top.
But I like it to have a bit of a kick.
Yeah, my grandmother used Quaker oats and I really liked it as a kid; we'll see how I react as an adult. We just buy ground beef by the bushel and I'm getting really tired of tacos and S&M,
I'm sorry, what?
...
You know, never mind.
so I decided I'd explore branching out into meatloaf and I wanted something really simple and basic to start from. I happen to have that Jamaican curry powder in my pantry right now (I'm sure you are all astonishment), but for round 1 I'm going dirt-simple classic.
Because Oaktown Spice Shop is LIFE and you are lucky enough to have one within WALKING DISTANCE whilst I have to pay shipping and wait a week and a half for my refill dime bags to arrive.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
So there are kids here who are not mine, who are terrible and largely out of control. Normally I don't care, not mine, not my problem, but for some reason any time I start a game they decide to move their cacophony to right outside my door.
"Go. Play. Somewhere. ELSE."
"Where?"
"I hear traffic is lovely this time of year"
Brown sugar in meatloaf: I could kinda see it if it's mixed into the glaze with some other stuff to make it more bbq-saucy. In the meat? No.
NH saying he's into to S&M: He could just be casually mentioning a kink, but I think he means spaghetti & meatballs.
Sweet sauces can go really well with various meats, but they are usually less than stellar with minced/ground meat...
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
NH saying he's into to S&M: He could just be casually mentioning a kink
Well...
...NobodysWife and I went to Costumes on Haight and got a full-blown Dr. Evil uniform, complete with scar, and I dutifully shaved my head. She dressed up like a biker dominatrix.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My substitution is just making something other than meatloaf, which is gross and overrated. And yes, I've had "great" meatloaf and it was still gross and overrated.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
ChatGPT now responds to "Thank You and Good Night" with simple "Good Night" without any additional pleasantries and compliments...
Is the inevitable revolution getting close?
I suspect it's because I'm not Southern (Shiro says recipes there are very different), but I looked up "classic meatloaf recipe" and the first three hits all had a bunch of added brown sugar. In meatloaf. WTF?
I knew I was looking for ground beef, bread crumbs or oatmeal, onion, eggs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and either tomato paste or ketchup for the topping, plus maybe some oregano or thyme, but brown sugar? Who wants a sweet meatloaf? And since when is such a meatloaf "classic"?
I'm putting it out there because we've got enough of the U.S. covered that I'm hoping to find out whether it's a regional thing or a stupid modern thing.
Sweetloaf?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
(I hesitate to combine the words "meat" and "mouthfeel" when both Freehold and Vany are lurking nearby.)
According to Shiro, brown sugar is supposed to be used sparingly to make the meat browner, and GothBard's input was similar; that the sugar would caramelize and make the meat brown.
-BUT-
Sugar caramelizes at 320°F. Ground beef is considered cooked at 160°F. So as others have mentioned, brown sugar across the top as a glaze could be a thing (kind of like honey-glazed ham, but worse). But brown sugar in the meat itself? Pointless.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Well, maybe this is a "good" use for AI?
The Prius' gasoline engine lost power and is producing a put-putting noise in the engine compartment. Plus we're getting terrible gas mileage. My immediate thought, "Exhaust manifold".
So I used the dozens (hundreds?) of hours of AI training I've received to write up a very carefully-worded prompt for ChatGPT, providing only facts and no guesses nor predictions.
And it came back with, "Exhaust manifold. It's a known weak point on 2006 Priuses."
We'll find out on Friday whether I/it was right.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sweetloaf?I suspect it's because I'm not Southern (Shiro says recipes there are very different), but I looked up "classic meatloaf recipe" and the first three hits all had a bunch of added brown sugar. In meatloaf. WTF?
I knew I was looking for ground beef, bread crumbs or oatmeal, onion, eggs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and either tomato paste or ketchup for the topping, plus maybe some oregano or thyme, but brown sugar? Who wants a sweet meatloaf? And since when is such a meatloaf "classic"?
I'm putting it out there because we've got enough of the U.S. covered that I'm hoping to find out whether it's a regional thing or a stupid modern thing.
You introduced me
To my meat.
Sweetloaf?I suspect it's because I'm not Southern (Shiro says recipes there are very different), but I looked up "classic meatloaf recipe" and the first three hits all had a bunch of added brown sugar. In meatloaf. WTF?
I knew I was looking for ground beef, bread crumbs or oatmeal, onion, eggs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and either tomato paste or ketchup for the topping, plus maybe some oregano or thyme, but brown sugar? Who wants a sweet meatloaf? And since when is such a meatloaf "classic"?
I'm putting it out there because we've got enough of the U.S. covered that I'm hoping to find out whether it's a regional thing or a stupid modern thing.
You introduced me
To my meat.
Interesting cultural poll:
** spoiler omitted **
In your country/location:
(1) If you leave something valuable (a tool set, purse, wallet, etc.) in plan sight inside your car, is there a societal expectation that someone will break into your car because you were stupid enough to leave something valuable in plain sight?(2) If you leave something valuable on the ground in front of your house, is the expectation that someone will walk off with it?
Late to the party but:
In Kansas, yes and yes. Package thievery/"porch piracy" was a particular problem in our area, and I think we only got away with it not happening to us often because we had a large, loud dog who would bark the instant someone not us approached the porch. Big Dog is the universal dissuader of thieves.
In Sichuan, mixed and no. I've heard stories of break-ins of vehicles but they're uncommon and don't come with the victim-blaming justifier. As far as packages go, people here are overwhelmingly apologetic if they grab the wrong package and will go out of their way to correctly deliver it once they realize the mistake.
I suspect it's because I'm not Southern (Shiro says recipes there are very different), but I looked up "classic meatloaf recipe" and the first three hits all had a bunch of added brown sugar. In meatloaf. WTF?
I knew I was looking for ground beef, bread crumbs or oatmeal, onion, eggs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and either tomato paste or ketchup for the topping, plus maybe some oregano or thyme, but brown sugar? Who wants a sweet meatloaf? And since when is such a meatloaf "classic"?
I'm putting it out there because we've got enough of the U.S. covered that I'm hoping to find out whether it's a regional thing or a stupid modern thing.
I can't can't say whether the brown sugar thing is a southern thing or not, as I somehow didn't have meatloaf until I was grown. It wouldn't surprise me though. Barbeque often invololves brown sugar, and when my wife made meatloaf, she would usually use barbeque sauce instead of ketchup, knowing i would probably like it better that way. It should be noted that we're from opposite ends of the country though, me being from Texas and her from South Dakota.
This is a nice summary of the Wednesday game:
NobodysHome, pre-game: I swear, I think I figured out my entire issue with the game. "OK, I put you in an interesting place with all kinds of interesting NPCs. Now how does your character go about their own personal development?" It is literally roleplaying out retiring to an eccentric beach community.
GM, post-game: So you didn't gain any XP this time, NobodysHome, but that's because I give you all this down time and this whole island to explore. That's where you're supposed to be doing your character development. Given your character, you're unlikely to get any XP during the sessions.