Last week was tough. Stayed at a hotel/suite with microwave, fridge, sink and coffee pot.... the only "hot" food I had was a microwave burrito at 11PM when I got there. The damn place shuts down at 10PM, the only "supermarket" opened was a gas station food mart.
No stereo systems, just IEMs and the portable DAC. At least it can play Tidal Masters.... like the 400 LPs in the phone.
Anyhow, I did a run to Whole Foods the next evening and I did OK. Made salads, ate good cheeses, cold cuts, (lots of) apples, chips, salsa, good IPA and even a bottle of red wine.
At the end I had extra food, so I made myself food for the trip back. It was good eating good food on the long flights. They only serve you... hmm... nothing really.
On Friday, I decided to try out their "famous chili".... OK, I wanted chili... I guess when you pile on the cheese, it's OK. It made a good taco salad...
Then you got a picture of the best meal you could get at the O'Hare food court. IMHO, I'd rather have my own cooked food than most of the crap they serve out there. The double shot in the dark was well done as well. Bravo!
Played Grateful Dead and Zappa on the last flight, drank some wine.
No stereo systems, just IEMs and the portable DAC. At least it can play Tidal Masters.... like the 400 LPs in the phone.
Anyhow, I did a run to Whole Foods the next evening and I did OK. Made salads, ate good cheeses, cold cuts, (lots of) apples, chips, salsa, good IPA and even a bottle of red wine.
At the end I had extra food, so I made myself food for the trip back. It was good eating good food on the long flights. They only serve you... hmm... nothing really.
On Friday, I decided to try out their "famous chili".... OK, I wanted chili... I guess when you pile on the cheese, it's OK. It made a good taco salad...
Then you got a picture of the best meal you could get at the O'Hare food court. IMHO, I'd rather have my own cooked food than most of the crap they serve out there. The double shot in the dark was well done as well. Bravo!
Played Grateful Dead and Zappa on the last flight, drank some wine.
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So I got home... decided that, being 'cold', we'd make japanese soups... yum!
Pictures... home and a winter melon soup.... not pictured, the champuru from last night. Plan for tonite... take the leftover winter melon soup, add corn or white beans, microwave, on top of rice. Make a good salad. Champuru on the side.
Played some tunes.
It's good to be home.
Pictures... home and a winter melon soup.... not pictured, the champuru from last night. Plan for tonite... take the leftover winter melon soup, add corn or white beans, microwave, on top of rice. Make a good salad. Champuru on the side.
Played some tunes.
It's good to be home.
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Oh this was in the car... WTH is it?
Flying into SoCal in the winter is always a shock. You fly from places that are grey, brown.... dark... then you fly over the biggest desert in North America... then.. WHAM! You go over Victorville and drop 5000 feet above a landscape of lush greens and broad freeways. Even at night, the place shines, it's bright, there's people moving about, there's activity.
It's always great to come home. The Duke watches over us.
Yeah, I don't fly into LAX.
Flying into SoCal in the winter is always a shock. You fly from places that are grey, brown.... dark... then you fly over the biggest desert in North America... then.. WHAM! You go over Victorville and drop 5000 feet above a landscape of lush greens and broad freeways. Even at night, the place shines, it's bright, there's people moving about, there's activity.
It's always great to come home. The Duke watches over us.
Yeah, I don't fly into LAX.
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@mountainman bob: at $350 that is a no brainer. I'd assumed you were going for a big hairy chested gas powered husky. My Dad's business used to sell gas concrete saws amongst other things and they scared the heck out of 11 year old me. Mind you learned to drive in a half ton dumper.
Hope you've measured the bbq pit for a full hog roast just in case
Hope you've measured the bbq pit for a full hog roast just in case
In fish news saw an article today about the Main eel industry and how much elvers sell for. Per pound it's huge, per slimy critter less impressive. Eel has gone out of fashion here since we are somewhat short of them these days but pubs round here still have old pictures of the wicker eel baskets from the days they were there to be caught. Anyone an eel afficianado?
