For God’s sake, people, you’re adults. Act like it.
“Egging” someone’s house as a “prank” is just dumb.
Especially if that someone is your boss.
And especially if you’re a cop.
Important safety tip. (#13 in a series)
January 4th, 2013Resolved.
January 4th, 2013I think Calvin has the right idea.
But I was puttering around in the kitchen yesterday, putting together a loaf of sourdough beer bread, and a couple of thoughts occurred to me.
- There’s something kind of magical in the transformation of water, flour, and yeast to bread. I know some of the science, but it still kind of amazes me when I dump a bunch of stuff in one end, and get something I can eat (that tastes good!) out of the other.
- I have a really nice bread machine
that I haven’t been using as much as I should. I need to step that up, and I’ve already started working in that direction.
- I’ve been working through, or plan to start working through, several cookbooks: primarily Bread Machine Baking
, though I want to try adapting some of the ones from Breads from the La Brea Bakery
to bread machine use. Laurence Simon has some recipes on his site that I’d like to try as well.
- I’ve also been improvising some breads. For example, on Sunday I made a basic white bread from the cookbook that came with the machine, but I added a tablespoon of Penzeys Italian Herb mix and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. It came out okay, but a little salty for my taste. (A major reason it came out that way is that I misread the recipe and added too much salt. If I had put in the correct amount, I think it would have been better, even with the added salt from the cheese.)
- But I haven’t been documenting the recipes I’ve tried, or my improvisations.
So I’m going to start keeping a bread journal of what I bake, where it came from, what changes/improvisations I’ve made, and how it came out.
I’m just using a simple notebook for this right now. But I’m thinking about posting these as regular entries (maybe once a week; as a single guy, a loaf a week is about what I go through) on a blog. Probably here; I thought about doing this on the SDC blog, but that’s more restaurant targeted than food in general. I don’t see that fitting in with the shared vision Lawrence and I have for that blog.
Would folks be interested in this? I don’t think there’s any danger of me turning into a foodie d’bag: TJIC would probably…well, maybe not sneer, but at least say something to me for using a bread machine rather than mixing and kneading by hand, for starters.
I’d also like to get some feedback on what I might be doing wrong. The sourdough beer bread tastes pretty good and has just about the right texture for my taste, but the top crust came out cracked and uneven. (The basic white bread+ I made came out distorted: one end rose to a normal level, but the other end just barely rose at all. I blame that on the salt problem. It was also pretty dense, but again, the salt problem, plus I kind of expect cheese breads to be dense.)
How about it, folks? Feel free to leave comments.
(I haven’t said this in a while, so let me drop this in here: if you buy stuff from Amazon using the links above or the search box to the side, I get a small kickback which I could use right now. Just saying; no obligation to buy.)
(Oh, and speaking of magic/science, I’ve started reading Ruhlman’s Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
(Note to self: look for good kitchen scale when out thrift-shopping again.)
(Note to self 2: they’re really not that much on Amazon
Random notes: January 4, 2013.
January 4th, 2013It looks like this is going to be a NYT heavy day. I apologize, but I go where the interesting stuff is.
This is a no-snark story. Even though I think the main idea is well known, and gets repeated by the NYT every few years, I still think it is worth noting,
According to the NYT, operators expect an average of one death per week. (There were 55 in 2012, and the system has already had the first death of 2013.)
“I was always seeing it, you know?” Ms. Moore, 45, from Staten Island, said. “I see him alive and….”
Also in the NYT, an interesting article about the investigation into the Indianapolis gas explosion.
I’ve heard more than once that family photos being missing, or obviously taken out of the house before the event, is a significant clue to investigators that they might be dealing with arson or some other deliberate act. But as we shift towards digital photos and storage in the cloud, how long is that going to remain a useful clue?
Conveniently, the people who owned the house were “at a casino 100 miles away”, their daughter was spending the night with friends, and they had boarded their cat.
This came to me by way of the NYT: I’m linking to the AZCentral web site, but both have about the same amount of detail. The jury in the trial of Erick Venola deadlocked on the second-degree murder charges against him. Mr. Venola is expected to be retried in late February; he was pleading self-defense in the shooting of his neighbor, James Patrick O’Neill.
