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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Inquire Within: general questions
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
Thanks for the answers. I had thought about term limits in regard to losing experience, but not the influence of lobbyists. That's a thought-provoking point.
Huia
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
it is fully within the power of the electorate to throw any rascal out. Unfortunately we rarely do.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
The one thing to consider with non-stick aluminum vs. stainless is the dishwasher.
If you're not seasoning a porous pan, it's convenient to wipe it lightly and pop it in the dishwasher. Unfortunately the dishwasher soap ( at least the US version) attacks aluminum. So stainless works better for that. The aluminum probably will also react to acid more if you ever get cracks in that non-stick finish.
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
The counter argument to term limits is indeed that it takes time to learn how to get things done. If the elected are just learning their jobs, the bureaucrats have much more control over what happens.
I'm not sure I buy this argument, but it is at least plausible. Perhaps the solution is to have term limits on the bureaucrats as well.
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
The one thing to consider with non-stick aluminum vs. stainless is the dishwasher.
If you're not seasoning a porous pan, it's convenient to wipe it lightly and pop it in the dishwasher. Unfortunately the dishwasher soap ( at least the US version) attacks aluminum. So stainless works better for that. The aluminum probably will also react to acid more if you ever get cracks in that non-stick finish.
Thank you very much indeed! ![[Overused]](graemlins/notworthy.gif)
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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The Kat in the Hat
Shipmate
# 2557
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Posted
When Easter People was still running, I remember hearing a monologue along the lines of "when there is no need for food banks, when injustices are made right"... ending with "that's when the church will get out of politics". I'd love to discover the original !
I think it was part of one of the evening services in Blackpool, and may have been around an election year, given the theme.
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Less is more ...
Posts: 485 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Tried to log into The Cloud today and found I was being offered "24 hours free wifi". I couldn't work out whether I was being offered 24 hours from the point at which I logged in, i.e. it would expire at that time tomorrow afternoon and would not be renewable, or whether the idea was to use, say, 15 minutes at a time here and there as needed until the 24 hours were finished.
Either way it didn't seem like an improvement on the previous system where you logged in and had half an hour each day to do as you pleased. Anyone know how "24 hours" works? I can't find anything about it on the internet without signing up for it.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
Has the gardening thread disappeared?
I have a green cone which has worked well for several years. I'm now rearranging my garden, and would like to disguise the green cone. I'm thinking of covering it with something like this
However, the green cone works because it absorbs heat. Would decorating it stop it from absorbing heat and make it useless?
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
It's supposed to absorb heat; though given that I'm in the north east of Scotland, there isn't much to absorb! But the instructions are to put green cones in the sunniest spot in the garden.
The contents leach away into the earth; they don't become compost.
It does work very well; I have a compost heap for veg peelings etc, and then bones / meat trimmings and scraps / burnt food / anything that's gone "off" / left over rice etc goes into the green cone.
[ 25. April 2015, 10:34: Message edited by: North East Quine ]
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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Smudgie
Ship's Barnacle
# 2716
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Posted
OK, anyone know of a vacuum cleaner that can efficiently pick up pet rodent bedding and ...er... droppings from a carpet?
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Miss you, Erin.
Posts: 14382 | From: Under the duvet | Registered: Apr 2002
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
ISTM, it is absorbing the energy from the sun.* Provided the material you wish to wrap it in has no properties which reflect more sunlight than the material the cone is made of, it should be fine. Of course, a quick e-mail to the manufacturer might answer the question better than I can.
*The sun is that vaguely brighter spot overhead during the day.
![[Biased]](wink.gif)
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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marzipan
Shipmate
# 9442
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Posted
Random question of idle curiosity: if you're, say, buying a house, and the seller and buyer just happen to have chosen the same solicitor, what happens? Does one of you have to choose a different solicitor, or would two different solicitors form the same practice be able to handle it? (This hasn't happened to me in real life, I was just wondering how it worked)
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formerly cheesymarzipan.
