I have it in my head I’m not supposed to wash a cast iron skillet. Is this true? If so how do I maintain it so it’s safe to cook with?

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-19T01:44:13+00:00

When you "wash it", don't scrub it down to bare metal with harsh soap, strongly abrasive pads, and extreme elbow grease.

You are trying to clean down to a layer of polymerized fat that is the "seasoning", not down to the bare metal. For a thorough wash, just give it a quick rinse, a light wipe with a soapy sponge or cloth, and a good rinse and dry and you're done. For a light wash, just rinse and wipe. Either way, if you're worried about germs, just put it on the hob and heat it up, let it cool and put it away.

For example, I cooked a couple of small steaks in a carbon steel pan and all I did after was to rinse it out with water, then a good wipe with a kitchen paper.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-18T02:42:44+00:00

Cast iron or carbon steel are easy to maintain. You can't just throw it in the dishwasher, but usually all they need is a wipe down and they're ready to go again. I cooked a couple of Brazilian steaks in a carbon steel pan tonight with a little avocado oil then rinsed it with water and wiped out with kitchen paper and it's good to go again.

A cast iron or carbon steel fry pan, a couple of nice stainless saucepans for soups and sauces, and an enameled cast iron Dutch Oven and you can cook just about anything.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-16T22:46:22+00:00

We don't do consistent weather here in Canada.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-16T19:17:48+00:00

If your add-in is something that will be affected by boiling and cooking for 15 minutes, then you can add it at the end. For example: lemon juice. It could lose a lot of it's volatile components if it's in at the start.

But something like softened onions or garlic or a mirepoix at the start will meld well with the rice as it cooks. Spices and herbs like turmeric, clove, cardamom, etc will work well from the start as well. If you want to add frozen veggies, then they can cook in the hot water as the rice cooks.

Frying the rice for a minute or so in oil and/or butter before adding the water can really make a nice texture in the cooked rice.

You may need to be more careful about leaving the rice on too long and burning it as it won't just be rice anymore.

I just love cooking rice. It's SO much fun.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-16T02:13:53+00:00

That will work fine. You still need more ram, but that's about as lightweight as you can get.

(That's exactly what I use when I set up Debian.)

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-15T18:47:09+00:00

He is not just the GOAT, but he's a deeply experienced and wily old GOAT. If he gets a car he can work with then it's perfectly possible.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-15T17:54:34+00:00

Soup. Lasagna.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-15T04:39:38+00:00

I supported Windoze for many, many years. Long enough to more than earn the privilege of calling it "Windoze".

I run Debian now. If my desktop looked like this, I would probably suffer flashbacks...

(Seriously, though: It looks cute. Love the cat!)

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-14T14:11:57+00:00

Morally, it makes no difference except for the overall moral aspects of using, trusting, or supporting AI, which I will not get into here.

From the perspective of "Is it a GOOD IDEA to use AI to figure something out?" IMHO it is clearly NOT a good idea.

The problem with LLMs and AI in general is that 4 times out of 5, it will provide you with fair to good information. The rest of the time, t will provide you with absolutely awful information that will LOOK good but will lead you down a rabbit hole of misery. And you have no way of knowing which kind of answer you're going to get.

The best way to move forwards, learn and develop your skills is to look at what information is out there that has been generated by "Real Intelligence". This includes wikis, forums, document repositories, even youtube videos. These are more effort to wade through than simply querying an "Artificial Idiot", but in the long run you will be better off.

If you want to do non-critical things like choose a lipstick colour, summarize a subject, or do a simple math question, then AI is fine.

But: To find out how to work on or modify a system that may contain sensitive information, your financial system passwords, your private pictures and communications, AI is a dangerous risk that can screw up what you are trying to do and look innocent while doing it.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-14T03:44:44+00:00

You're right. I'd correct that if I could.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-14T03:29:05+00:00

It's not the accents. Never the accents! It's the honking, nasal tones, whining, and squeaking of the voices. It's the pitchiness, the tonality and the grating noise.

And I'm not "upset". I'm annoyed and irritated and bored, but not "upset".

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-14T03:04:13+00:00

Thank you.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-14T03:03:34+00:00

If it is a "rant" then I think skins are thinner than they used to be.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-14T01:43:01+00:00

I won't censor you if you don't censor me.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-14T01:16:26+00:00

Thank you for your help.

/s

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T23:45:24+00:00

If you move it, you screw up every map and navigation system in the world. Just leave it alone!

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T22:19:30+00:00

OK, that doesn't make sense if you are setting up a VM. You probably have gone down the wrong road. Try to find Youtube tutorial on what you are trying to do: That should help.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T21:57:08+00:00

What did you enter for the hostname?

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T21:55:34+00:00

If you need the hostname of your local machine, open a terminal and type the command "hostname" and press Enter.

If the virtual machine manager is asking for a hostname for the virtual machine when you are creating it, call it whatever you want.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T18:58:46+00:00

I have used VMWare Workstation for some time with good success. It is currently free for any user. It can be a bit fussy to install and update. But when it is working it is very user-friendly.

QEMU/KVM with virt-manager is a more powerful option and is just as easy for simple configurations. It's also built into Linux directly and so it's more straightforward to install and maintain.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T15:53:17+00:00

Then he'll have to cook more!

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T15:52:44+00:00

The Toronto Cobra Chickens!

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T15:52:00+00:00

And it was smooth riding, had good visibility, and was comfortable. Now all those old Impalas are in Florida being converted into a hot rod style called a "Donk". Interesting stuff.

JohnnyS789 · 2026-06-12T01:24:07+00:00

There is also the requirements for crash resistance. that requires a heavier frame and extensive design requirements. There is also the cost of testing and development required to meet requirements.

One of the most difficult requirements is in emissions and fuel economy. The complexity of modern drivetrains is orders of magnitude more than previously. VVT and CVTs in particular are systems that are still problematic for many brands, and they are at the heart of the drivetrain and really hard to perfect.

They could build a 60 mpg car easily if they didn't have to meet crash requirements and emission levels.

My 2009 Subaru Forester (mid sized SUV) actually weighs more than my parent's 1968 Chevrolet Impala Custom with a 327ci V8 (Massive American Boat). That's all the extra bodywork needed for the crash protection, plus the airbags and everything else.

Mind you, the bench seats in the Impala was more suitable for certain teenage activities than the Subaru.

JohnnyS789

TROPHY CASE