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Cake day: June 19th, 2023

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  • Okay, medium deep dive into cooking surfaces. No caveats or disclaimers because fuck that.

    The only thing that’s truly “non stick” is Teflon. Anything else is just low stick. This includes the beloved cast iron.

    But! Sticking isn’t an inherently bad thing, so unless you’re cooking eggs or making candy, chances are that cast iron, carbon steel, or stainless steel will get the job done anyway.

    Out of all the options, cast iron requires the most work to stay as low stick as it can get, and nothing else reaches that degree of easy cleaning after use. Carbon steel is just a skosh behind cast iron, but it’s lighter by a significant factor, so it may be worth considering.

    So, how the fuck to keep cast iron low stick? You gotta start with a good layer of plastic and then maintain it. Seasoning is essentially plastic. For seasoning to stick, and stay useful, you gotta be a little gentle with it over time. Use only standard dish soap, no heavy scrubbing, and watch how hot you get the pan without something in it. All those people saying the get your pan “ripping” or “screaming” hot? That’s bad advice for a pan you want to keep low stick. So you have two pans, or just accept that once you get that layer of polymerized hydrocarbons past about 450, it’s going to start having trouble.

    And, being fucking real, you don’t need a pan that hot for anything except maybe a rare or blue steak. You’ll get better Maillard reaction at slightly lower temps that won’t stress a pan. Or, just fucking use a thick stainless steel pan, it’ll work fine if you want shit to carbonize. Invest in a fucking infrared thermometer and learn how to use it, you’ll get better results from knowing what temps give a specific result than from cranking the heat all to hell and hoping.

    But if you want maximum non stick cast iron, it starts with the surface. You gotta have a smooth surface, or you gotta spend the time building up layers of polymers to fill in all the little bumps and schwiggles. Overall, the slickest surfaces will come from finely sanded, then vinegar treated, then polymerized. Just be aware that slick and low stick is a tradeoff, since some sticking is going to be what develops a nice fond from our friend Maillard.

    You can get close to that with carbon steel though! Same process. You get the bare metal smooth as fuck all, then give it a nice warm vinegar soak, then season as usual.

    But, again, you gotta be ready to accept tradeoffs. There’s no perfect material. And over time, if you don’t pay attention, a seasoned pan is going to develop uneven spots as fats polymerize during cooking. If you do pay attention, I’ll happen way slower, enough so that I’ll take decades, by which time chances are good that the layers will be thick enough that it isn’t a problem. That uneven buildup happens when the fats aren’t deep enough to stay even as you cook, and/or when things do temporarily stick during cooking (which is a good thing, not a bad one for meats).

    Me? I accepted long ago that some cooking is going to result in pans that need a long soak before trying to really clean them. Hell, even Teflon can have stuff build up on the edges, so it isn’t immune to that. Your best bet is to leave the damn thing on the range, pour in some water, heat it up to boiling, then let it sit until it cools enough to handle. It reduces sink time a lot.

    If you want Teflon, go top end. Don’t waste time or money going cheap. Opinions vary, but hexclad has a reputation for being the most durable Teflon stuff. Won’t last forever in terms of the surface, but no Teflon will. Just don’t fuck around with generic shit.


  • As already covered, he has bone claws after magneto pulled the adamantium from him.

    During the comics afterwards, his claws got stomped (iirc by sabertooth), and broken in half.

    They regrew fairly quickly, but were deformed for a while. Lost track of that run, but they eventually got put back to his normal.

    Overall, Wolvie can regrow anything except the adamantium, and even that isn’t off the table since if he had a source for it, his power could conceivably use it to reproduce what was there.

    Fwiw, he’s been blown up to the point he was nothing but the adamantium and some random bits, then recovered (iirc it was in the MAX days during a crossover with punisher, and daredevil . Might have been someone else involved too, can’t recall.

    Last I read anything, his healing factor was essentially able to start from a single cell. As long as there’s something left, he’ll heal. Not quite lobo level where a cell isn’t necessary, but I expect something will happen where it gets turned into that at least temporarily. Deadpool is more or less at that level as well; he came back from being burnt to ashes by a lightning strike. So there’s precedent for healing factors the go beyond cellular activity alone


  • Generally, it comes down to which statistics a “hater” believes. I’ll refer to twain here about lies, damn lies and statistics, since numbers always seem so certain, but can be cooked.

    It doesn’t help that “pit bull” isn’t a breed, it’s a “type”, which is vague as fuck all. There’s something like a dozen breeds that get called pit bull, each with their own range of traits. What they have in common is an origin as fighting dogs, including those bred to fight bigger animals.

    But if a dog just looks similar to any of those breeds, it’s a pit bull, including mutts with no known ancestry in fighting breeds.

    So, folks see a scary looking dog and that’s that, they hate scary looking dogs.

    Is the hate justified? IDGAF tbh. Assuming any of the statistics are accurate and applicable, I can understand wanting to limit breeding more, as well as the strict side of enforced euthanasia once a dog turns aggro. But with the vagueness of what gets counted as a pit bull in those stats, and the cherry picking that goes on in such debates, I can’t work up any emotional response to the subject.

    But that’s why the hate. They’re scary looking dogs, and when a dog that looks like they tend to look attacks, it’ll fuck its target up worse than something like a Chihuahua or poodle. That much is fact, a big muscular dog with strong jaws can fuck shit up.