Now containing 50% less cheese
Posts: 917 | From: nowhere in particular | Registered: May 2005
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Drifting Star
Drifting against the wind
# 12799
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by marzipan:
Random question of idle curiosity: if you're, say, buying a house, and the seller and buyer just happen to have chosen the same solicitor, what happens? Does one of you have to choose a different solicitor, or would two different solicitors form the same practice be able to handle it? (This hasn't happened to me in real life, I was just wondering how it worked)
This happened to us when we bought our first house, and the solicitor represented us both - which is very bad practice indeed. Had we been older and more experienced we would not have accepted it.
I think that even then Law Society guidance was that someone else in the company should take on the second person, and if nobody else was available they should be sent elsewhere. I'm not sure whether the guidance is firmer these days, but I certainly hope so.
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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus
Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
As to rodent litter, a powerful vacuum cleaner with a beater bar is what you want. Uprights tend to be more powerful than canisters. I have an old-fashioned Kirby that picks up just about anything.
If this fails, a shop vac. You might borrow one, to see if it suits, before buying one of your own.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
I've been cleaning out my kitchen store cupboard, and found an unopened packet of strong wholemeal bread flour with a use by date of April 2013. Will it still be any good?
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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BroJames
Shipmate
# 9636
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Posted
If it's been kept in a clean dry environment, not too hot, and shows no obvious signs of spoilage, I'd have thought it'd be fine.
Posts: 3374 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2005
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marzipan
Shipmate
# 9442
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Posted
You might want to check for weevils/pests, basically put it in a bowl or in a spoon, level the top with a knife, leave if for a few minutes, if the surface of the flour is disturbed there are weevils in it. (According to Darina Allen, cooking the flour will kill the weevils but will give a heavy texture to whatever you're baking so you might not want to use it in that case)
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formerly cheesymarzipan.
Now containing 50% less cheese
Posts: 917 | From: nowhere in particular | Registered: May 2005
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Or sieve some of it. You will see pretty quickly if there are weevils in the sieve.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
If there are no little holes in the packet, infestation is less likely. They're like the flight holes in from woodworm, where flour beetles get out, leaving their little caddisfly-like pupa cases behind. I sieve, remove all the traces, put back any of the bran that's OK, put the flour on a tray and heat it a bit before using it. I've not noticed any heaviness.
You know what the insects have eaten. Rather like preparing snails. Their waste would be of the flour.
Wholemeal flour, though, does contain oils, and these can develop a rancid flavour.
I'd go by look and smell - if in doubt, don't, but if it looks and smells OK, no problem.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
Could I use it for making a cake that requires plain flour?
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Bread flour is a slightly different animal than cake flour, and you will get a different texture and pattern of rising. (I think bread flour uses a higher-gluten wheat.) The whole-grain bit will also make it heavier and denser than cake flour.
If I were you I would use it to make bread, a quick bread if you don't do yeast risers. Selecting a highly-flavored recipe (cheese? raisins? jalapeno peppers?) would hide any off flavors from the age of the flour. Or use a recipe that involves beer as the rising agent -- that would hide a multitude of sins.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
I'm making bone broth in the slow cooker. The instructions, obtained over the net, say that some foam might form while it is cooking and to skim this off. Another source suggests leaving it. Given that the contents of the pot are roasted beef bones, water, onions and a bay leaf what would cause the foam? (I know beans foam but I didn't realise that meat could).
To skim or not to skim?
Huia
[ 29. April 2015, 20:00: Message edited by: Huia ]
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
Boiling meats always throws a scum - it's a denatured protein, I believe. It's not harmful, it just renders the stock cloudy.
Maybe that was what Greasy Joan was skimming the pot for?
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Boiling meats always throws a scum - it's a denatured protein, I believe. It's not harmful, it just renders the stock cloudy.
Maybe that was what Greasy Joan was skimming the pot for?
I think she was keeling the pot. Though what that means I am at a loss to explain. I used to think it meant scraping the black smuts off the outside*, but I've just found a site which says it means adding cold water to cool it down (a bit risky, germ wise, I would have thought).
