[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Yeah, this is wildly inappropriate. When I play board games with my kids, I find Old Fashioneds are the ideal way to deliver that numbing hit of booze. Wine requires too much fluid volume per unit alcohol, and the red varietals can stain your games.

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 37 points 2 months ago

They want my wife and children dead. If they are near my family, they pose an existential threat. I will leave saving the proverbial souls of neo Nazis to others. I am interested in establishing that my family is off limits and dangerous for them to so much as look at.

Would I throw a punch at a confirmed Nazi? Without hesitation.

Some people learn to shed the racism from their heart and become better people. Some will only get so far as keeping quiet because they are afraid. There will always be severely racist people. It is just as important that they feel unequivocally unwelcome as it is to change those who will change.

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 76 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

'Democrats have a plan'

She lost me right there. As a Democrat, I feel confident in stating that we have never had such a thing.

It is a truth so old that Will Rogers was cracking jokes about it 100 years ago.

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 49 points 5 months ago

Oh, I see your mistake. Those are Samsung fridges. Nothing has a shorter lifespan than a Samsung fridge. Since there are two they will die together to maximize the inconvenience factor, and they thus must be clicked simultaneously. That is the only way a fake Samsung fridge could mimic the frustration caused by a real one.

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 24 points 6 months ago

Senators were not elected by the people before the 17th amendment. The House of Representatives represent the interests of the people of their districts, so they were elected by the people. Senators represent the interests of their state as an entity, so they were elected by the legislature of their state or appointed by their governor.

The USA at the federal level is a republic, not a direct democracy. We elect those who vote upon the federal laws. I'm that easy, some worry that more voice of the people and less of the state as an entity runs afoul of that notion and the constitution itself.

I understand that point from a limited perspective, but it is now frequently used as a way to ignore constituents and beat the drum of fascism. Do not trust a politician that is worried about the 17th amendment. That ship sailed a century ago.

1058
submitted 6 months ago by EssentialNPC@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

The Federal Trade Commission narrowly voted Tuesday to ban nearly all noncompetes, employment agreements that typically prevent workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own.

32
submitted 6 months ago by EssentialNPC@lemmy.world to c/trees@lemmy.world

We are going to Vegas, and Wifey and I want to wander around like stoned idiots looking at all the pretty lights. You know, like reasonable people.

Is it a big deal to pop a gummy in public in Las Vegas? They make a big deal about no public use, but I'm assuming a gummy won't be a big deal like smoking would be. We do this in other legal places all the time, but I have no idea which activities are and are not clamped down on in Vegas.

While we are at it, can you recommend any fun stoned activities in Las Vegas?

74

Why is it a steak bomb and not a cheesesteak?

  1. It has mushrooms and bell peppers added
  2. I live in New England, not Pennsylvania

This was a great way to use up the last of my leftover prime rib.

103
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by EssentialNPC@lemmy.world to c/foodporn@lemmy.world

The prime rib was roasted at 200° F to 123° internal temperature and then reverse seared.

The pommes puree had some of the butter replaced with rendered bacon fat. Then fresh mini mozzarella balls and chives were added.

The carrots are pretty much as described.

My boys declared the potatoes to be the hit of the night, which I get. Dang are they rich!

69

Today I made Berries Belinda - my own adaptation of Heaven on Earth Cake.

It is an angel food cake trifle with sour cream vanilla pudding, pureed strawberry sauce, mixed fresh berries, and Cool Whip. The recipe really needs Cool Whip or a similar whipped topping because whipped cream will not hold up for the 8+ hours this needs for the flavors and textures to marry.

Why is it named Berries Belinda? In return I ask, "Do you know what that's worth?"

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 31 points 7 months ago

I am angry at how clever this is. Well done.

241
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by EssentialNPC@lemmy.world to c/trees@lemmy.world

Yeah, it's a Pillsbury Grands cinnamon roll topped with Ben & Jerry's Churray for Churros ice cream, salted caramel, and whipped cream.

I mean, this stuff is life.

