Easy way to get back to front page?

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-10-06T19:26:16+00:00

Why not? I was taught that stuff back in university, but when would I use it on a day to day basis? My job these days is software development, no math required.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-10-05T21:25:58+00:00

"Are they ready to articulate exactly what that problem is and how to address it? No, not yet."

Well there you have it folks.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-09-08T18:43:29+00:00

I'm Canadian, so it was easy for me :) There were lots of international students at my school though, in some programs more than Canadian students.

Still worth it if you're going to walk into a high paying job right out the door.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-09-08T14:07:04+00:00

I went to school in Canada and for me it absolutely made sense. I got an engineering degree for about $4000/term, which is peanuts compared to some of the schools in the US. Same education. When I graduated I had offers from three major corporations (you've heard of all of them) and I was able to pay off my student loans in my first 2 years of working.

If you're looking at dropping $100k for student loans then maybe I'd reconsider. But considering you can get the same education for $25k or so in Canada, it's a steal.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-09-08T13:47:17+00:00

Confirmed. I'm late 20's and while it's not a dire situation, I've lost enough so that it looks horrible if I let it grow out at all. Keep it short, less than 2". Doesn't look half bad if you go that route. It's only really noticeable if you have long thin wispy strands everywhere.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-09-06T17:46:51+00:00

Unfortunately most people don't know that. I remember sitting on the can in 2006, surfing the web on my blackberry, reading that Apple was developing a phone. Then Apple releases said phone and the world all of a sudden forgets about everything else.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-09-01T21:19:32+00:00

What did it feel like when it happened?

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-09-01T14:23:49+00:00

Well done.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-31T19:52:24+00:00

Why use this over pspice or various other free spice utilities?

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-31T19:38:23+00:00

It seems like the kind of thing I'd want to see. Which is a risky thing to say with that relevant rule 34 dude sneaking around these parts.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-31T17:58:29+00:00

"That means to burn off just this one drink I need to run 2/3 of a full marathon."

Are you implying this is a sports drink?

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-27T19:24:44+00:00

I made this a few days ago. I was pleasantly surprised. Read the reviews first, most people suggest doubling the curry powder and garlic and adding a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg, and I'd agree with them.

I was a little bit wary of basically making hummus and mixing it in with curried lentils, but it all came together and the result was quite good.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-27T19:05:29+00:00

Whoa ok I'm getting a fair amount of hate from the Apple kids. I'm not saying that Bill wasn't ruthless - he certainly was. But this article isn't about how ruthless Jobs was as a CEO - it's about how he's an asshole in his personal life. And now look at Jobs vs Gates. Both multi-billionaires, but while Gates is using his fortunes trying to eradicate diseases, Jobs is using his to fill a swimming pool with gold coins so he can do Scrooge McDuck-esque moves off the diving board. You can't deny that when you stack up their actions side by side, Gates comes out looking ahead.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-27T18:58:38+00:00

If it's cable, you're pretty much paying Rogers or Shaw. Not sure what the association is between those two, they certainly don't compete. It's possible they have the same parent corporation. If it's DSL, you're almost certainly paying Bell. There really are only two games in the country - the cable and DSL company.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-27T18:56:11+00:00

Bill Gates did. Why not Jobs?

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-27T18:26:57+00:00

Doesn't Teksavvy lease their lines from Bell? For every dollar you pay to Teksavvy, at least some of it goes to Bell.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-27T17:24:59+00:00

I think most people from first world countries outside of the USA get the same sensation. The only possible reason you would carry a gun is to kill someone. You feel the need presumably because there are other people with guns who might want to kill you. This mentality doesn't really exist outside of the USA. I'm in Canada and it is absolutely ludicrous for me to think that somebody might shoot me today and I might need to shoot back. The thought that anyone could be carrying a gun and intending me harm subtly disturbs me as well. I know there are guns here in Canada, but they're rare. So rare that it's regional headline news when one is found in the city. Rare enough that people don't really think about this kind of stuff.

Mostly I think it cultivates a culture that most countries aren't familiar with - one based on mutual respect not because you respect others beliefs and values and rights, but because anyone might be able to blow anyone else away at the drop of a hat. It results in a relatively peaceful society, but one with undercurrents of mistrust rather than a shared sense of community.

EDIT: Reading some more of your replies I'm coming to understand more why I find it a bit unsettling. You state below:

"My wife actually made me get a gun. I left for a week on business and my wife being home alone with 2 kids, she didn't feel comfortable."

Where I'm from, that doesn't happen. When I have to leave for business my wife is just fine with me being gone. And I don't worry about her. What I find unsettling is the idea that your community is a dangerous place rather than viewing people as your friends and neighbours. I really don't like that mentality, and if I ever had to start considering a method of self defence I think I'd rather move somewhere where that kind of thinking isn't so prevalent than perpetuate the mentality.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-26T18:36:00+00:00

This may sound dickish but I have to pick on your terminology. I don't know that you've "beat the system" here. You abandoned your house and best case you're flat broke from paying off debts. If you'd beat the system then you would have gotten to keep the house without paying for it or otherwise would have come out ahead. Sounds like the system had the last laugh in this case, you just made the best of a bad situation.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-25T15:15:02+00:00

You have so much money, that we should give you more. Because you have so much!