*I had a book with a woodcut of her scraping.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
Thanks Firenze and Penny. ![[Smile]](smile.gif) I'm looking forward to this as I haven't made it before.
Huia
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Yes, skim the kludge that rises to the top. Sometimes there is quite a lot of it.
The brown bits at the bottom of the roasting pan you can get up by putting a cup of water in, and then heating the pan and scraping with a spoon. After you skim off the foam from the kettle, and no more rises (or when you are bored with skimming), add the scrapings and their cup of water -- by this time everything should have loosened up nicely. This adds color and flavor to the broth, and also makes cleaning the pan easier.
Only after you do all this should you add the spices (peppercorn, bay leaf etc.) This is so that the valuable spices, especially any dried ones, don't get skimmed right out of the pot.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Piglet
Islander
# 11803
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Posted
When I make chicken stock (on the stove-top - I haven't tried it in the slow-cooker) I bring it to a boil, turn it down a bit and skim off all the scummy bubbles that form at the edges and around the bones, then turn it down to a low simmer for a couple of hours, which seems to work.
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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
Smudgie: quote:
OK, anyone know of a vacuum cleaner that can efficiently pick up pet rodent bedding and ...er... droppings from a carpet?
I recently bought a new vacuum cleaner after consulting a Which? article and their top recommendation was the Miele C3 Cat and Dog cylinder cleaner. I ended up buying a C2 Cat and Dog cleaner instead (they were on special offer in the shop and I couldn't resist a bargain). That's slightly less powerful than the C3 but still does a fantastic job on the fallout from our gerbilarium. I swear the carpet was a different colour after I cleaned it the first time with the new vacuum.
You know you're middle-aged when you get excited about having a new vacuum cleaner ![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Boiling meats always throws a scum - it's a denatured protein, I believe. It's not harmful, it just renders the stock cloudy.
Maybe that was what Greasy Joan was skimming the pot for?
I think she was keeling the pot. Though what that means I am at a loss to explain. I used to think it meant scraping the black smuts off the outside*, but I've just found a site which says it means adding cold water to cool it down (a bit risky, germ wise, I would have thought).
*I had a book with a woodcut of her scraping.
I was always taught that it meant she was scrubbing the pot out.
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Sandemaniac
Shipmate
# 12829
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Posted
Yes, the foam is denatured protein - at one point firefighting foams were protein based, not sure what they are these days.
I used to have to pressure wash an abbatoir floor - pink foam galore!
AG
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"It becomes soon pleasantly apparent that change-ringing is by no means merely an excuse for beer" Charles Dickens gets it wrong, 1869
Posts: 3574 | From: The wardrobe of my soul | Registered: Jul 2007
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
If (after all the skimming and adding spices and stuff) you turn the fire as low as it will go, and leave it on the heat all night, the stock becomes fantastically deep and flavorful. Ideally you get it to where only an occasional lazy bubble boils up to the surface. There is also a great charm in cooking something yummy while you are snug in bed with the covers pulled up.
The other super-frugal thing to do is French -- reusing all the meat and bones one more time. Strain off all the stock and freeze/store/use it. Leave all the meat and bones in the pot, add another onion or carrot or bay leaf, and top it off with water again. Cook it all one more round. The resulting second stock will be notably paler, less flavorful, and less nutritious, but it will not be water. Use this secondary stock for things like stews or sauces in lieu of water. (At this point you should probably throw out the exhausted meat and bones, they will be slush.)
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
The meat is pretty exhausted having been cooked for the 24hrs suggested by the wordy writer in the kitchn (sic) and I am too . A full 6litre crockpot with bones and liquid is reasonably heavy.
I have skimmed off a lot of beef fat which I don't use for cooking so I might reheat it and pour in into moulds with seed to feed the birds after I've checked with some nature lovers that it won't kill them.
Tomorrow I will reheat the broth (to melt the jelly into liquid) then strain it through muslin, freeze some and make soup, probably beef and barley out of the rest.