@billshurv
Have you tried Japanese style grilled eel? Unagi... It's a delicacy.
https://www.japancentre.com/en/recipe/1434-unagi-don-grilled-eel-rice-bowl
Have you tried Japanese style grilled eel? Unagi... It's a delicacy.
https://www.japancentre.com/en/recipe/1434-unagi-don-grilled-eel-rice-bowl
I haven't but a lot of Japenese delicacies I was not brave enough to try even when I was an omnivore.
Bob, you don't need a Dutch oven to make sourdough, but it is a great multipurpose kitchen tool and does great with bread. I use my comal mostly, or even just a half sheet pan with multiple loaves on it. Steel roasting pan on the rack below with water in it for steam. Unless you have a gas oven, DO is the way to go. When you preheat the DO, I leave the lid off and set it on the rack next to it. No need to handle it until the bread goes in. Also, buy Reynolds brand parchment, it makes a big difference over the cheap stuff which isn't rated for 450-500°F.
I need to redo my patio, but thats about $10K in just concrete work. Its 1800sq/ft.
I need to redo my patio, but thats about $10K in just concrete work. Its 1800sq/ft.
Baking half-sheet pan, plus grocery store one-time-use aluminum roasting pan for Holiday turkey, makes an excellent steam capture vessel for wide, fat, long, 85% hydration focaccia loaves. This combination accommodates much much bigger loaves than the largest available dutch ovens. And the roasting pan costs single-digit dollars, while Le Cruset wants USD350 for their 7 quart, enamelled cast iron Dutchie.
A lot of Le Cruset comes back to Williams Sonoma as "dinged" -- you need a friend who knows how to work the dumpster. ( we have a hefty kitchen full!)
I see virtually all the small retaining walls around here made of hollow cell concrete blocks. But then almost all of them lean after a few years. Very rarely see a properly built private small retaining wall.
Particularly bad since this area is primarily three river valleys and amazing numbers of poor retaining walls.
Of course in this case it is essentially a fence and not a retaining wall.
The house I own was remodeled in the 50’s with a cinder block garage. Cinder block is similar to concrete block except as part of the concrete mix they use the cinders left from coal fired plants. For every ton of steel made there are two tons of leftover slag and cinders.
I of course got a demolition permit and removed the garage and repaired the damage it had done to the house.
I was surprised to see concrete block being used in earthquake zones of California. They use it a bit differently. Rebar down the open part and then filled with concrete! A bit more solid and requires good planning to get all the plumbing, conduit etc. in place before the filling.
So the only issue I see with using those stylish concrete blocks is how the top will be covered. I just don’t see the cover and block seams lining up very tight.
Particularly bad since this area is primarily three river valleys and amazing numbers of poor retaining walls.
Of course in this case it is essentially a fence and not a retaining wall.
The house I own was remodeled in the 50’s with a cinder block garage. Cinder block is similar to concrete block except as part of the concrete mix they use the cinders left from coal fired plants. For every ton of steel made there are two tons of leftover slag and cinders.
I of course got a demolition permit and removed the garage and repaired the damage it had done to the house.
I was surprised to see concrete block being used in earthquake zones of California. They use it a bit differently. Rebar down the open part and then filled with concrete! A bit more solid and requires good planning to get all the plumbing, conduit etc. in place before the filling.
So the only issue I see with using those stylish concrete blocks is how the top will be covered. I just don’t see the cover and block seams lining up very tight.
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^
"I was surprised to see concrete block being used in earthquake zones of California. They use it a bit differently. Rebar down the open part and then filled with concrete! A bit more solid and requires good planning to get all the plumbing, conduit etc. in place before the filling."
Yes, concrete block walls are quite common and rather robust in a quake.
There were videos of Ridgecrest with lots of block walls that easily survived the '19 quakes, including a 7.1.