Why is this worth noting? I don’t note every mistrial in Arizona. True that, but: Mr. Venola was a former editor of “Guns and Ammo” magazine, and I’ve seen absolutely no mention of this in the gun blog sphere (or anywhere else) before now. It may be that Mr. Venola is not exactly a sympathetic defendant: the prosecution claims he and Mr. O’Neill were both drunk at the time of the shooting.
Interesting set of stats from the NYT, by way of Jimbo: Arthur O. Sulzberger’s obit in the NYT was the fourth longest in the past 30 years. The top five:
Unintended consequences.
January 3rd, 2013Actual headline from the Y Combinator Twitter feed that made me click through to the article:
Why did a Train Carrying Biofuel Cross the Border 24 Times and Never Unload? j.mp/12WJUbZ
— news.yc Popular (@newsycombinator) January 3, 2013
So why did the train cross the border 24 times and never unload? My first thought was “to get to the other side”. Turns out that was wrong.
I’ll spoil the riddle for you:
This was all perfectly legal, at least according to the companies involved. The US and Canadian governments are investigating, according to the article, so the “perfectly legal” part may be in dispute.
(Wouldn’t you have enjoyed being a fly in the cab of that train and listening to the crew talk as they went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth across the border?)
More things I did not know.
January 3rd, 2013Commenting over at Tam’s place led me to Wikipedia, to refresh my memory of the Rankine scale.
And a footnote there, in turn, led me to something I’d never heard of before: VSMOW. That’s Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water, “a water standard defining the isotopic composition of freshwater”.
You see, if your water doesn’t have the exact right isotopic composition, you may see errors in your calibration of up to “several hundred microkelvin”.
I prefer being a time geek, but I have to admit that being a temperature geek does appear to have some thrills.
Random notes: January 3, 2013.
January 3rd, 2013How’s that strict gun control working for you, Chicago?
First they came for the large sodas, and I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t drink soda. Then they came for the energy drinks…
Obit watch: Patti Page. NYT. A/V Club.
The NYT profiles Christopher Tinker, auto mechanic in Baltimore. Why? Christopher Tinker’s great-grandfather was Joe Tinker.
Yeah, that Joe Tinker.
Lake Tahoe has a bear problem. Actually, Lake Tahoe has two bear problems:
Problem #2:
Blood for the blood god!
January 2nd, 2013The man who TMQ would describe as “the tastefully named Gregg Williams” is apparently out as defensive coordinator in St. Louis, according to ESPN.
This is kind of an interesting situation: Williams worked for the Saints, took the job with the Rams in the off-season, and was then suspended indefinitely by the NFL for his part in the bounty scandal. He didn’t coach at all this season, and has not been reinstated by the NFL. So I’m not sure why they’re letting him go now; couldn’t they have just as easily fired him before the season started?
Both ESPN and ProFootballTalk are reporting that Blake Williams, Gregg’s son and the linebackers coach, has also been fired. Blake actually coached this season: PFT states “After Gregg was suspended, [Rams coach Jeff] Fisher gave many of Gregg’s responsibilities to the 27-year-old Blake, making him one of the youngest assistant coaches ever to handle play calling in the NFL.”
Beats me, but I just report ’em.
Random notes: January 2, 2013.
January 2nd, 2013Would you like to make great coffee and espresso? Well, you could get the NYT to pay for you to take classes from people with names like “Ant”. And you could pay anywhere from $100 to $600 for a burr grinder.
Or instead you could read this rant by Stingray, which pretty much tells you everything important about making good coffee. (Language warning on that link, just FYI.)
I do think there’s something to be said for the NYT piece:
It seems like the important thing is to use good coffee, use enough of it, and don’t let it sit and burn. Unless you’re a supertaster (which I am not), I doubt you can tell the difference between a $250 burr grinder and a $10 blade grinder, or an AeroPress versus a Chemex.
It isn’t rocket surgery, folks. It’s just coffee.
Random notes: January 1, 2013.
January 1st, 2013Let us pause in our revels for a few moments to consider the plight of the less fortunate.