Huia
[ 01. May 2015, 08:51: Message edited by: Huia ]
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Oh dripping! With jellified gravy underneath, spread on brown bread.
I can never get beef fat these days. Not even to cook my Yorkshire puddings.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I save the beef fat, also any bacon fat. It keeps in the freezer forever.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Is it actually legal to drive (in the UK) with your dog in the front seat? I've just seen a battered old jeep with a large collie dog being fairly active in the front passenger seat, which I'd have thought would have been quite distracting if you were driving. I don't suppose you can make dogs wear a seatbelt but this one looked like it needed it.
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
I save the beef fat, also any bacon fat. It keeps in the freezer forever.
I don't get any when I cook beef!
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Would people like to take any further recipe advice/info to the Recipe thread please? Ta.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Zoey
Broken idealist
# 11152
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Posted
(I'm am not massively technologically-minded. I might not have used all the right terminology in this question, but hopefully folks understand what I'm asking.)
About a year ago I bought a cable to plug my iPod into the aux port of my car stereo. As far as I can remember, this worked well to start with. However, recently when I've tried to use the set-up, the music has been crackly or has cut out at times. Fiddling with the cable and holding it in a certain position can improve the sound, but that's not very practical when driving. Is this problem inevitable as the cable ages? Do I just have to replace the cable every so often? Is there some way of making a repeat of this problem less likely?
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Pay no mind, I'm doing fine, I'm breathing on my own.
Posts: 3095 | From: the penultimate stop? | Registered: Mar 2006
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Can you experiment a little, to see if you can isolate the problem? For instance, if everything works just find in some other car, then it may be your aux outlet that is the problem. If swapping in a new cable fixes everything, you may have an issue in the old cable -- they do wear out, especially if you bend them hard or get them caught in doors. Examine both business ends of the cable -- anything dirty, or is there fuzz caught in there?
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Calling all English language geeks!
Is there a word to describe wanting to eat when not hungry? Last night I was watching the cricket when an advert came on for a biscuit rather like the Cheddars available at my school tuck shop fifty years ago - basically two Ritz-type crackers with a cheesy flavoured filling. I saw the ad and gradually the feeling grew that I wanted to eat something but I most definitely wasn't hungry. Eventually I gave in and made some cheese [last of the glorious cheddar with black pepper] and cucumber cracker sandwiches.
But what is that feeling of wanting or needing to eat but not being hungry?
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
''Lust of the eyes" WW.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
I heard the term "mouth hunger" used recently.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
I have some very old snapshots which have curled up badly. What can I do about it?
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
I have some very old snapshots which have curled up badly. What can I do about it?
Moo
Ignore the DIY advice you might get. Many of the cures will kill the patient. If not immediately, somewhere down the road. Treatment varies depending on the type of paper and emulsion.
Seek a professional conservator for the proper advice.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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ArachnidinElmet
Shipmate
# 17346
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
But what is that feeling of wanting or needing to eat but not being hungry?
Having 'eyes bigger than your belly'? Although that usually means not being quite hungry enough, rather than not hungry at all.
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'If a pleasant, straight-forward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle manoeuvres' - Kafka
Posts: 1887 | From: the rhubarb triangle | Registered: Sep 2012
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gwai:
If you are a woman who walks moderate distances regularly and generally wears one pair of dress shoes most days,* how long do you expect your shoes to last? I've been told my expectations are too high.
*Not pumps, if it matters. I'm too flat footed for pumps
I wear the same flats every day while working (can't find more than a single pair of shoes at a time odd enough to fit my feet) and I tend not to walk very far in them. They usually last me a year or a bit less.
I've been thinking I need to find a shoemaker to get something that will last longer.
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
I'd reckon a year. I've heard that shoes last longer if they're not worn everyday, so I try to swap around. I have this year's smart black shoes, and last years no-longer smart but still holding together black shoes. When last years fall apart, I get a new pair and relegate this years to second best.
So each pair lasts about two years, one year of being worn half the time as the smart pair, and one year of being worn half the time as the not so smart pair.
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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