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 38 points 7 months ago

Sincerely, I wish her the best. I know it is common to jump in with hate-the-rich feelings here, but I don't know of anything she has done that makes her deserve cancer. Cancer sucks. The flight is awful, and once it is done you don't get to know if you are actually better for a long time. For the rest of your life you get to carry physical and emotional scars from the fight.

I did this fight. I would wish it away from anyone except the most evil. I hope her treatment and recovery are as smooth as possible.

90

This French Onion Mac and cheese is from the New York Times. I used the recipe at the link below with the following changes:

  • Caramelized the onions traditionally, not with their process. Maybe their way works, but I don't trust it. I have never found a shortcut that works for carmelizing onions.
  • Toasted lightly baguette slices before rubbing with garlic.
  • Deglazed the pan with a few glugs of white wine, not 2 Tbsp vinegar.

The dish is exactly as advertised - a supremely decadent macaroni and cheese with a strong caramelized onion flavor. The gruyere is pronounced and only adds to the luxurious taste (and price).

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020547-french-onion-macaroni-and-cheese

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 24 points 8 months ago

Ooh, I actually know the answer to this! I had cancer a couple years ago, and it got really dicey for a bit. While my story has a good ending and I am now effectively cancer-free, I had to look the potential of death clear in the face and start making some concrete plans.

My answer is unequivocal - I would prepare my family for my untimely demise. My wife and I got together when we were young enough that we entered adulthood together and grew that way. There is no me and her - there is only us. This is not some creepy codependency thing. We just became adults whose emotional and mental shapes are highly complimentary. That happens when you are with someone longer than you were not. We also have kids for whom I am the primary caretaker and stay-at-home dad while she works. Both boys are autistic though you might not notice it, and I am their primary coregulator. My family needs me in ways that are not universally true across families.

Most of my plan can be summarized as follows:

  • Prepare my wife for life without me. Ensure she has the basic skills that I have taken over in our lives. Impress upon her the notion that while she has been the love of my life, I sincerely hope I am but one of hers.
  • Spend as much time with my kids as possible. Cement myself in their memories. Record messages and fatherly advice in writing and/or video for every major life event I can think of.
  • Set up therapy and support services for my family once I die.
  • Get my friends and family on board for specific forms of help as time goes on. People who want to help do nothing when they do not know what to do. They are more likely to follow through when told, "I know Jimmy really looks up to you. After I die, please take him out for some bonding time at least once a month. He is going to be lost without me, and Wife cannot be a masculine role model like I was."
  • Plan my funeral and write my obituary. Make it clear that any of this can be changed.
  • Basically, do anything I can to prepare my family for life without me.

I know this is not terribly exciting, but it found that what I feared far more than death was the fate of my family without me there to care for them.

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 71 points 8 months ago

I hear you and we are voting. That said, backup plans are a thing for good reasons.

My wife is Jewish and something she once said to me lives rent free in my brain. "The gross majority of the Jews you know are descended from people who left when they had a feeling. The ones who waited until it was obviously bad did not make it out."

Fascism is on the rise globally, but not every country will be led by someone who has actively courted neo-Nazis as part of their base. I saw how emboldened those people felt during his first term, and we anticipate it could only get much worse during a second. We do not want to leave, but we fear that staying may become unsafe for our family.

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 23 points 10 months ago

I do not mean to be pedantic, but this is topic I love.

Marsupials do not fill a niche by virtue of their lack of placement. Instead, they have survived so long by virtue of their isolation.

It turns out that the adaptions required for marsupials to birth and raise young without a placenta make them inferior to placental mammals in almost every scenario. They get out competed and die off in almost every instance. South America had marsupials, not placentals, until it formed a land bridge with North America. What happened then? All the marsupials died off with the weird exception of the American possum. The placentals straight up out competed them across the board.

Australia has kept marsupials only because of its extreme isolation. When any type of placental mammal has been introduced to Australia, it has ruined the ecosystem and taken over the niche it fills.

Independent of humans, marsupials are a dying design. We just happen to live at a time when we can see that extinction in process. Yes, humans have sped it up by more rapidly introducing placental species, but we can see how it happened without human intervention as well.

