(no subject)

I suppose this pic-a-day thing will be a geek show-and-tell sometimes. I hope you don't mind too much.

I did some significant cleaning of my space today and I thought I'd pose with my slide rules that I unearthed in the process. I just have the three; I wanted to show their cases as well.

These rules are by Pickett, A.W.Faber, and Post. The Post is the nicest one I have, but it has cracked glass and a couple spots where the enamel is gone, exposing the underlying bamboo (its of Japanese make). When I actually use one, it's the Pickett, which is plastic, less rare, and less prone to damage.

One of these days, I'd like to get the leather case of the Post restored. I'd wear it to sci-fi/fantasy cons as a nod to the steampunk aesthetic; a wearable analog mechanical computer.


Slide Rules! - Pic-a-day 14 June 2013

Copyright Stormdog 2013

Radiolab

I just listened to the story that is the first part of this podcast tonight. I thought it was so moving that I want to share it here.

In its way, it reminds me of the opening scene of Up, a relationship condensed into a few poetic minutes. It reminds me, too, of the fleeting nature of life, and how important things are as they are experienced before they disappear.

It's a story by Jenny Hollowell called "A History of Everything, Including You." It's described this way on the podcast's website:

It's a powerful tale with a sweeping scope -- the history not just of one couple, but everything that led to them -- distilled into a poetic crush of just a few pages. The piece was born out of a sense of frustration Jenny felt about trying to account for "everything" in order to understand her life.

http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2013/jun/13/trouble-everything/

(no subject)

So I want to cook something today (*gasp*), and I keep looking at crock pot recipes online. But it's tough to find something. Because what I really want is something that's warm and gooey and has a lot of cheese and maybe some chicken, and most sites don't sort recipes by texture of finished product. In consciously considering the matter, I realize that the taste is honestly secondary to the texture to me.

Lisa suggested making the curry chicken and sweet potato stuff she's made for me. It's really good, but it needs rice, and I'm a little intimidated by making a second batch of stuff at the same time. I kind of want to start with just the crock pot.

Do you have any good recipes that have, maybe, chicken and cheese and come out textured like a thick chili maybe, without weird crunchy or fibrous bits?

*sighs* They way I relate to food is so odd....

(no subject)

I'm frightened and stressed by raw chicken. *sighs* Maybe if I do enough of this stuff I'll get over it. Or maybe I should just cook with tofu.

I have stuff cooking in the crockpot now though. Thanks to a Facebook friend for the recipe help!

(no subject)

So the food finally came together. It finished cooking while my family and I were all playing a game of Cutthroat Cavern. I wasn't going to eat any today, since my mother made some sweet potato and rice stuff (funny that Lisa and I have talked about me making largely the same thing), but I had so much of it that I ended up eating a bit to help make it fit in storage containers.

It was pleasantly textured and it tasted like chicken. I enjoyed eating it, and I feel accomplished at having made it. Beyond that, I think I know how to do it a bit better next time in terms of handling chicken and not buying condensed soup instead of regular soup, that kind of stuff. But There's an issue.

Cooking at home like this seems really neat. But even in the crock pot, it took more prep time than I normally spend reheating frozen things. Beyond that, it's not actually very cost-effective compared to frozen pizzas and things. It comes out to about 210 calories per dollar, which is less than half what I can often get frozen pizza for. I know I could probably change that ratio around a bit, but meat is always going to be pricey. I know that I could make healthier stuff at home too, but this particular meal was not all that healthy, what with the Velveeta and stuff. At least it wasn't processed meat; that probably makes a difference.

So I would like to keep cooking at home, and I'm sure I'll make stuff here and there, once I've eaten the 12 cups of food that I produced today. But I guess I'm still looking for a little more motivation to do so, when I have to sacrifice some time and money to make it happen.

All that aside, I felt quite accomplished when I dished this stuff out of the crock pot. It's not complicated, fancy, or even particularly good. But I made it, and that's neat.


Cooking! - Pic-a-day 15 June 2013

Copyright Stormdog 2013