The fuck are you smoking? Russian grown weed, I guess

Not all of them, no.

Most of them don’t do those nice, sturdy bubbles at all, but they’ll get close. Iirc, almond milk comes closest…

It matters in some recipes whether or not the milk substitute will have the right properties. Say, something like a mushroom cream sauce, none of the substitutes work because there’s just not duty enough fats. Milk gravy is hit or miss, with almond being the least bad choice iirc. American style biscuits, soy and almond do okay, but need extra acid to get a good rise like you can with buttermilk. But they sub in fine for regular milk in terms of texture and taste.

Stuff like that. Blowing bubbles is a quick way to test a fake milk. Or even types of cow milk, or milk from other animals. Goat milk, as an example, is so close to cow milk in terms of structure it’s an easy substitution if flavor isn’t a factor. The powdered milk you can get for long term storage or baking is no better than the usual non dairy stuff when reconstituted, and not even as good as skim milk despite being the dry parts of skim milk.

For good bubbles, you need fats. And they need to be similar enough to milk fats, so there’s a high degree of parity between a bubble test and cooking outcomes

I mean, I’ll fight you for fun.

Listen worm! All know that a waffle cut exposes the greatest surface area to the heat source. This results in the most optimum caramelization, you spavined cur!

The crowned crispness of the waffle cut is superior in all ways, you petaQ!

Waffle cut! For the glory of the Empire! Death to all crinkle cut worms!

I don’t think your opinion as expressed is rare as much as it is people not liking/wanting the options that are currently out there as they are.

If they were all open source and/or free of corporate manipulation, there’s big swaths of objectors that would be okay to enthusiastic about it.

If they were fully capable rather than being a mishmash of levels of readiness, another swath would either support or cease to object.

And, you’d also see increased support if the system underlying everything was more supportive of the people that are going to have to shift jobs when the models are fully capable rather than the varying stages of capability.

Eventually, it’s going to be the dominant tool for almost all use cases, and there’s nothing wrong with a tool reducing the need for humans to do grunt work. It’s all the knock on effects that are the problem, not the fact.

If you’re wanting to do stuff like festivals, you’d probably want to find a clown school.

But doing it as a volunteer, all you really need is a suit, a face, and skills. Juggling, balloon making, card tricks, etc. Then you reach out to facilities and work out the arrangements for a performance. Hospitals can be a tad restrictive about who gets to do shows for pediatric wards, so you’ll likely want to try nursing homes first and build up a local rep.

You can also try to hook up with local sideshow type troupes. Clowns aren’t always welcome, but you can usually pick up some skills if you’re honest about it. The fire performers won’t teach you, but jugglers and magicians will usually share some basics as long as you aren’t trying to shaft them with it.

Oh man! Those small producers almost always knock it out of the park.

The pickled and preserved are like two glorious sides of a coin.

And they go great together.

Ooooooo, damn! Homie in here looking to fight! Absolutely brilliant unpopular opinion; simple, direct, and easy to discuss.

Aight, I gotta say up front that I am picky about strawberries in general, and it is rare for preserves or jams (I’ve never had a strawberry jelly, but I’m not that kind of asshole to insist that a pb&j can only use jelly) to meet my standards.

I disagree with strawberry anything being better than grape jams or jellies on two standards. First is that food preferences are always subjective, and thus we can only rarely say anything other than “better for me”

The second is essentially subjective as well, as it goes to those preferences that I have.

A pb&j is on my list of perfect sandwiches (again, for me, but I think it would fit such a description in general) because it provides a balance of sweet, savory, salty, acidic and allows nigh infinite variety with fruit flavors. You can have one and need nothing else to satisfy one’s palate.

I think where grape is better than strawberry for those that prefer it is the nature of grape. It is a fairly strong flavor, but also usually simpler in jelly or jam form. The processing of grapes in that way means the potential complexity of flavor grapes can have is subdued. As such, it delivers the balance to the peanut butter in a very accessible way. Remember, we often encounter pb&j sandwiches first in our youth when we haven’t developed our palate as much, and often can’t appreciate more subtle flavours or more complex ones.

Strawberry jams and preserves are almost always more complex in flavor than grape versions (though I’d argue that a good homemade muscadine jelly belies that). They’re also a tad more acidic, and strawberry flavor as it differs from other fruits is bolder as well. So it often stands over the peanut butter, even to the degree of smothering at times.

I believe that’s why, ignoring personal preferences, grape became the default and is “better” than strawberry as a default. I might also argue that apple jelly is better than grape as a default for the same reasons; the varieties of apple used combined with the jelly making process make it an incredible pb&j candidate.

