Random Thread ～Owaranai Insomnia '25 ver.～

[CaptainBerryzGiraffe]

My father got the virus but is already towards the end, so that's very good
Hope y'all are doing well!!!

[TotallyUncool]

I'm glad he's getting over it!

[Nayoko-Kihara]

I'm glad to hear he's getting better!

[rikkikow]

Give the mic to the dog!

[Celedam]

From another thread…

Also that whole "I anticipated that you would do X and already countered that move" bit is reminding me of like 80% of the fights in "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" right now.

Okay, but please keep the following in mind: I am a marketing and technical communications specialist with 27 years of professional experience in developing information and then analyzing how that information is used. Would I use a specific and conspicuous term like "Mandela effect", in this crowd, without knowing what it means?

Heck, one of my long-term projects at work right now is helping to develop a taxonomy for our corporate style guide. That is literally anticipating what our users might do to search for information about our products, so that we can make sure they get consistent and useful results.

And on a more personal level, it's why so much of my writing follows a "Statement A, but Statement B" pattern. I don't like that about myself, because it makes everything I say sound stilted or condescending, but it seems like the only way I can express a thought is by examining it from both sides. (See, I just did it again!)

TL;DR: That's what I do, man. Beware.

[Zunu]

Fuck it I'm just gonna reply before you keep adding more sentences.

In my defense, how I could I possibly divine that you were deliberately misusing the term for your own private amusement? Or to set a honey trap for me, which would be oddly flattering I guess. In any case I wasn't trying to lecture you. Frankly I really don't think it's a big deal if someone makes a grammar (cough, lexical) mistake in an informal setting, and generally not worth correcting unless the person is continually making the same error or they're an English learner in need of guidance. If I were just trying to play "gotcha" about definitions I would have replied to you when you first posted. The entire reason for my post was that I thought it was kind of magically cool and fascinating how an (apparently) "incorrect" usage of a term could be transformed into something correct after the fact. But not knowing whether or not N-K was familiar with the term, I provided an accurate definition. Otherwise my reply to her would have made no sense. Sorry if it came off as a Celedam swipe; that's not what was intended at all.

As an aside, I have 100% confidence that you are exemplary in your profession. That's very clear from the way that you present yourself on this forum. But you know as well as I do that having 27 years of experience is no guarantee of expertise. I have had the unfortunate experience of managing individuals with 30+ years of experience who were somehow less knowledgeable than rookies.

[Zunu]

Anyway changing subjects to something less awkward I came across this on Digg, pretty sure I've seen you (Celedam) post one of his vidyas here.



I have been making rice for a looong time and I have never once thought of sauteing the grains first before putting them in water. So, I tried it and well, the rice definitely came out flakier than my usual. Not necessarily a good thing because I tend to prefer a little stickiness. But it felt like somebody else's rice, so that was interesting. On the minus side a few of the grains had turned crunchy from the saute portion (I must have had the heat up a little too high), and I really don't like crunchiness at all in my rice, not even a little bit. I don't even like what Puerto Ricans call "pegao" (or con-con in Dominican spanish, not sure what it's called in the rest of the world), which is the golden-brown colored hard rice shell that you get at the bottom of a big ol' pot of overcooked rice.

[Celedam]

But you know as well as I do that having 27 years of experience is no guarantee of expertise. I have had the unfortunate experience of managing individuals with 30+ years of experience who were somehow less knowledgeable than rookies.

So you're saying we should be skeptical of appeals to authority and undemonstrated claims of expertise? Hmm?

[P]retty sure I've seen you (Celedam) post one of his vidyas here.

I posted his hand-washing and popcorn-making videos…

viewtopic.php?p=250905#p250905
viewtopic.php?p=250958#p250958

…but no one reacted to them so I stopped.

So, I tried it and well, the rice definitely came out flakier than my usual. Not necessarily a good thing because I tend to prefer a little stickiness.

Besides giving it a toasted, nutty flavor, sautéing rice changes the surface of the grain (via the Maillard reaction, which is similar to but distinct from caramelization) and makes it more difficult to access the starch contained within. This can be useful in two different ways.

If you're using short grain rice, you can make a risotto: you cook the rice with lots of liquid (typically broth) over a very long time, and the starch is slowly drawn out and gelatinized in order to form a creamy sauce. If you didn't sauté the rice first, cooking it for that long and in that much liquid would turn it into a mushy porridge.

If you're using long grain rice, you can make a salad or pilaf. (And fried rice is really just a kind of pilaf, if you think about it.) Sautéing the rice first makes it come out even fluffier and more separated than it normally would, which is what you want if you're tossing it with other ingredients.

But as you noted, rice cooked that way can be unappealingly firm or even crunchy, especially if you weren't intending to make a salad or pilaf. The good news is it can be salvaged. The bad news is it takes more liquid and time, and that basically turns it into a risotto.

Brown rice is functionally the same as sautéd white rice — it is hulled but not polished, so it still has its bran coat and that keeps in the starch.

When we think of big bowls of the sticky white rice that is a staple in Asian cuisine (as opposed to corn, wheat, or potatoes), we're thinking of medium grain rice that is simply steamed. Many Western cooks — including 'ol AB there — say you shouldn't stir steamed rice, just fluff it with a fork. But they improperly assume you're making fluffy, Western-style, long grain rice. If you want sticky, Asian-style rice, then go ahead and stir it. Just be careful not to tip over from sticky to gummy.

Anyhow, since we've come back around to Alton Brown's videos, he just posted a new one…

[TotallyUncool]

At the moment, this quote from Eliot's The Waste Land seems all too appropriate...

I have heard the key
Turn in the door once and turn once only
We think of the key, each in his prison
Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison

I need to go back and read the whole poem in a 21st century context. It meant a lot in the mid-20th, but now, I think there may be much more to see.

[Amped]

Different ways to make easy breakfast toast yum