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EssentialNPC

@ EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

Posts
18
Comments
120
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • Braised short ribs over gruyere polenta

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  • Certainly! Working from the top of my head, it was roughly:

    • ~5 lbs. short ribs (9 ribs)
    • 3 onions, chopped
    • 2 carrots, chopped
    • 2 heads garlic, cut in half
    • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
    • 1 Tbsp. gochujang
    • 2 tsp. fish sauce
    • 3 sprigs each fresh thyme and rosemary
    • 4 cups beef stock
    • ~½ bottle red wine - I used Cabernet

    I seared the beef, then I sauteed the onions, carrots, and garlic head halves until browned. Then I added the tomato paste and gochujang, sauteed some more, and then added the training ingredients. I like the beef back in, brought to a simmer, and tossed in a 300°F oven with the lid ajar for about 3 hours, turning the ribs occasionally. You need to fish out the garlic at the end.

    The polenta was:

    • 4 cups water
    • 2 cups milk
    • 1½ cups corn meal
    • ~1 cup shredded gruyere
    • 4 Tbsp. butter

    I boiled the water and milk, swore while it over boiled and made a need of my stove, cleaned it up, and then beat in the corn meal. I stirred it regularly for half an hour and finished by mixing in the cheese and butter.

    I totally salted everything to taste because I am not a savage.

    The gremolata on top is just a mix of chopped parsley, garlic, lemon zest, and some salt.

    It was not hard for a fancy dish. I hope you enjoy!

    I got the basic recipe idea from a random post when I read it on the website that shall not be named, and then I had fun with it as I went.

  • Why can't someone create a public alternative to health insurance in the USA?

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  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is a not-for-profit health insurance company. I am not sure that it is a full mutual company, but they have no profit incentive. Consequently, they are the best health insurance we have ever had by a wide margin.

  • Yep, it's pretty normal

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  • 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.

  • Bad dream [Azul Crescent's silly scribbles]

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  • I hear you on this, but I have come to appreciate that my dreams are not always limited like my real world is. When I had cancer, it got really bad. I could not speak for months. I could barely walk. The constant pain, even on a hefty dose of opioids, was all consuming. Just watching TV took too much energy, so I stared blankly at the wall while my family tried to carry on around me.

    But in my dreams? In my dreams I was still me. Once I fell asleep, I could talk, laugh, run, and have the freedom I had lost in life. I could play with my kids. I could spend time with my friends. I could exist without pain.

    None of it was real, and in the beginning I cried when I woke up, but the dreams kept coming. It didn't matter if my real life was not worth living - my dream life carried me. Waking up stopped being a sad thing and instead became what falling asleep used to be. It was a transition to the less interesting part of my life.

    I am better now, but I am not the man I was before I got sick. In my dreams, though? The pain is still gone. My energy has returned. My waking life is worth living again, but my dream life is freedom from the shackles of my body.

    I am sorry your dreams hurt you. Maybe the day will come that the pain they bring you now becomes a blessing. I hope in time you and your dream life make peace.

  • Concerns Raised Over Bitwarden Moving Further Away From Open-Source

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  • Good documentation should, in part, tell people where to click. I have designed software documentation for high performing individuals at leading global companies, and I have designed software and hardware documentation for minimum wage fast food workers with limited English proficiency. In both extremes, I showed them exactly where to click on the screen at each step.

    You might not need that level of help, but many people do. Others do not strictly need it, but they prefer the simple instruction set. "Click here then here," instructions ease the transition into a new system one needs to learn, or it removes the need entirely to learn a system one uses infrequently.

    The problem is that making good documentation is difficult and time consuming. It relies on a fundamentally different skill set than coding or even UI design.

    I agree that the ideal is for software to not need any documentation. In my experience, I have yet to see software that rises to that task and is used across a variety of experience levels and societal cross sections.

  • Chappell Roan Says She’s “Voting For F@cking Kamala,” But No VP Endorsement & “F@ck Trump, For F@cking Real”

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  • On the other hand, I very much appreciate knowing which celebrities support an administration that poses a threat to my family. I will not vote for someone based on a celebrity endorsement, but the celebrity may gain or lose my business over it.

    I really liked Kid Rock in his early days. The music was catchy, and it had the right mix of redneck, rock, and rap to make this country boy happy. Now I won't listen to him because he chose to openly throw in with politicians who do not care if their policies and rhetoric kill my friends or kids.

  • What's the latest image in your download folder?

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  • ‘I’m a black NAZI!’: NC GOP nominee for governor made dozens of disturbing comments on porn forum

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  • Because it is wrong.

    I am not judging sexual practices. I am judging those who choose to betray their partner. Here is the person he is most committed to in this world, the person who expects undying loyalty in exchange for the same in return, and he is seemingly shitting all over that vow.

    If you only care about practicality, then consider that one will not care for the people in general if they cannot care for those closer to them. Honesty and compassion mean nothing to this man.

  • The last time you were wearing a hat, what type was it?

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  • I wear a Tilley Airflo pretty much any time I am outside.

    I need a wide broom to protect my eyes from the sun (early cataracts). I need a hat that is useful for outdoor fun but also looks good around town. I do not want to worry about rain or have a lot of upkeep.

    I wash my Tilley in the machine. I get compliments everywhere I go. It works great on the trail, and looks great paired with a sport coat for a country-boy-on-the-town sort of look. I can't recommend that hat enough.

  • How serious are you guys when you talk about punching nazis?

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  • 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.

  • How is your week going?

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  • You know what? It's been pretty good.

