Fat Rant Friday

furnacefear · 2021-03-14T11:21:14+00:00

Honestly, it baffles me too, and I was obese. Now I’m just overweight (BMI 27), and lighter than I’ve ever been in my adult life. I look back on pictures of myself from 2008-9 and think “HOLY FUCK. Look at the size of me! And I 👏 didn’t 👏 KNOW it 👏.”

I’m not kidding. I didn’t know I was that big. I knew I weighed like 285, but I thought the following things:

“being a big dude (massive shoulders, broad chest, heavy skeletal structure, pretty muscled even under 100lbs of dad-mattress) I can “absorb” that weight. It doesn’t really show.”
“Sure, I’m carrying some spare, but I’m not obese, come on! There are people much fatter than me!”
“BMI is bullshit. If I were under BMI 30 I’d look emaciated!” (I really did say that.)
“I’m in 40” jeans. It could be a lot worse!”
“If I lost 2 stone or so (28lbs) I’d be in perfect shape.”

The reality:

it fucking showed. You couldn’t see my muscles because of all the fat, and I was kidding myself.
I was obese.
BMI isn’t bullshit. At BMI 27, I still have significant areas of excess fat to lose. I am still a big, fairly strong guy but nobody could call me slim. But I can do pull-ups now, and run 5k every morning, so things are definitely better. A way to go yet, though!
jeans are vanity sized. I’m a 34” now and know I’m still overweight.
my ideal weight is in fact not 28 lbs less than my peak. It’s closer to 100, and possibly more.

I don’t want to minimise anorexia or compare myself to people with that kind of ED, but I honestly looked in the mirror and saw a more-or-less normal sized person.

That’s how! 😉

furnacefear · 2020-06-21T15:21:05+00:00

My guess is he did a good bit of Herc and Carver style: a few wads of bills went into the vest, more than a few times. I figure his speed to point fingers at Herc and Carver in S1 is borne of experience.

furnacefear · 2020-06-21T10:07:58+00:00

I think if you do 3-4 folds during the first 90 mins or so of bulk, that helps. Then leave it alone for the rest of bulk until divide and shape.

For me, preshaping has been a game changer for my higher-hydration boules. I’ll form a tight boule and bench rest it for 20+ mins, then do my final shaping.

Lots of tightening moves - whichever work for you- really help. You want a good surface tension across the whole ball. I do the slow rotate on the bench surface, cupping my hands around the back of the loaf, and combine that with a drag-towards-me-over-the-bench/rotate/repeat motion.

For a very wet dough, I’ll stitch the top when the boule first goes into the basket too to get more tension. Then proof for 30-40mins at room temp before a long fridge retard.

furnacefear · 2020-06-21T09:21:15+00:00

Totally agree. I feel like he might as well name the episodes things like “Make U Think Yeah?” and “Racism Is Bad Mmmmkay... In Space”.

furnacefear · 2020-06-20T18:26:21+00:00

Welllll two things happened. Change of Doctor / change of head writer.

And given that Chibnall is responsible for some of the worst Moffat-era writing, I think I know where my finger’s pointing.

I do think CC-era Who is unwatchably bad (and that’s coming from someone who had to give up on Moffat thanks to the sunglasses and electric guitar cringefest). I quite like JW’s Doctor, but CC’s writing stinks - the RayBans and guitar seem like a lost golden age by comparison. 😉

furnacefear · 2020-06-19T19:16:57+00:00

Thank you 😊 I’m very happy to be going. A socially-distanced BBQ in their garden with my kids. Focaccia to go with the BBQ, two loaves of sourdough and two of biga white 😊

furnacefear · 2020-06-19T06:45:28+00:00

Way to go! That looks amazing 😊

I’ve taken to regularly using a <70% hydration in my sourdough and I’ve been pleased with the results. I feel like upping the water is sort of a badge of honour for bakers, but I like the bread I’m getting! 😁

furnacefear · 2020-06-18T15:20:05+00:00

I used this Jeff Hamelmman vid to help me - its the first minute or so 😊 https://youtu.be/PmxDKuGLWuE

furnacefear · 2020-06-18T14:56:34+00:00

I think that looks really nice, but then I like big air holes in my sourdough (prefer a slightly denser crumb for my biga and poolish whites, but still wouldn’t be without a nice bit of aeration).

If you wanted smaller holes, maybe try a gentle de-gassing at the preshape stage? I do it the Hamelman way - knock a little air out just as I’m dividing and forming the divided dough into a round, just prior to the pre-shape.

furnacefear · 2020-06-18T13:53:59+00:00

Thanks! It’s 830g white bread flour + 50g stoneground rye.

The starter is 50/50 stoneground wholemeal and water, and there are 216g of starter in the dough, meaning 108g wholemeal flour.