I put way too much thought into sandwich theory. I admit that with joy in my heart lol.

But I have tried essentially every kind of jam and jelly that I’ve run into over the years on a pb&j, as well as adjacent options like apple butter. I maintain that the holy trinity of apple, grape and strawberry should be default. If you open a sandwich stand, one of those three should be what you serve if someone asks for a pb&j without specifying a flavor.

While I prefer apple as my personal default, I think that the hypothetical sandwich shop should likely default to grape as it is the assumption most people make when they ask for one, but I wouldn’t be mad at any of them as default.

Now, because I’m picky, strawberry is my third or fourth choice when I’m wanting one. Apple or grape is going to be what I reach for 80% of the time. Damson plum is roughly tied with strawberry for me, and I can never decide which I prefer.

What is straight out is any fruit like blackberry that has the seeds still in the jam or preserves (by definition, seeds can’t be present in jellies). It just isn’t pleasant to run into those hard bits (as opposed to something crunchy like crunchy pb, or some nice potato chips layered into the sandwich, though that’s not a pure pb&j), so they can fuck right off.

I am otherwise very open to fruits in that regard. Even oddball things like pepper jelly, or watermelon rind preserves are worthy on rare occasions. Watermelon rind preserves, btw, are exactly what you might think. The peeled and cut rind of a watermelon preserved by a combination of citrus (lemon), sugar, and heat. Pectin may be added to adjust the thickness as preferred. It is amazeballs, and can go with damn near anything that can handle the sweetness. If you’ve never had it, find an old southern granny or gramps and die happy after they share a jar with you.

Even things that don’t do well as preserves or jams can be given honorary place on a pb&j sandwich. Bruléed banana as an example. Little pinch of cinnamon, a sprinkle of sugar, bake for maybe ten minutes then brule to caramel. Lay that on the waiting pb&bread, then die happy. It isn’t a proper pb&J, but it’s a spiritual cousin to it.

On the cheek

And it depends on the drug, butt most of them won’t absorb via the anal sphincter fast, so unless it’s just sitting there, the hooker wouldn’t get high.

You could snort a line from the crack, if the position was right though. Just need a long though enough straw. But the usual places coke or meth get snorted from are the butt cheeks, cock, and boobs (depending in the stripper or hooker’s equipment.

The thing is, it’s not a blanket statement of what must be done. It’s a principle that is guided by the combination of logic, emotional control, and, as strange as it may seem, empathy.

It stands as a metric to process one’s actions and choices. The individual vulcan accepts that the needs of all vulcans as a whole are more important than their own needs. This doesn’t mean that there is no debate. It’s the framework for the debate.

As the individual vulcan weighs options, they seek to determine what is the most benefit, and therefore the greatest need. They use logic to measure opposing or contradictory options, but they also consider the non physical ramifications.

Expanded into the federation, it becomes a measure for all sapient beings, not just vulcans. And that’s where the empathy of vulcans comes in the clearest. They’ll weigh the emotional harm to emotional beings as a need that must be factored into a decision.

But it also includes as part of their culture that no single vulcan is perfect, and that logic is a tool that must be developed. They can disagree with the decisions made about what the needs of the many are. It’s just that every individual sees the logic of their own needs being secondary.

It’s an expression of the vulcan equivalent of religion

That’s definitely an unpopular opinion!

It’s also one that is poorly reasoned. The whole “there’s only two models” part is bunkum

There isn’t a single one for me.

However, I gotta put a lot of weight to the “all the way” that’s pretty much the default in my area. Mustard, onions, slaw, and what’s called either hot dog sauce, or chili sauce. Which, the sauce is similar to “hot dog chili”, but not the same; it’s a little different spices and in cooking methods. Secret family recipes abound.

It’s an amazing combination when paired with any of the standard store brands, or the “red” hot dogs the are popular here in the south.

I’m also a big fan of mustard and kraut. I tend to prefer it on fancier frankfurters and other kinds of sausage, brats and kielbasa in particular.

There’s the “pizza dog”, aka an “italian” dog. Has zero to do with Italy anything that I’ve ever seen, but that’s what it gets called sometimes. This is a double preparation dog. You cook the franks however you prefer (I recommend either “dirty water” or a mid tier beer boil). You then place them in buns, top them with your choice of tomato sauces like marinara, then with the usual “italian” melty cheeses; mozzarella, provolone, maybe some parmesan. Do this in a baking pan or whatever, then put it in at 350F until the cheese melts and slightly browns.

You can get fancier with that, but it’s absurdly satisfying just like that.

