I really like a lot of Megadeth’s Hidden Treasures since they don’t pop up randomly so much I’ve never gotten tired of them.

Angry Again, 99 Ways to Die, Breakpoint, Go to Hell, Diadems. All great stuff.

Article says there’s a pepper ball launcher and a glass hammer, so this thing is mainly for surveillance and mild distractions, which is much better than I was prepared to read.

"Currently, an officer’s job is to run toward gunfire, alone, with no support or intel—basically a standoff. With our drones, they’re not alone; they know what the suspect looks like, what they’re doing, and we take point around every corner.

“We usually find the shooter before they do and keep them occupied. Every officer who’s seen this live has said they want it.”

If this actually encourages them to do their jobs, great. If this is just a kickback to private industry and further militarizing schools while police still sit cowering, than I know where they can dock those drones…

I love brewery wash for my water bottle! Soap or bleach always seemed to give me a funny taste or order. It may have been in my head, but I didn’t like it and it led me to cleaning it less often.

Decided to hit it with StarSan one time it got icky and cleaned it right up with no taste or smell.

I try to run it through the dishwasher more often, but if I put something odd in the bottle or it sat out for a long time, now I StarSan it.

From looking up more usage, as it isn’t a word I often hear, it seems by nature to be neutral, but context can direct it to be more positive or negative.

If I heard someone say it in conversation, it would put a lot of emphasis on the tone of the conversation to take the meaning. I’d imagine it being used more sarcastically, as it sounds like a fancy word for someone with shallow knowledge of a subject.

“John won’t shut up about that trendy new art exhibit.”

“Oh yeah, he’s a real dilettante all of a sudden!” 😒

John had never shown interest in art before, but now that he saw it and either liked it or pretended to like it to show off his “higher appreciation of culture” than his friends now he keeps talking about it even though he doesn’t know anything about art.

I wouldn’t say it’s impossible to use in a positive manner, but being dismissive feels more likely. If someone used it that way I’d feel I was potentially missing out on a joke at first.

I think you nailed this one. Poser was my first thought, but a poser is someone who fakes an interest to fit in. Dilettante has that gatekeeping aspect to it, which seems important to OP’s description.

Probably 70% home, 25% takeaway, and 5% eating out.

Takeaway and going out used to be switched, but the gf’s been pulling a lot of OT at the hospital this year, so it’s hard for us to get together most days, and sometimes she doesn’t know when she’ll get home so it’s easier for her to grab something for herself or us on the way home.

I prefer cooking at home because it’s cheaper, potentially healthier, and I hate all the trash generated from takeout, but it’s hard for me to meal plan when our schedules are so off from each other.

We do still make all our breakfasts and lunches, so it’s mainly just dinner that’s the question.

I’m not going to tell you your methodology is wrong, you give a perfectly valid reason for doing what you do.

I don’t so much as avoid them, I will still often check what they are saying, but I look at what they’re saying to other people. If I know someone is trolly or has a pretty shitty bias, if I see them misrepresenting things, it offers me a way to maybe offer a contrary opinion to those they’re talking to, or I can see they may be the wrong person to talk to about ethical/moral things but may still be good for getting answers to technical questions from.

There’s people here I just won’t engage with at all just as in the real world, but just like in life there’s people I know to just avoid certain topics or opinions with but they’re still ok people or can be helpful in the right context.

Now, both online and in real life, if I encounter one of those people who swears everyone is always starting shit with them for no reason, often it becomes obvious that there is a reason why they have so many problems with other people, and usually they are the common denominator. Not always, but I’d say the majority of the time. And especially someone proud of telling strangers that they have a big list of people they don’t like or want to waste their time on, it makes me wonder why. That’s why it’s a red flag. You can tell me that’s who you are, and I don’t have to decide that second to avoid you, but I’m certainly going to feel you out a bit more than I would someone else that decides to give me a friendlier first impression. That’s me looking out for me, just as your methodology does for you.

I just see myself as someone who gives strangers the benefit of the doubt to start with, and that is yours to mess up. Some people don’t trust strangers and they have to earn that initial trust first. I don’t know you or your story so I won’t hold that against you, but I do feel that tells me something about you. You have to actively work on it for me to outright distrust you, but at the same time, don’t think of my trust and friendliness as naivete. I’m paying attention very closely, I’m just letting you show me who you are rather than forming my own assumptions.

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I avoid most controversial comment threads since I’m not here for drama. I do have a few people I put user tags on if I see them have consistent bad takes or if they treat other people poorly so I can avoid interacting with them. There hasn’t been any need for me to actually block anyone.

This isn’t directed at you personally, but these threads pop up from time to time, and for how few people are active commenters here, to have 100 blocks and the need to share that feels like something of a red flag to me. I don’t think I’ve blocked more than a dozen people in about 30 years of being online.

*Kristi Noem has entered the chat…

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

I try not to deep fry anything, my body doesn’t need it, and the convection oven does a decent job. Shallow frying can also do a similar job most times at the cost of some extra time.