Specifically, the Vegas sports books, which did not do well this NFL season.
One of the people involved in the MGM sports books claims they took a “seven-figure” hit that day.
“Looking at this, I can tell you we’ll need the underdogs to win in every game. Again,” he said.
If I understand this right, the Texans are favored by between 4 and 5 points over the Bengals. Just saying.
This story was reported by Instapundit and other folks late last week. I didn’t link it because all the reports came back to PRNewswire, who I don’t trust. However, I finally found a link to a WSJ article. So here’s what happened: the ASPCA and other animal rights organizations sued Feld Entertainment (the parent company of Ringling Brothers) for violations of the Endangered Species Act. The organizations, along with a former Ringling Brothers employee, claimed that the circus was mistreating elephants. This has been dragging on for years:
The hook (so to speak): last Friday, the ASPCA settled with Feld Entertainment and paid Feld $9.3 million. Feld is pursuing other parties in the case, including “the Humane Society of the United States, the Fund for Animals, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Animal Protection Institute United with Born Free USA, the former employee and the lawyers who prosecuted the bogus case”.
I’m opposed to animal cruelty. I don’t think you should run over turtles. I think dogs and cats deserve decent treatment, and I think we could do a better job of dealing with meat animals. But I also think that when you hear Sara McLachlan singing “Silent Night” while a bunch of sad-eyed animals appear on the screen, you should keep in mind that the money you donate is going to pay off a settlement from a frivolous and malicious lawsuit.
Happy New Year, everyone.
January 1st, 2013I’d like to say “may 2013 be better than 2012”, but that’s less of an expression of hope and more of a statement of fact. I find it hard to imagine this new year being much worse than the last one.
I’d also like to thank the following folks:
- North and the Gun Blog Blacklist.
- the fine folks at Popehat.
- Borepatch.
- and Battleswarm.
Those sites were the top referrers of hits here in 2012.
I don’t get the loony search terms that Ken and Patrick do. You guys need to work on that in 2013. My test and evaluation of the Nerf EBF-25 continues to be an evergreen post, and a lot of folks apparently came here looking for information on Azaria and Lindy Chamberlain, oddly enough. You’d figure that people looking for information on the case would go to a more mainstream site…
Enough administrative indulgence. Good luck this year, everyone.
Monday morning coming down.
December 31st, 2012My plan is to do one post covering all of today’s NFL firings, and to update it whenever possible throughout the day.
So far:
Gene Smith is out as general manager of the (2-14) Jacksonville Jaguars. Khaaaaaaaaaaan!
Andy Reid. Eagles. Everyone knew it was coming.
According to the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, the Jets have fired general manager Mike Tannenbaum, but plan to retain Rex Ryan as coach. That’s a “WTF?”item.
The Cleveland Browns have canned coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert.
Various sources are reporting that Romeo Crennel is out as head coach in Kansas City, but the team plans to keep Scott Pioli as general manager. There’s nothing official from the team yet. (Edited to add: the KC Star reports that this is now official. And “Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement that the entire football operation will remain under review and no final determination has been made about Pioli’s job status.”)
Edited to add and bumped: Lovie Smith gone as head coach of da Bears.
Chan Gailey out as head coach of the Bills.
Edited to add: Reports are that Norv Turmer and AJ Smith are out in San Diego, but I have not seen anything official yet. (Edited to add: official now.)
Edited to add: FARK has an official “Black Monday” thread going. You are, of course, welcome to comment here as well.
Edited to add: Ken Whisenhunt out as coach and Rod Graves out as general manager of the Arizona Cardinals. (ETA2: and a whole bunch of offensive coaches as well.)
Edited to add: I think everyone who’s going to be fired today, has been. So let’s wrap this for now with a fitting musical interlude.
Edited to add: Mike Munchak retains his position as head coach, and Ruston Webster stays general manager, in Tennessee. But Mike Reinfeldt is out as chief operating officer.
And Jim Schwartz stays coach of the Lions, but three of his assistants got kicked to the curb.
Two quick items.