I don’t mind what I call a basic dog. Bun, frank, mustard and ketchup. That’s for when you’ve got a really solid flavored dog that you want to savor. The acid from the mustard and ketchup cut through the fats as you chew, bringing the meat flavors back across your palate in waves. But a lot of the time, I’d rather do kraut and mustard if the dog is really rich on its own.

I fucking love hotdogs tbh.

A lot of the time, we have a lot of our identity kit tied into our work. Sometimes that also means to specific jobs/employers.

Losing that for any reason can be anything from a mild annoyance to fully traumatic. And unexpected job loss not only affects one’s self view and sense of purpose, it’s a threat to stability and survival.

So, yeah, it can take years to move past.

It’s a form of grief, though that isn’t always easy to understand, and how intense that grief is is variable even for one person in specific. But it’s not at all unusual for someone quitting a job, in a planned way, to experience loss emotionally. When the loss is involuntary, that stack, then it being unexpected stacks higher. A long job hunt after adds more to the pile.

With anxiety already part of your existence, that grief is prone to hitting harder as well as deeper.

It looks like your grief has turned into depression as well. That drained, empty feeling is your brain and mind saying it/they have hit a limit to how much they can process.

I’m going to echo the suggestion that some talk therapy would be beneficial. Processing such events in life can be difficult to do alone because it’s so hard to see things culturally clearly from the inside.

Don’t think you’re alone in what you’re experiencing. It’s a very common thing to go through.

My mix tape

I don’t actually keep snakes because I’ve never had a living situation that I felt was healthy for them until after I no longer felt I could handle them to my standards. But I love the little buggers. The big buggers too lol.

Snakes don’t really have friends. They have friendly associates. They come to trust people, and as long as you respect that they aren’t social creatures, can be quite companionable despite not really having friends. Mutual respect and trust go a long way towards serving the same role as affection.

They can even enjoy human company. It’s just that the same kind of bond you get with social creatures isn’t there. It’s like the difference between a work buddy that you get along great with, but have no interest in outside of work; and someone that you have a deep connection to. Snakes are work buddies.

If a snake is voluntarily climbing around your neck, it ain’t going to choke you unless something weird happens. Usually, if it’s well socialized, you can pick it up and put it there, and nothing will happen. But you do run into snakes that aren’t used to being handled like that, or aren’t familiar with someone getting scared and reacting. But they still aren’t trying to kill you, they’re just reacting to fear. Kinda like if you run up to a stranger and grab them from behind. Most of the time, you’ll just get “hissed” at (which snakes don’t really do in this situation), but every now and then you get slapped.

People talk to them because people like talking to animals. It’s a monkey thing. I talk to my chickens all the time. They maybe understand ten words, but they like being talked to for whatever reason. Snakes aren’t as into being talked to, nor are other reptiles. But they tend to recognize a calm demeanor as non threatening, and may be soothed by a steady voice. But there’s plenty that could care less what we monkeys chatter about.

People that keep them have any number of reasons for doing so. But what I like about snakes is that they’re no bullshit. They’re gonna snake, all day every day. They feel nice to the touch, and sometimes enjoy being touched, and will give you plenty of warning if they aren’t in the mood. They’re also gorgeous.

I still vividly recall my first real exposure to a snake. Some guy went around local schools with exotic, but “safe” animals. And they must have been because nobody ever had any problems with his critters

But he had a massive snake. I can’t recall what kind it was. Boa or python, I’m not even sure of that, much less what kind. But this big ol’ gal was bigger around than my arm now and I used to lift regularly. She was cool to the touch, and curious about us little baby apes. She’d sniff with her tongue, and move her head to look at whatever kid was closest. You had to be super good to be one of the kids holding her while the guy talked about her, but if you were, and you were at the head, she was prone to hiding her head under arms. Which tickled, but was just awesome.

He had smaller snakes too, and those were almost as chill as that big one. I had one crawl up my sleeve once. It worked it’s way across my shoulders and pokes its head out of my collar. The guy was worried, but I was grooving on it, so the snake just stayed there until the end of the thing.

I dunno if schools would allow that kind of thing nowadays though. Which, as an aside, he didn’t just bring snakes, it was all kinds of critters; spiders, turtles (terrapins), scorpions, hissing cockroaches, mantises, all kinds of stuff. not all of that was handled by students obviously. But he always had snakes, and they were all super relaxed around kids.