Decent quantity of bacon grease get collected for reuse. Small amounts just get paper toweled. If I did give in and deep fry something, that oil is being reused all week. Go big or go home.

When I’m done with it, I grab the smallest sealable container from the recycling, out the cooled fat in it, and it goes in the trash. It usually isn’t more than a cup or 2.

That’s what I’m talking about!

It’s a few comments more positive in here already. 😜

My thought process:

1. Post wholesome content. You need to be providing what you want to see, first and foremost. Provocative content is easy engagement, but wholesome stuff is both a little harder to find and to get people to interact with.

2. Support other people doing what you like. See a post you like with no or low comments? Leave a comment to show that person other people want more. Likes are nice and all, but I personally post things I’m interested in and want to discuss. If I get likes, but nobody is talking with me, I get bored and feel like posting less.

3. Clarify when you post or comment. If you’re sharing an opinion, make that clear. If you’re interested in a subject but understand you aren’t an expert, make sure you’re not coming off as one. If you’re bringing facts, support them with quotes and citations and be sure to credit others where it’s due.

4. Respect constructive discussions. If people are rude, feel free to ignore them. No one wants to see 2 stubborn randos arguing in a thread though. If people give counterpoints or ask questions of your opinion, return the politeness given or steer it back to positive interior you feel it isn’t.

5. Discipline is required if I can’t stick to my principles that I’ve outlined. If I think what I’m going to post is going to rule people up or if I think I’m saying too much about something I’m not very informed on, am I better off hitting cancel than post?

Oh, very cool! I’ve only done random wines, and I did distilling once. Pomegranate and date sounds really good!

I think you should try it! Most of what I’ve done has been more for for r/prisonhooch than r/winemaking and it’s all been ok to pretty darn good.

Get a hydrometer and some brewery wash and 2 jugs that fit an airlock and stopper. I’ve done almost all my fermenting in used juice jugs.

I never found it harder than making bread. There’s no kneading, but I usually make a bigger mess transferring liquids, so it is messier. It’s fun though, and very little hands on time. Make small batches and there’s very little financial risk. Once you get the hang of it, then invest in some carboys and whatever other fancy things you desire.

If your worried about growing something unintended, do a few with purchased yeast so you can learn how the normal year reaction and the byproduct looks and smells at various stages so when you “go wild” you know what’s normal. It does sometimes burp some foul gas depending on the strain of yeast. I forget what gas it is, but it’s normal, some yeasts just have stinker gas. 😁

I’ve had some wild beers, but I don’t know if I’ve had wild wine. Sourdough is a good comparison, because those are the same wild yeasts you’d get for brewing that you’d get if you made your own starter.

Back sweetening doesn’t have to be to make it super sweet. Sometimes wine will ferment very dry and is beyond as dry as what you wanted. Other than adding straight sugar, more unfermented juice can also be added to enhance the flavor to either just make it sweeter or to add some of the non-fermented flavor back in that is lost. You can also have wine that produced a higher ABV than was desired, and adding water or juice can dilute it down.

Blending and balancing wine is really the hard part of making wine, especially if you’re after a consistent product. Different pieces of fruit have different sugar levels and different yeast does more or less than you intend it to do, so the good wine makers can nudge that end product into what they actually wanted without ruining it.

I don’t know if I’d say “bad” but certainly different.

Today we have catalogs of different strains of yeast one can order to ferment beverages. Prior to that, people would just be leaving the liquid open to the air to pick up wild yeasts. Whether that led to something good or bad was a bit up to chance.

Same with the resulting ABV. Different yeasts will thrive to different alcohol levels. My first experiment making wine was with bread yeast I had on hand. It worked, and the wine was a hit with all who sampled it, but it was lower in alcohol and higher in residual sugar because that yeast has been cultivated for bread, not alcohol. The same starting juice with a modern dry red wine yeast results in just that.

Also some wines like sherry are made by doing things like heat cycling and introducing oxygen that are “bad” for typical wines.

During different periods, sweet wine was in fashion, so we can’t really use that as a basis of quality, it’s just the choice of the winemaker.

Wine was also made out of a wider variety of ingredients than with most commercial stuff today, so there are probably awesome herbal infused drinks lost to time or things that are still just regional items that most of us have never heard of.

As a big part of culture, our beverages will continue to evolve, and while some may prefer more of what we consider classic wines now may not hold true in the future. What we have today is just built in centuries of experimentation, which for me, is the fun and rewarding part of brewing.

Putting a dimmer switch in the bathroom has probably been the best cheap quality of life upgrade ever.

I have it set so when pushed all the way down is just enough voltage to turn the LED bulbs on, not fully off, so there’s no guesswork where to set it when stumbling in during the night or first thing in the AM.

Have it dimmed real low while showering and getting ready for bed to get my eyes used to the dark, flip it all the way down as I leave, and then as I wake up in the AM I can bump it up a little to gradually wake me up. Life changing!

Everything I learn about Slavic languages makes them sound like they were only invented to swear or say dirty words. 😂

Zhe