Link

Microwavehas its place, for me. Leftovers and batch prepped stuff, heating water for tea, fixing hard toast, taking the chill off something frozen before the frying pan.

On 4/28/2024 at 9:18 PM, Richardhead said:

So my problem as of late is micro plastics. That is why I haven’t gotten a souevide thing yet. I feel that cooking the plastic with my food could be detrimental. However, I’m just a scrub and actually have no idea what is what.

Your fish does look like it was cooked well though. Maybe a quick sear to get some crust.

Sear is a great idea I was also worried about boiling a plastic bag. The packaging for the fish is pretty sturdy; I'm still skeptical of using ziplocks even if they are freezer-ready.

What are we gonna cook in May, @Gloves?

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

more quintessential experiences for their respective franchises than TLOZ.

Yeah, this. Today Zelda 1 is a lot less accessible than SMB 1. It's relatively dense and cryptic. Nintendo uses unaltered graphics, sounds, and play events from the latter much more than the former, or than Metroid 1, etc. 

And I know this is a video game forum but the rules come from Asimov, not Inafune.

4 hours ago, Estil said:

I don't reckon AI (like Skynet) is bond by that though?

Why not? 

If we're just talking about the real world, that rule doesn't actually exist, so no, it's not binding. But theoretically I don't see a reason AI should be subject to lesser safeguards.

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Maybe 3 Zelda games is overkill.

Even I would say so.

OoT has been superseded at least twice over by now imo. It is simpler to grasp, it's a franchise basis and was more groundbreaking, so maybe it's a better representative than later games for some, but Hyrule Field is a real snooze fest.

On 4/29/2024 at 10:29 AM, AirVillain said:

Dang... you sound like a Pac-Man master! 20k?

Hardly  

On 4/29/2024 at 10:29 AM, AirVillain said:

I certainly have never even bothered to look at any "strategy" on how to play it, so maybe a couple tips would make it less frustrating and difficult, haha.

I was looking up the book and stumbled across this quick video. No route memorization required.

On 4/29/2024 at 8:17 AM, Mega Tank said:

I have been able to play them at Costco whenever they sell them and the Arcade1Up machines are always too small.

Too small, and too light. I played a brief, very casual round, and the thing was rocking all over the place like it wanted to fall over. 

On 4/11/2024 at 9:50 AM, AirVillain said:

I find this interesting because I play Pac-Man/Ms. Pac Man every once in a while.... Galaga too, actually. There's a cabinet at my work.... One of these things:

https://arcade1up.com/collections/pac-man/products/pac-man-partycade-12-games-in-1

Also. Idk what your experience is with actual arcade cabs, but my experience is that Arcade1Up machines are worthless fucking garbage. So while I agree it's a tough game, if that is your only exposure to it, fuhgeddaboutit.

On 4/11/2024 at 9:50 AM, AirVillain said:

Pac-Man is fucking RELENTLESS. It's fucking hard, man. FRUSTRATINGLY and ANNOYINGLY hard. So much so that I play it for like 5 minutes, get annoyed, and then stop. It's not a very fun gaming experience. 

I can barely make it past the first 4-5 levels. I mean.... I am trying to maximize my points, so maybe I could get "farther" without effing around with the power dots, but each game only takes about 2 minutes, if you're lucky. My hightest score is like 40k or something pathetic, and that seemed IMPOSSIBLE for me.... I can't fathom getting it again.

I can understand how it would have been fun "back in the day" because of the lack of games/differentiation, but I don't think Pac-Man holds up very well today.

I find this so interesting, because my feeling is the exact opposite, despite not being gud at games. I really like the challenge. I find it fun regardless. I'm not better than you, I think my top score ever is like 52K and typically land around 40... 20 on a bad day. But even here it's a little exciting rush nearing your record, and if it's good enough for a Gen X girl in a dark bar to make admiring noises over, idk what more I can ask (except for her not to turn out to be a horrible person).