    I am recovering well from rotator cuff surgery with much more range of motion at this point than typical. My youngest had a hard start of the week at school but has turned it around. My oldest ran in his first cross country meet - he came in dead last, and though he is extremely disappointed he has no intentions of quitting. He and I grabbed burgers and an appetizer sampler at the local pub to boost his spirits, and it was more like hanging out with a younger friend than with my kid. Tonight is a date night with my wife, which means we will get high and order takeout once the kids are in bed.

    We have plenty of hard times, but this is a good week.

  • Single payer/socialized heath care vs private vs combined

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  • I care very much. Please read everything I wrote. The system is broken, and we need to fix it. In the meantime, since we must live within the broken system, it is wise to do a thorough cost/benefit analysis before accepting any job. Not everyone can do that, but some can.

    We play pretty conservative baseball when it comes to personal finances. We have a smaller house further from the city than my wife's peers at work. We buy cars that meet our needs, but our wants are frequently compromised in search of the lowest total cost of ownership. We make no major purchases without real research first. Our kids have not been to Disney, but they will hopefully be able to go to the college of their choice without a mountain of debt when the time comes.

    We are very lucky, but most people that merch our income are not actually in as stable a place as we are. That stability comes from good decisions.

  • Single payer/socialized heath care vs private vs combined

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  • That is a good point. We are not paying monthly premiums. Again, over the years we have chosen our employers very carefully. To be clear, we are lucky to have been in the place to do so.

    That said, we also did very well when I was a public high school teacher. The pay was awful, but the health insurance we had was better than my wife could get at most corporate jobs at the time. We now use my wife's corporate benefits because my family's needs have placed me as a stay-at-home dad for several years. Once she got in with a company that actually values its employees, we made the decision to stick it out.

  • Single payer/socialized heath care vs private vs combined

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  • I live in the US and was born here. This is true of my wife as well.

    I hate to say it because I know how bad many people have it here, but our health care experiences have been excellent. IVF? We paid a few grand by the end of everything, but that's it - most of the cost was one hormone in particular. My cancer that almost killed me? We paid $15 co-pays for doctor appointments and physical therapy appointments, nothing for any treatments (radiation, chemo, surgeries, hydration, etc.), and about $15 co-pays for each prescription medication. My upcoming rotator cuff surgery? I'll pay similar to the cancer. Regular in-home therapy services for our children with special needs? Free.

    This was not by accident or dumb luck. My wife and I have always chosen jobs in large part based on benefits in general and health insurance in particular. We may not make as much money on paper as job hoppers and those who chase the highest number on their paychecks. Do you know what we do have? No medical debt. Great parental leave. More vacation time than most. A legal plan that paid to set us up with every estate planning and life management document one could need.

    So it's hard. Our system is fucking broken - too many people cannot get the care they need, or they go into debt to get it. It needs to be fixed. That said, I also have friends who just made shitty choices. They actively chose direct income over benefits. They gambled and some of them lost.

    We need to fix US healthcare in or much every way. In the meantime? My wife and I choose to play the game by the rules as they are currently written, and we play with intent to win.

  • You're given the chance to send one singular piece of media to aliens. what do you pick to make the best impression?

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  • I send Independence Day and to tell them it is a documentary. Now they know not to fuck with us.

  • 'Democrats have a plan': Marjorie Taylor Greene unleashes new election conspiracy theory

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  • '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.

  • The fuk? Please help me complete this insane captcha

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  • 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.

  • Americans, what's the plan if Trump wins the election in November? (serious)

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  • Before the election we will be preparing bugout bags for my nuclear family and establishing concrete plans to flee.

    After the election, if Trump wins we will monitor and be ready. At the first sign of trouble we get out of dodge. I have the ability to get EU citizenship for my family if need be. In the meantime, my wife and I have skills that can get us the privilege to move into some countries based on their employment needs.

    My family and I would have reasons to be targeted by white nationalists if they felt empowered. I have received semi-threatening letters from such people in the past.

    I hate that we have to think this way, but we do.

  • What would you do if you could unconditionally duplicate yourself?

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  • Each kid and wifey could have individual Daddy/hubby attention at the same time. My yard and home would look immaculate because my ADHD task burnout could be overcome by calling in a new helper.

    I could probably make bank and help improve the lot of humanity by allowing my duplicates to go through controlled medical and scientific testing.

    At some point one of me would figure out how to leverage this ability for the absolute betterment of humankind. That would probably become a driving mission for the collective me at that point.

  • Personal Finance @lemmy.ml
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Selecting a CFP - not just the basics

  • News @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    U.S. bans noncompete agreements for nearly all jobs

    www.npr.org /2024/04/23/1246655366/ftc-bans-noncompete-agreements-lina-khan
  • Trees @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Edibles in Las Vegas

  • FoodPorn @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Steak bomb with shishito peppers!

  • FoodPorn @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Prime rib, pommes puree inspired by American loaded potatoes, and maple butter carrots with cinnamon and nutmeg

  • FoodPorn @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Berries Belinda - a trifle for Easter

  • Trees @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Cinnamon Roll Sundae - When my high ass has a good idea, it has a REALLY good idea

  • FoodPorn @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    French Onion Mac and Cheese

  • Tools @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Modular tool storage recommendation for ADHD adult?

  • Home Improvement @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Completed mountain feature wall for son's bedroom

    photofed.world /p/EssentialNPC/672782086932694355
  • Home Improvement @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Mountain feature wall in child's bedroom

  • Home Improvement @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Can you recommend an LED strip light that can have an unlighted break in it?

  • Home Improvement @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    What is the best way to fix cracks before repainting

  • FoodPorn @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Cheeseburger soup!

  • FoodPorn @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Prime rib with all the fixings

  • FoodPorn @lemmy.world
    EssentialNPC @lemmy.world

    Tamago gohan - delightful on a cold winter morning