  • Chocolate Chip Cookies (Levain Style) ★★★★★ Cookies, Dessert Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 13 hours | Servings: Eight 6-ounce cookies

    Ingredients:

    4 ounces unsalted American butter (about 1/2 cup; 113g), softened to about 65°F (18°C) 4 ounces light brown sugar (about 1/2 cup, firmly packed; 113g) 3 1/2 ounces white sugar, preferably well toasted (about 1/2 cup; 100g) 1/2 ounce vanilla extract (about 1 tablespoon; 15g) 2 teaspoons (8g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or the same weight (plus more for sprinkling, if desired) 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda Pinch of grated nutmeg 2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100g), straight from the fridge 10 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 cups, spooned; 283g), such as Gold Medal 15 ounces assorted chocolate chips (about 2 1/2 cups; 425g), not chopped chocolate; see note 8 1/2 ounces raw walnut pieces or lightly toasted pecan pieces (shy 1 3/4 cups; 240g)

    Directions:

    1. To Prepare the Dough: Combine butter, light brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
    2. Mix on low to moisten, then increase speed to medium and beat until soft, fluffy, and pale, about 8 minutes; halfway through, pause to scrape bowl and beater with a flexible spatula. With mixer running, add eggs one at a time, letting each incorporate fully before adding the next. Reduce speed to low, then add the flour all at once. When flour is incorporated, add chocolate chips and nuts and keep mixing until dough is homogeneous.
    3. Divide dough into 8 equal portions (about 6 ounces/170g each) and round each into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 12 hours before baking; if well protected from air, the dough can be kept in the fridge up to 1 week.
    4. To Bake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F (180°C). Line an aluminum half-sheet pan with parchment paper. When the oven comes to temperature, arrange up to 4 portions of cold dough on prepared pan, leaving ample space between them to account for spread. If you like, sprinkle with additional salt to taste.
    5. Bake until cookies are puffed and lightly brown, about 22 minutes or to an internal temperature of between 175 and 185°F (79 and 85°C). The ideal temperature will vary from person to person; future rounds can be baked more or less to achieve desired consistency.
    6. Cool cookies directly on baking sheet until no warmer than 100°F (38°C) before serving. Enjoy warm, or within 12 hours; these cookies taste best when freshly baked (see Make-Ahead and Storage).

    Source: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2019/04/super-thick-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe.html

    Notes: go a full day in the fridge.

    Can reduce individual cookie size, but not much before they start coming out wrong. Recipe says to divide into 8 portions. Ten works, twelve is almost the same, but you’ll notice a different texture.

    Don’t cheap out on the chocolate. If you wouldn’t eat it by itself, it isn’t going to work in this recipe. Guitard and Ghirardelli make chips, and they are better than anything else you’ll find in a grocery store. If you ignore their recommendation of using chips, no chunks, get great chocolate, whatever you’re able to afford. Cheap chocolate will make this recipe pointless.


  • Legit, it’s the radio play.

    They made easily accessible hard rock. It’s mostly formulaic. That means their stuff got played to death. Anything of theirs that got popular was driven into the ground.

    The hate just spread from there. Yeah, you’ll see people bitch about whatever retroreasoning they’ve applied to it, but without the level of unavoidability involved during their prime, it wouldn’t be hate, just a band that some people don’t like.

    Truth? It’s damn near impossible to tell one album from another. The riffs are pretty generic. There’s no highly technical skill required to cover their songs. They aren’t “fancy”

    But that’s not bad things, unless you’re the sort looking for anything to hate, and want to hate something popular in particular.

    Another truth? Some of the most loved bands out there are no different. AC/DC? Simple hard rock with a formula. Aerosmith? A little less hard, but VERY formulaic since their post run-DMC resurgence. Amon Amarth? C’mon. Okay, AA isn’t at that scale of popularity, but I like them, so they’re in.

    Point being that there’s no complaint anyone makes about Nickelback that can’t be applied to any popular band to some degree. Even my complaint that they have far too many songs that are misogynistic in the lyrics could apply to dozens of other acts.

    The hate? They got over played. Without that, they’d just be another band that some people like and others don’t


  • Well, let me lead off by saying that I support the right to death. We all have a fundamental right to die, if we so choose.

    With that said, you asked as question here, and it deserves an answer.

    Truth is that you don’t want to die. You want to stop suffering. There is a vast difference between the two, and it’s almost always going to show up when a person is trying to escape suffering through death. It has for you. That’s why you can’t die. A big part of you doesn’t want to and is actively resisting your attempts.

    I’m not going to give you empty platitudes. No but.

    You’re in a shitty place, and I hope that changes for you.







  • You never, ever, shoot like that. Cop or not, if use of a firearm is justified, you aim to end the threat immediately. That means a kill shot. Center of mass is what cops are trained to do, and for many good reasons.

    But, even if you did want to try and use a firearm as a less lethal weapon, you switch ammo, not shoot extremities. For one, arms and legs are plenty lethal, though not necessarily 100% (hell, center of mass isn’t a guaranteed lethality). But, more important, they’re not as sure a target at all. You don’t want bullets going anywhere other than the intended target. Center of mass is much easier to accurately aim for when you’re scared and high on adrenaline. A leg? Good fucking luck unless you’re point blank, and even that’s not a sure thing.

    For real, even at a shooting range while relaxed and with all the time in the world, a leg would be harder. A lot of people can barely keep a 6 inch group past 15 feet. Cops tend to shoot more often than the general populace, what with having their own ranges and at least some of the ammo provided for them, but it’s range shooting, target shooting. So even if they’re nailing shit perfectly during their qualification tests, that doesn’t automatically translate to the kind of accuracy needed to pick what part of the leg to hit.

    Even on a very muscular dude, you’ve got really small targets that would potentially stop them from continuing whatever you wanted to stop doing. A few inches at most.

    Now, staying ready with a taser and using it at the first sign of trouble? Could work, I guess. But that’s got its own risks and liabilities.

    But, nah man, if you think pulling a gun and shooting someone in the leg is a good thing, it is best you not carry. Any situation in which you would try that is not a situation in which the use of a firearm is a good idea.