Anyway, yes it's tough. To be really good at higher levels I think needs the memorization skill required of Battletoads race levels, plus an extra dimension, and with different concepts of timing and watching. Mastering Pac-Man by Ken Uston is a good book. I can't find my copy right now but if I wanted to go real serious on the game, that would be my period reference text.

As for holding up. I would tell never anybody they must love a certain game. But if you care about video game theory or history, or early 80s pop culture, I would put Pac-Man in the top 5 to pay attention to.

23 hours ago, Richardhead said:

Did you cook it from frozen or did you thaw it ?

Thawed

Really doesn't hold up for me.

I watched it about five years ago. My main takeaway was the Kevin Spacey character was really creepy and the movie did little to either condemn or redeem his behavior.

I guess the plastic bag bit seems deep to a teenager (which that character was, to be fair). 

A wikipedia read brings me back a bit, but I still have no need to see it a third time.

17 hours ago, Link said:

No pictures

I lied

On 3/13/2024 at 8:02 PM, NostalgicMachine said:

2 hours ago, Brickman said:

Hardly anyone is going to even care about most of the NES library, but sitting in gaming museums will definitely be a NWC telling the history of a huge gaming event. This is why people value it so highly.

I don't disagree with either of you, but I think Splain is saying that it's only valued because other people want it. And museum level is very high up that scale.

On 3/11/2024 at 3:00 PM, twiztor said:

3. i don't know the name of this, but my local barcade had a 4-person Pac-Man cab where you tried to eat each other. It was always a freaking awesome time. They've since replaced it to one that is less fun, but i want that game!

Battle Royale! Hell yeah, that game is awesome. 

Hm I think I have to seek out one of these:
The game was ported to Pac-Man Museum for a digital release (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows) in 2014. The game is included in the compilation title Pac-Man Museum+ (Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch) released in 2022. A direct sequel, Pac-Man Battle Royale Chompionship, was released in June 2022.

Edit: that last one is still arcade cab only for now

https://www.gpb.org/news/2024/04/25/georgia-political-campaigns-start-deploy-ai-humans-still-needed-press-the-flesh

"We have an ethical responsibility to make sure that we help our clients build deeper human relationships with voters,” he added. “Because at the end of the day, the most important person in any election is the voter. It is their community, it is their government. So following that ethical principle, that responsibility we have, our goal is to make sure that our clients are willing to sign off on anything that truly reflects their view, their voice, and gives them a better ability to build a deeper relationship with voters."

Wow, that's quite the spin on ethics. The tidbit of the process that is vetting by a candidate will go by the wayside pretty quickly. And then the whole concept of a human candidate can be tossed. To say nothing of how many poisoners of the well there are. Without them I might think government by AI could be better if it reflects the actual popular will of the people. But they are here and not going away soon.

I tried sous vide last week.

I've heard about this method a lot (like, on TV) but I was put off by the bag thing. I don't have a vacuum sealer, and ziplock bags don't seem like they could  be in boiling water. But I was still interested in trying it. For some reason, I looked it up on SeriousEats, and "freezer bag" made something click.

A few days later, I went in the freezer for a salmon fillet and noticed they were individually sealed, and decided here was a chance. I took the fish out, patted it dry, added seasoning and butter, put it back in the bag. I folded the top down and put it in the water, using a binder clip to secure it to the edge of the pot (and keep the non-sealed bag upright).

No pictures, but it came out good... later I'll have to run a taste test to compare this with baking or grilling.

Frying. Deep frying. Baking. Grilling. Barbecue. Preserving (canning, dehydration, salt/sugar/smoke/vinegar). Knifework. 

What techniques do you like? want advice on? just tried? wanna brag about? 

9 hours ago, xelement5x said:

I does a whole walkthrough of how and what to fill out with the application, then saves your return as a specific file that's read by the software.  Also if you used it previously when you start up you can point it to last years return and it'll import all your basic info about your family and businesses from last year.