December 31st, 2012This is an actual headline on the Dallas Morning News website, as of 9:48 AM today:
Dallas police officer on leave over rap video has car burglarized while visiting husband’s grave
And I said, “Whaaaaaaaaht?” (Short item, but worth clicking through to read. The headline, while odd, is an accurate summary.)
Today’s NYT has a follow-up story about Ryan Freel, whose death was previously noted here. Of interest:
- His stepfather ups the concussion estimate to 15, “10 as a professional ballplayer”.
- “His former wife witnessed a winter league game in Venezuela in which he smashed through an outfield wall and had to be hospitalized with a concussion.”
- “Freel’s former wife said she found no fault with his teams or their medical staffs, concluding that they diagnosed his condition properly and insisted that he abide by the stipulated recovery period.”
- It looks like he will be tested for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
TMQ watch: December 25, 2012.
December 30th, 2012Yes, we admit it. We’re lazy and evil. Also, we got a little behind with the holidays. This is the first chance we’ve had to post this week’s mini-TMQ watch for this week’s mini-TMQ.
Before we start, though, we do want to note that NFL.com is currently reporting the firing of Andy Reid as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, but it does not sound like the team has made an official announcement. Yet. Monday is the usual “blood in the streets” day for NFL firings.
After the jump…
Obit watch: December 29, 2012.
December 29th, 2012Jean S. Harris, former headmistress of the Madeira School.
Of course, those of you who were alive and aware of your surroundings in the early 1980s know that’s not why I bring up the late Ms. Harris. For those of you who don’t recall, she became notorious after shooting her lover, Dr. Herman Tarnower (a cardiologist who’d become very rich after publishing The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet
Ms. Harris and Dr. Tarnower had been long-time lovers, but Dr. Tarnower started dating his younger assistant. Eventually, Ms. Harris snapped; she claimed she drove to Dr. Tarnower’s to kill herself, Dr. Tarnower tried to get the gun away from her, and she accidentally shot him twice in the struggle.
Unfortunately, Dr. Tarnower had four bullet wounds, not two. Ms. Harris was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 15 to life. She did 12 years before Governor Mario Cuomo granted her clemency.
While she was in prison, she became known as something of an activist for better treatment of women prisoners:
She also tutored her fellow prisoners and worked in the prison library.
Edited to add 12/30: Longer and more detailed obit from the LAT.
More news from the Things That Suck Department.
December 28th, 2012I don’t subscribe to that many gun magazines.
I should subscribe to SWAT, and will when finances are better and I get around to it; right now I buy it on the newsstand. I like Claire Wolfe’s and Louis Awerbuck’s columns, and I’m also loyal to people I like. I get American Rifleman with my NRA membership. I subscribe to American Handgunner because I like a lot of the content: Taffin, Ayoob, Conner and Smith specifically. Plus, the editor of AH did me a great personal favor several years ago; he wouldn’t remember, and the story is a long one, but I feel a great deal of loyalty towards the magazine and Roy Huntington.
I also subscribed fairly recently to Precision Shooting magazine, after purchasing it off the stand at my local gun shop for a while. I find it rare when the editor’s column in a magazine is the first thing I want to read, but Dave Brennan always had something funny or profound or wise or silly to say. A lot of the articles may have been a little ahead of where I am now, but I figured they might be useful in the future. And there was always something there for me; a recent survey of scout rifles, for example, or an article on double guns, or a discussion of how to get more accuracy out of a 10/22, or…
Dave Brennan ran a swell magazine, and managed to round up a good stable of writers. If I was allowed only one gun magazine, I would have picked Precision Shooting.
I noticed in the past few weeks that I hadn’t seen an issue since October. I know some magazines do a combined year-end edition, so I wasn’t too worried. But I didn’t see a December issue, and there wasn’t one on the racks when I went to my gun shop. Did my subscription expire? Did the gun shop sell out? I thought I’d check back in early January; perhaps they were just taking the holiday season off.
Various things led me to go out to their website, and, well…apparently, I’m the last person to find out that Precision Shooting stopped publishing in October. It looks like the usual reasons were involved – that is, money.
I’ll miss it. There are a couple of books collecting some of the articles, but it just won’t be the same. Thanks, Mr. Brennan, for keeping things going as long as you did, and good luck.