Like I said, the only reason I don’t have one is that I couldn’t provide a healthy and optimal environment for a snake. I made the mistake years and years ago of trying to take care of an iguana. This house doesn’t have the space needed for a proper enclosure, so I ended up passing the iguana to a guy that was super dedicated to reptiles. Nowadays, I couldn’t do the work involved anyway, even if I had the room. Chickens are hard enough

If you actually live in those temp ranges, you’re fucked either way. Modern technology is what makes those ranges bearable.

That being said, I can bundle up pretty easy compared to mitigating heat.

There’s two ways to look at tattoos for a family member. Well, two common ones.

One is that names are a very direct reminder, and thus make it a very visceral connection.

The other is that, as art, names don’t hold up well, so something symbolic is both prettier and carry meaning beyond what a name can.

Now, I don’t personally think that tattoos need to be art. They’re a very personal thing, and just getting them for other people to see defeats part of what I love about them (despite only having ever gotten two out of my entire plan).

A person’s name in a place like you’re thinking is wonderful. Subtle, personal, close to the heart, so you can’t go wrong.

However, if you wanted something fancier, that’s not too difficult to brainstorm. I’d look at stuff that reminds you of him as the first place to think about. Like, maybe a flower that reminds you of him, or a favorite toy he had/has as a baby out toddler.

But there’s really no limit to options.

Usually, just mama. There’s a few nickname alternates that have piled up over the years, but mama sticks for whatever reason. She usually prefers it as well, so that works.

Strangely, my dad has two. Daddy and papa. I use them interchangeably, my sister sticks with daddy.

My kid calls their mom mommy or mom usually. Mommy when they’re tired for sure though lol.

Weird hill to climb, but it is definitely obscure enough to be unpopular ;)

I would argue that “best” is always subjective, so there’s no point in any discussion beyond that.

However, that’s no fun, so let’s play along. I don’t disagree with you, but I don’t agree either.

Milk as a chaser for foods is nothing new. Where it fails is as a palate cleanser. While it definitely will cut through most foods, it leaves its own taste behind, and coats the tongue by virtue of its own residue and saliva mixing.

That means that once you’ve taken that first sip, you don’t always get a full taste of anything eaten after that. Obviously, some foods will cut through the milk, but they have to, which changes the experience. That change in experience can be enjoyable, depending on exactly what the food is and what kind of experience you prefer.

As an example, hamburgers often have acidic condiments, produce a lot of fats in each bite (or should), and have lot of texture. So, with milk as a beverage, your between bite swig is going to be a reliable counter to the condiments lingering in the saliva and dulling future bites. Conversely, the textures of the meat easily clear the milk residue in your mouth as it delivers its own. So each bite and sip combo enhances the next.

That interplay may not be something every diner wants. They may prefer that the acidic components stay between bites. They may want the fatty unctuousness of a greasy burger to remain uncut by the fats of milk. But, it is definitely going to be a different and pronounced difference from water, sodas (where sweetness is similarly going to change how the burger is experienced) or things like iced tea.

Now, Doritos live and die by their coating. A plain tortilla chip is a flat, but pleasant experience. So what you dip them in is the real flavor you’ll get. Those flavor powders are designed to tickle all your flavor sensing taste buds at once, and intensely.

Milk is definitely strong enough to counter them. But, the flavor delivery system that is a Dorito lacks the ability to completely cut through the milk with a single chip. It takes multiple. This can be good or bad by preference, but it definitely changes how flavors are presented as you consume. The first chip after milk is going to be heavily subdued, and it will mix with the milk residue. It won’t be until the second or third that you get the full flavor back.

Again, preferences differ. But milk does mean that the experience of Doritos is more subdued. To have each chip deliver its full taste bomb each time, you need a palate cleanser that wipes most of the flavor powder’s residue while not leaving much of its own, or has one that’s complementary.

I think that’s why you enjoy Doritos and milk. The milk complements the umami fairly well, while providing a good wipe of the spices involved. You’ll end up with multiple cycles of tastes, which prevents the brain from getting fatigued by non stop intense flavors.

Now me, I prefer the experience with a fairly equal preference between water, iced tea, or a low hops beer. That’s where Doritos hit best on my palate.

But, a hamburger with milk? Hell yeah. Same with sloppy joes. Spaghetti would be a hell no with milk unless the sauce is really bad.

Milk gets underappreciated as a food adjacent beverage. It isn’t just for cookies and pb&js.

Exactly. It really seems people crowing about it don’t stop to think that a bunch of random assholes packing heat isn’t a revolution. It isn’t even an uprising. It’s just a waste of manpower and ammo.

You don’t overthrow a government without some coordination and planning.

You need armaments to make it happen, but the guns don’t do the job by themselves