In my neighborhood, the walls between houses are also made of block walls, with rebar and concrete. After 50+ years, most of them are still standing. The biggest issue is not the wall itself but the foundation... sometimes the contractors got cheap and didn't pour enough so with time the wall will crack.
However, I don't recall seeing buildings made with concrete blocks. It's mostly stick wood framing (no balloon), metal post and beam or concrete slabs.
"I was surprised to see concrete block being used in earthquake zones of California. They use it a bit differently. Rebar down the open part and then filled with concrete! A bit more solid and requires good planning to get all the plumbing, conduit etc. in place before the filling."
Yes, concrete block walls are quite common and rather robust in a quake.
There were videos of Ridgecrest with lots of block walls that easily survived the '19 quakes, including a 7.1.
In my neighborhood, the walls between houses are also made of block walls, with rebar and concrete. After 50+ years, most of them are still standing. The biggest issue is not the wall itself but the foundation... sometimes the contractors got cheap and didn't pour enough so with time the wall will crack.
However, I don't recall seeing buildings made with concrete blocks. It's mostly stick wood framing (no balloon), metal post and beam or concrete slabs.
I did, once. Made a casual comment about the smog and someone replied, "Oh, we don't trust air that we can't see."
Gotta love that LA sense of humo(u)r.
Tony,
The buildings I install sound systems in are typically arenas and stadiums. Almost all have concrete block walls.
I rarely see construction of residential buildings.
The other interesting bit is that equipment racks are bolted to the floor in earthquake zones as gravity is not trustworthy. In some locations they are also tied to the ceiling!
As California has some of the strictest building codes they also have the toughest contractor licensing regulations. Thus a California license is recognized in most places. However there are a few New England states that don’t recognize California licenses. They accept the Washington state ones. The intent being to give an advantage to the local folks. Doesn’t bother me I have both!
When I did a job in Nashville a local company tried to disqualify me after the job was awarded. The state folks of course accepted my licenses and also determined one was not required for a sound system.
As this is the food thread I should mention working in Nashville many of the workers got lunch from a bar that served food and was located next to the stadium site. Virtually every other construction site the construction management would send someone around to visit all the nearby bars at lunch time. Having a beer or any alcoholic beverage would get you instantly fired and escorted off the construction site. However being in the south there were no nearby restaurants that did not serve alcohol!
The buildings I install sound systems in are typically arenas and stadiums. Almost all have concrete block walls.
I rarely see construction of residential buildings.
The other interesting bit is that equipment racks are bolted to the floor in earthquake zones as gravity is not trustworthy. In some locations they are also tied to the ceiling!
As California has some of the strictest building codes they also have the toughest contractor licensing regulations. Thus a California license is recognized in most places. However there are a few New England states that don’t recognize California licenses. They accept the Washington state ones. The intent being to give an advantage to the local folks. Doesn’t bother me I have both!
When I did a job in Nashville a local company tried to disqualify me after the job was awarded. The state folks of course accepted my licenses and also determined one was not required for a sound system.
As this is the food thread I should mention working in Nashville many of the workers got lunch from a bar that served food and was located next to the stadium site. Virtually every other construction site the construction management would send someone around to visit all the nearby bars at lunch time. Having a beer or any alcoholic beverage would get you instantly fired and escorted off the construction site. However being in the south there were no nearby restaurants that did not serve alcohol!
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Yes, well versed in the dutch oven, we used to cook with the real ones that you cover with coals (either campfire outdoors or fireplace in the house) all the time and also had two nice leCreuset ones for the kitchen that were found at a yard sale for $20 each, but when we moved to FL we planned to live on a boat for a couple years while we built our house and hence they were all given to the children before we left. We have a gas stove and the couple that will be teaching us has electric so maybe thats why they thought it had to be in a DO (they aren’t exactly culinary, more hippy granola!)
Good tip on the parchment I just checked ours and its only rated for 400F !
Cal, sorry for the slight derailment! I’ll get some pics when I start building then kitchen portion of the patio…….and don’t worry everyone I don’t build things that fall down!
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