Filing for the Federal side is free, I had to pay $25 to file with my state, but buying it from Costco in the physical form they give you a $10 "credit" of sorts so I really only paid $15 to file my state taxes.  Actually just got my state refund the other day, now to spend it again at Costco

Sounds great.

At that price does it deal with deductions or income streams besides just W-2 wages/salary? Do you need to know about deductions or does it tell you? I might spend $5-10K on a construction contract for my multi-unit home, would it find credits for something like that? Green energy installs? 

14 hours ago, OptOut said:

And, dude, have some class. Zelda edition all the way! 

Well. Thank you for sharing LoZ appreciation with me. I didn't know you were much of a Zelda fan, besides OoT. 

The Mario Maker 2DS was a Black Friday price drop AND limited edition special at a moment I was ready to get a current (if aging) handheld - mainly for Mario Maker. I wanted in on the action, but didn't want to put money into a Wii U. And it has a pixel Mario graphic. 

The Zelda one has colors but no other branding on the machine. And I've had little interest in LoZ Game Boy games generally. 

(I was quite annoyed to discover that you could only download in the portable SMM, not upload courses - that's bullshit!)

I can't find my Super Mario Maker edition 2DS been missing for a while.

Is 2DS fully as backwards compatible as a 3DS is? Should I get a NES or Zelda edition 3DS? Ack!

5 hours ago, wongojack said:

You do have to pay something to file depending on how complicated your return is, but I can't see a big benefit in actually owning the client.

I see. I was hoping the client was a flat fee, which would apparently be a benefit for me. If xelement5x pays $100 and I paid $340 for TurboTax online (over $400 H&R block, probably because I went to their office and used their accountant) AND I owed a lot -

that would be a significant difference. If it's like I was imagining. Not that I can see why it would be to Intuit's advantage.

btw, you guys know these mf'n companies lobby congress to keep the tax code complicated? 

Well, dang it, I thought I had pictures of this, but I can't find them. Or another piece in the freezer, I don't. Not surprising, since this was better. 

I made my shepherd's pie at the same time I did the meat loaf. So here is a picture of the last slice of meat loaf. Picture it with peas and carrots and corn mixed in, different seasoning, and topped with mashed potato like frosting. Then I put the whole pan in the toaster over to give the potato a little bit of crisp and browning. This would be a cake slice of that.

https://www.thewholesomedish.com/the-best-classic-shepherds-pie/

It was a cottage pie, since I used beef rather than lamb. I was doing meat loaf at the same time. Red meat is not a staple for me and there's a lot of other stuff too, like celery.

And imo you (I) can barely tell the difference between ground beef and ground lamb, especially with all the seasoning. (I do make sure to get lamb for kefta.) Anyway: This was very good.

These are both surprisingly moist. Meat loaf at home growing up was dry and I thought that's just what it was like. But this is still juicy after baking the meat, then going in the toaster. Still juicy out of the freezer and microwaved for 1:30. It's the broth.

I don't have much occasion to eat a hunk of meat, unless it's on a bun with cheese and LTO, (and yes, there are meat loaf sandwiches, so that might get me to repeat this) ...but if you want to make meat loaf or shepherd's pie I recommend the above recipe. 

This is apparently the meat loaf recipe I used, I don't remember making that mix at all, lol.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/219171/classic-meatloaf/

8 hours ago, xelement5x said:

If you think you're going use TurboTax next year Costco normally sells home and business (which sounds like what you need) for about $100 and they give you a $10 credit for state filing.  I've been using it for years.  

Hmm. I was gonna give the CashApp thing another try, but if that doesn't go, I'll look at this. You buy the program for that cost, and it has all the forms easy to find and fill out? Then does it e-file and ACH transfer? For free or an additional price? 

10 hours ago, RH said:

I also find it amusing that the main character was probably born around 81-84 and  yet in the 2024 segment, he looks like he's still in his mid-20s.  Dude, where are those greys at?!  I need to see realistic grey hair, cause that's where we should be!

Let me tell you about a little TV show called "The Simpsons"