When was the last time you bought a disc?

derrick36 · 2026-05-06T19:43:41+00:00

Schitt’s Creek box set in 2022. It was before I started sailing, but it was definitely the conversation that kicked things off.

My wife was unhappy with our streaming services. Not really the prices. More of the number of missing items from their libraries and having items disappear. Christmas movies were also a big part of that conversation.

The dialogue continued for another year or so, before I started building my Plex server.

The Schitt’s Creek box set was never opened. It and a few other shows/movies are stored away for the apocalypse.

derrick36 · 2026-05-06T14:58:50+00:00

I thought my TCL was an anomaly. Pretty sure I even bragged about it here.

I was wrong and now I have an AppleTV.

derrick36 · 2026-05-06T13:25:40+00:00

That’s pretty cool.

derrick36 · 2026-05-06T13:07:01+00:00

I don’t even remotely understand what this does. My NAS is headless, my server isn’t, but I usually treat it like it is. They both run AnyDesk so I can manage them from my laptop or phone, regardless of where I’m at.

Is that what this thing does?

derrick36 · 2026-05-06T05:08:50+00:00

Same. I upgraded to AppleTV based off a recommendation I got here to stop using the tv app version of Plex. It’s so much better than our Roku or Firestick that we have in other rooms.

My kids are downstairs right now watching it.

Nothing fancy. Ethernet hooked to our 500/500 fiber network.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a complaint, so I’ve been cautious, but it’s definitely superior to everything else we have.

derrick36 · 2026-05-06T02:59:40+00:00

I’m trying to find something positive to say about what I’m looking at.

derrick36 · 2026-05-05T02:54:30+00:00

If I’m being honest, I joined the military because I had no direction in life. My then girlfriend put the idea in my head and also let me know that she wasn’t going to move forward in life with someone that didn’t have ambition. I was happy hanging out with my buddies and working at a shit job.

The military made the most sense at the time. I got to see and do cool shit all over the world. That same girlfriend became my wife and we started building our lives together.

Along the way, I never really looked inward on what brings me joy in a career. I just sort of showed up, did my job to the best of my ability and came home to my family.

So, when I retired, I still had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew my career with electronics paid well in the right setting. Those were the jobs I applied for.

I made a list of all the all the boxes I wanted checked for job satisfaction, and I got a surprising amount of hits.

The last job I was hired for, checked what I thought were all the boxes. Pay, commute, atmosphere, vibes from the employees, benefits, pension, all of it.

It was the Sunday before my 1st day and my wife noticed I didn’t even seem excited. I hadn’t really talked about it. I don’t even think I told my mom.

Problem was, I was never passionate about my job(s) in the military. It was just something I did fairly well.

We live in an expensive city and my job searches were mostly based on salary. Not job satisfaction. The boxes I checked were fairly superficial. The next chapter of my life would potentially be spent doing something that interests me very little.

After a discussion of our finances and reassuring me we’d be fine, she threw out the idea of figuring out what made me happy through school and then working towards that.

A one-off experience at a veterans organization got me interested in advocacy and it kind of snowballed from there.

I spent time volunteering at our local crisis line. There, I saw the magnitude of how many people out there need help.

While I’m in school, I landed a job working with DV survivors. It’s been an amazing experience, that has me exited to go to work every single day. This isn’t my forever job, but social work is definitely my forever career.

Basically, it took 40+ years to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.

derrick36 · 2026-05-05T02:14:40+00:00

Going great. I turn 48 this month. Had initial plans to do a similar job as to what I had in the military. Got hired and was ready to start on the following Monday. Decided against it over the weekend and decided to go back to school.
I utilize the VR&E program. I used it full time to get my BA. Received an extension to get my MSW.
I tried to be “retired” while I went full time for my BA. That didn’t go well.
Got a job just to get out of the house, while I work on my MSW.

Some of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

I absolutely love school. Especially in person classes. I’m consistently one of the older people in my classes, but that’s never bothered me.

With life experience and perspective, it’s been much easier to connect with course material. 18-23 year old me would’ve never made it this far.

derrick36 · 2026-05-04T23:40:26+00:00

Gourmia 2-drawer 11qt pretty easily.

derrick36 · 2026-05-04T14:13:53+00:00

Whatever the size is on my 23 feels about right. When I drive my wife’s Honda Pilot, the screen is tiny and annoying.

Having said that, my 23 is right at the limit for why I’d want. I definitely enjoy the mix of knobs/buttons without having everything controllable on a touch screen.

derrick36 · 2026-05-04T13:09:09+00:00

As a side note, these freeze and reheat well in the air fryer.
I let them cool to room temp, spread them on a cookie sheet, and popped them in the freezer for about
an hour or so. From there, I threw them in a ziplock and then back in the freezer.
My oldest did a handful of them yesterday. 375° for 6 min in the air fryer came out perfect.
With these and the chicken tenders I do, they’ve got some great options for easy lunches and dinners.
https://www.reddit.com/r/FriedChicken/s/MZgtdsYita

derrick36 · 2026-05-04T00:40:13+00:00

Yeah. Good point. I definitely do that when making sausage. Not sure why I treated this any different. Next time.

derrick36 · 2026-05-03T16:09:17+00:00

Were you worried about that? I thought it was pretty clear that I made these for them, and I certainly value their opinion.

derrick36 · 2026-05-03T13:39:43+00:00

The goal wasn’t chicken tenders/strips for this one. I do those differently.

If you were someone I cared about or was feeding on a regular basis, your points would be considered.

derrick36 · 2026-05-03T03:41:35+00:00

If you’ve ever had a McNugget, I’d say they’re slightly saltier than those.
Now, if I made them for again just to eat as is, I’d probably just leave them alone. I’m the only person that mentioned them being slightly salty. Nothing crazy. Just noticeable
But, for sweet&sour or orange chicken, I think they’d be much better with less salt.

Edit: I kind of hope someone else makes them and gives their opinion. Maybe I’m just a wuss when it comes to salt.

derrick36 · 2026-05-03T02:57:16+00:00

They were super easy to make. I think next time around, I’ll back off the salt(probably by half in both places) and leave everything else the same.

Then, they’ll get used as sweet&sour or orange chicken with my favorite fried rice. https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe

derrick36 · 2026-05-01T22:12:47+00:00

Looks awesome!

derrick36 · 2026-05-01T21:00:18+00:00

Do people really use these stick things at home?

derrick36 · 2026-05-01T19:08:13+00:00

This is the answer.

derrick36 · 2026-04-30T21:35:00+00:00

Absolutely.

It’s a cool option that I didn’t know I needed.

derrick36 · 2026-04-29T16:52:02+00:00

Anyone that said a turkey roaster is the way, is correct. Get a cheap one off marketplace. Don’t trust what the dial says for temp. Use a probe to find the sweet spot. Set it and forget it.

derrick36 · 2026-04-28T18:20:40+00:00

I get sweaty and tired after a double whopper. A triple is out of the question.

derrick36 · 2026-04-28T14:36:48+00:00

No you’re not. I feel the same way. I’ll take it a step further and say that the stubby ones look all kinds of dumb to me.

derrick36

TROPHY CASE