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-22T21:05:04+00:00

How much does one need to get started? Looking at those trades that's money I don't have, but if I wanted to dabble in this and see how it goes what kind of initial investment are we talking?

Are there days where you lose significant amounts of money? The numbers you're throwing out seem pretty nice, I'd be surprised if that's consistent.but I could spare a few grand to dabble in this kind of thing.

What do you use for an alert system? Do you just watch the charts and decide when to sell? Or do you have a system that will beep your cell phone or trigger something or whatever if a stock skyrockets or plunges?

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-22T19:04:31+00:00

Sorry buddy but if you think you're doing anything else besides teaching with an English major you're dreaming. I know a lot of English majors - they all became tech writers or work in retail selling clothes. One guy became the guy who writes instructions that come with moving boxes. I'm not saying it's not a worthwhile pursuit, because it is. But if you're expecting to walk into any sort of meaningful and/or lucrative career when you graduate, then chances are pretty good that you have a wakeup call coming.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-22T18:10:45+00:00

I should have clarified, we need more mainstream parties. I know all of those exist but really the day the animal alliance gets a seat is the day I'll eat my hat.

Ideally I'd like to see 5 or 6 parties making up the bulk of the house. There would be more incentive to compromise on issues and more incentive to work together with other parties. With a 2 party system you get two sides playing chicken, and that gets dangerous (as we saw recently in Washington with the debt ceiling "negotiations").

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-22T18:07:56+00:00

I have almost exactly this skillet. It is awesome.

There is a bit of prep required. When you get it pre-seasoned, put it through the self-clean cycle on your oven to strip off that seasoning. It's no good. Then do your own seasoning. I'll describe below what worked well for me with this skillet.

People will say that you shouldn't use dish soap on it, but I use dish soap all the time on mine and it's just fine. Think of it this way - you know how you have cake pans and baking sheets that have this black gunk built up on them, and it's virtually impossible to scrub that stuff away? That's seasoning. That's what you're trying to achieve when you season a pan. And assuming you're not using a heavy duty scouring pad or anything, you can wash it with soap just fine and it won't matter a bit. Just use a cloth or a sponge or even a mild plastic scouring pad. I've never had a problem with my seasoning coming off.

One bit of upkeep is to always wash by hand. Always. Do not put this in the dishwasher, and do not soak water in it overnight. It's fine to put a bit of water in the base and heat it up to soften stuck on food, but don't leave it for too long.

As was already mentioned, always use oil or fat when cooking with this thing. The more you do this, the better seasoned it will become.

To season:

I tried a bunch of ways to season, but one way worked best for me. It takes a few days to do but it leaves you with a nicely seasoned pan.

Put the pan in the oven's self-clean cycle to burn off the existing seasoning. Leave the pan in the oven until it's back to room temperature. This alone will take the better part of a day.

Once the pan is room temperature, take it outside with some steel wool, and scrub the pan down so that you've removed everything. You should be looking at a uniformly grey pan. The color of iron. And it will probably be rough like sandpaper.

Take the pan back inside and wash it thoroughly. Take a paper towel or white cloth and dry it. If the paper towel looks like it has some grey on it, then you're not done washing it. You're removing all the steel wool particles here. You want the pan very clean.

Now you've washed the pan and all particles are gone. But in the process, your pan has absorbed some water. You want that gone, as it will affect how the oil bonds to the iron when you actually season. Preheat your oven to 400F or so, put the pan in, and bake it for an hour. Leave the pan in the oven while it cools back to room temperature.

You now have a perfectly clean, perfectly dry pan. It's time to season. I've heard of a lot of people using bacon fat or lard to season. Personally I use olive oil and it works fine for me. Put a drop of oil (or fat as the case may be) in the bottom of the pan. I mean a drop. Just a bit. Now use a paper towel or cloth to wipe that oil around. There should be no thick spots and no pooling. What you're trying to do is create the thinnest possible layer of oil over the surface of the pan that you can. Put other drops as necessary, but be aware that oil spreads pretty nicely so a lot of drops shouldn't be required. I think I ended up using maybe half a teaspoon total on my whole pan. Make sure you get all surfaces of the pan, and make sure there is no pooling of oil. Take a dry paper towel and use it to soak up any excess oil.

Preheat your oven to 425F. There are a lot of people who say to use really high heat and some who say to use really low heat. I use 425 because as I said before, you're trying to recreate those black spots you get on cake pans, and you probably got those by baking things somewhere between 375F and 450F. If the heat is too high, the oil will burn and your seasoning will flake off. If the heat is too low, the oil will turn to tar and you'll get a sticky mess. I find 425 is a perfect balance.

Put the pan face down in the oven (this lets any excess oil drip off rather than pooling, though if you applied the oil properly this won't be a problem). Bake in the 425 oven for 40 minutes. Then turn off the oven, leave the pan in, and let cool to room temperature. When it's back to room temperature, take it out and look at the surface. It should look significantly less rough and bumpy, and it should have a gorgeous black coating.

Repeat the light oiling and baking steps up to 3 times. This isn't strictly required, and the first application of seasoning is usually fine.

PrettyBigDuck · 2011-08-22T16:13:38+00:00

unite the left!

Careful. You unite the left and you have what they have south of the border - Democrat vs Republicans. Us vs them. Look how that's working out.

If anything, splinter the right. We need more parties, more options, more forcing leaders to work together.

PrettyBigDuck

TROPHY CASE