44
Cheeseburger soup! (lemmy.world)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by EssentialNPC@lemmy.world to c/foodporn@lemmy.world

I found the recipe online, and we topped it with potato chips, pickles, and green onions. I'll be danged if it doesn't taste like a cheeseburger.

I'm happy to share a link to the recipe and my mods if anyone wants it.


Edit to add the recipe:

You can find the original recipe here: https://therecipecritic.com/cheeseburger-soup/

I made the following changes:

  • No dried parsley - it is not very flavorful
  • No dried basil - my family only likes it fresh
  • 3 cups of potato, not 4 just because I was so sick of putting and fixing potatoes
  • I used 6 oz. Velveeta and 8 oz. shredded mild cheddar for cheese - I wanted the emulsifiers in the Velveeta and also some real cheese; sharp cheddar would be good too, but my family does not like strong cheese
  • Instead of 3/4 tsp. salt, I used 1 tsp. season salt too make up for the missing herbs
  • No sour cream because my wife does not like it. It is completely unnecessary from a thickening perspective.
  • I don't drain the ground beef. I just scoop it out of the pan and use the beef fat to cook my veggies. Why remove a flavorful fat to then add another for cooking? I was going to not use this extra butter in the recipe, but then I threw it in my roux because I am not a smart man. Or I love butter. The first is what actually happened, but the second is not really a lie.

For toppings, I had potato chips, diced kosher dill pickle, and green onions. The chips add crunch and a little fried/browned flavor. The pickles brighten the dish and drive home the cheeseburger flavor. The green onions add a little vegetal flavor and a mouth feel similar to lettuce.

I made a double batch, and it will feed my family of 4 for two dinners or more. This is a heavy soup.

36

Standing rib roasts were on sale on Thursday with a big snow storm coming on Sunday. The solution? Prime rib dinner! My family needed a nice meal, and I was happy to give them a Sunday dinner they loved.

The roast got a simple kosher salt dry brine - 1/2 tsp./lb. - on Thursday night. On Sunday I roasted it at 250° until it hit 125° internal temp. I let it rest while I roasted my squash, and then I seared it in the often at 500° for maybe 10 minutes.

The delicata squash was tossed with grape seed oil, salt, and brown sugar. Then I roasted it on parchment paper laid out with no overlap. I did 450° for maybe 40 minutes? I don't really know - I just saw when they got soft, flipped them, and pulled them when they started to brown and char a little.

I boiled maybe 2 lbs. red potatoes in salted water and mashed them with 6 Tbsp. butter, 4 Tbsp. half and half, and 4 slices of thick cut bacon (cooked and chopped). Then I added maybe 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives, several grinds of black pepper, and 8 oz. fresh mozzarella pearls right before serving.

The green beans got 5 minutes of steam and then were tossed with lots of butter and salt.

The horseradish sauce recipe can be found here: https://natashaskitchen.com/horseradish-sauce-recipe/

113

Raw egg from my birds beaten into steaming hot rice until it is frothy? Eating it while watching my kids sled in the back yard? Sign me up!

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 43 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

"We keep thinking like OpenAI is a company that has a clue what it is doing because they have this amazing product that is getting used everywhere in business. In reality, they are a startup, and startups are going to have startup problems. We cannot treat them or their product like they are established and stable."

-my wife, who leads work at another company with OpenAI tech

I know the above quote is from someone "unimportant" in the industry, but to me it encapsulates exactly what we have seen from OpenAI in the past couple weeks. She became simultaneously reassured and more worried when Satya Nadella, the highly respected CEO of Microsoft, became directly involved. I wonder what she will think of this development when she wakes up.

[-] EssentialNPC@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

It is not a globally big deal, but I wish I could have heard the conversations between the doctors on my cancer team. Everything went very well in the end, but it got really dicey for a while. It would be interesting to know what they were really thinking and discussing behind the practiced facade they presented to me.

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EssentialNPC

joined 1 year ago