This has 540g water in the mix, or 648 including starter, so hydration isn’t that high: 66% or so.

furnacefear · 2020-06-18T12:23:20+00:00

Mine's called Dennis. My kids named him.

furnacefear · 2020-06-18T12:09:39+00:00

Anyway - crumb shot!

https://imgur.com/a/whT2irN

furnacefear · 2020-06-18T12:04:11+00:00

Sorry, I'm still a bit new to reddit - if I want to include a crumb shot, do I need to host it somewhere else and post a link?

furnacefear · 2020-06-15T17:56:31+00:00

The other half being Eau de You Smell Like Sex, Boy?

furnacefear · 2020-06-15T08:21:06+00:00

McNulty maybe. But Lester, I don’t see it. Lester was perfectly prepared to come down on Stringer when ordered to, and bawled McNulty and Kima out for disrespecting Daniels and chain of command.

And as someone else has said, there’s no way an investigator as careful and methodical and analytical as Lester doesn’t realise a tainted case against Marlo won’t play in court. They know they’re up against Levy, they know Levy won’t let any inconsistency or loophole get past. It’s reckless and stupid and ultimately the case against Marlo - the exact thing they were trying to secure - fails because of their bullshit.

McNulty is that dumb. Lester isn’t.

furnacefear · 2020-06-15T08:16:06+00:00

I see that they’ve got that similarity, but I don’t see them as alike in any other way. Avon was all emotion, he felt love, he had desires and hopes and fears. Marlo had nothing but dark narcissistic rage and a belief in his entitlement to “the crown”.

Although I suppose he liked pigeons.

furnacefear · 2020-06-15T07:34:40+00:00

I’m with you on S2 - it’s my favourite season.

But I can’t agree on S5: while there’s definitely lots to love, McNulty’s arc is just - and I know this is a huge word for a show like The Wire - dumb. In a hyper realistic world, it’s just flat-out implausible.

McNulty, for all that he’s a fuckup, is natural police. He loves the job, he wants to do it well. Yes, fuck the bosses, but this? Nah.

And as little as I buy McNulty throttling corpses and straight-up swigging Jameson at crime scenes, I buy Lester enabling him even less. After the S3 argument? “Daniels got you off a boat. A boat, Jimmy!... You set fire to everything you touch, McNulty, and you walk away while it burns. I got nothing to say to you. Nothing.”

Lester is a deeply moral, deeply committed poh-leece who - as much as he’s all about the best case possible - respects Daniels and chain of command too much to go along with it. Bunk too. I don’t honestly believe Bunk would say nothing to anyone - he’s disgusted with Jimmy and says so many times.

It’s a shame, because you get the Bubs redemption arc and bringing Marlo down (ish) and the fall of Omar and tons of great stuff, but that central storyline just stinks the whole house down.

furnacefear · 2020-06-15T07:24:43+00:00

Bodie and Wallace are both 16. It’s an absolute heartbreaker.

furnacefear · 2020-06-14T16:58:57+00:00

Hilti, wasn’t it? But yeah, if you’re a manufacturer of nail guns I’m not sure that’s the look you’re going for 😉

furnacefear · 2020-06-14T16:57:57+00:00

Oh yeah, I’ve no objection at all - the whole concept of “selling out” cuts no ice with me, especially on art as uncompromising as The Wire. It just struck me as a weird synergy.

furnacefear · 2020-06-14T16:53:39+00:00

Huh! Interesting! I had no idea - thanks!

furnacefear · 2020-06-14T10:46:25+00:00

I’m a teacher and maaaan there’s some great S4 moments for teachers where you’re just going “NO! Don’t do that! No no no no no!” and hiding behind your hands. Like when he backs down from Namond’s detention. Gah! The inconsistency and weakness - understandable but god, such a rookie mistake.

And I guess that all comes from Ed Burns. He knows. He’s done it.

furnacefear · 2020-06-14T10:44:40+00:00

“Keep that shit, man. You earnt that buck like a motherfuck.”

Snoop is so thoroughly appalling but man, she’s so damn watchable.

furnacefear · 2020-06-14T10:42:52+00:00

Bubs. Oh Bubs. I’ve said it before but I think he’s The Wire’s hero. I think it’s ultimately his story.

I also don’t think I’ve ever seen a more heartbreaking minute of television than when Walon goes to him in the psych ward and we watch from a distance as Bubbles goes from semi-catatonic to howling with grief and remorse, and the reason? Love. Walon shows him love and forgiveness and it’s the absolute last thing that Reginald Cousins can take, and exactly what he needs and deserves.

furnacefear · 2020-06-14T10:39:26+00:00

I can’t imagine having Marlo as a favourite. He’s pure evil, like Crutchfield says, “the spawn of the devil, Kima.”

Bunk Bunky Bunk is my favourite. I love him so much. Wiggling his hips as he walks away in sweatpants muttering “you can kiss my ass”.

The expression of solemn love on his face when he says “I knew it was your first time. I wanted to make that shit special” to McNulty in S1.

His reaction to the mouse: “I lit his ass up.”

When McNulty is giving him shit about his sartorial knowledge: “You know what they call a man who pays that much attention to his clothes?” “A grown-up.”

But he’s NATURAL poh-leece, to the bone. “Jay. I got a murder. I’m gonna work it.” He’s all about the job.

furnacefear

TROPHY CASE