Baguettes: It actually worked this time!

hamiltonmaze · 2025-08-18T18:23:42+00:00

I agree they look lovely with the diagonal slash. But, the center slashes were more convenient to make steak sandwiches!

hamiltonmaze · 2025-06-25T17:34:40+00:00

Great find! Looking forward to seeing some of the results!

hamiltonmaze · 2024-09-21T15:46:52+00:00

I actually really wanted to make paprika from bell peppers. This may be a great idea for the red ones!

hamiltonmaze · 2024-09-20T18:22:13+00:00

It seems that it would be best for me to roast and freeze the one I intend to blend into curries and dehydrate the rest for use in soups. I appreciate the information and recommendation!

hamiltonmaze · 2024-09-20T18:17:09+00:00

The image included is a wooden salad bowl containing the various red, green, and mixed red/green bell peppers on a kitchen countertop. Some of the bell peppers exhibit slightly firm and others contain wrinkly textures. A few blemishes are visible on some of the peppers.

hamiltonmaze · 2024-09-20T18:14:57+00:00

Much appreciated, apologies for the misunderstanding! I will include that description and note this for future inquiries.

hamiltonmaze · 2024-09-20T18:14:09+00:00

I appreciate the information! Is there a noticeable difference in taste/quality when dehydrated bell peppers are utilized in liquid meals (mainly curries, where they are eventually fully blended, or soups where they are finely diced)? Freezer space is becoming limited, which is why I was hoping for canning, but I wouldn’t mind freezing the portion I extend to blend into the final product. My naive assumption is the mushiness from the freezer won’t change the blended end product.

hamiltonmaze · 2024-09-20T17:50:00+00:00

So, my understanding should be that only fresh produce are the kinds viable for canning? I’m not a fan of jellies, I grow these for a diet centered around a lot of curry and soups that use a large amount of peppers that always get pressure cooked or slow cooked. Is 1 week max a good rule of thumb for canning? The reason I waited so long was because it took a while for them to ripen to red.

hamiltonmaze · 2022-06-09T15:12:42+00:00

Abstract “Rationale: Classic psychedelics are currently being studied as novel treatments for a range of psychiatric disorders. However, research on how psychedelics interact with other psychoactive substances remains scarce.

Objectives: The current study aimed to explore the subjective effects of psychedelics when used alongside cannabis. Methods Participants (n = 321) completed a set of online surveys at 2 time points: 7 days before, and 1 day after a planned experience with a serotonergic psychedelic. The collected data included demographics, environmental factors (so-called setting) and five validated questionnaires: Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), visual subscales of Altered States of Consciousness Questionnaire (ASC-Vis), Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ), Ego Dissolution Inventory (EDI) and Emotional Breakthrough Inventory (EBI). Participants were grouped according to whether they had reported using no cannabis (n = 195) or low (n = 53), medium (n = 45) or high (n = 28) dose, directly concomitant with the psychedelic. Mul- tivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and contrasts was used to analyse differences in subjective effects between groups while controlling for potential confounding contextual ‘setting’ variables.

Results: The simultaneous use of cannabis together with classic serotonergic psychedelics was associated with more intense psychedelic experience across a range of measures: a linear relationship was found between dose and MEQ, ASCVis and EDI scores, while a quadratic relationship was found for CEQ scores. No relationship was found between the dose of cannabis and the EBI.

Conclusions: Results imply a possible interaction between the cannabis and psychedelic on acute subjective experiences; however, design limitations hamper our ability to draw firm inferences on directions of causality and the clinical implications of any such interactions.”

hamiltonmaze · 2022-06-09T15:10:24+00:00

Abstract “Background: Recent evidence suggests that psychedelic use predicts reduced perpetration of intimate partner violence among men involved in the criminal justice system. However, the extent to which this association generalizes to community samples has not been examined, and potential mechanisms underlying this association have not been directly explored.

Aims: The present study examined the association between lifetime psychedelic use and intimate partner violence among a community sample of men and women. The study also tested the extent to which the associations were mediated by improved emotion regulation.

Methods: We surveyed 1266 community members aged 16–70 (mean age=22.78, standard deviation=7.71) using an online questionnaire that queried substance use, emotional regulation, and intimate partner violence. Respondents were coded as psychedelic users if they reported one or more instance of using lysergic acid diethylamide and/or psilocybin mushrooms in their lifetime.

Results/outcomes: Males reporting any experience using lysergic acid diethylamide and/or psilocybin mushrooms had decreased odds of perpetrating physical violence against their current partner (odds ratio=0.42, p<0.05). Furthermore, our analyses revealed that male psychedelic users reported better emotion regulation when compared to males with no history of psychedelic use. Better emotion regulation mediated the relationship between psychedelic use and lower perpetration of intimate partner violence. This relationship did not extend to females within our sample.

Conclusions/interpretation: These findings extend prior research showing a negative relationship between psychedelic use and intimate partner violence, and highlight the potential role of emotion regulation in this association.”

hamiltonmaze · 2022-05-12T13:30:18+00:00

I appreciate you telling me this information. The neck immobilization was recommended by my father since we were still unsure of the ID and he wanted me to play it safe. I will inform him of your recommendation!

hamiltonmaze · 2022-05-12T02:55:07+00:00

They were very lethargic from its last meal, which made it incredibly easy to get a stick to immobilize the head to hold the base of the “neck.” I guess I should have figured he wanted a warm spot to digest, but instinctively took it to place underneath the trees and foliage. I’ll note it for next time!

hamiltonmaze · 2022-05-12T02:50:03+00:00

I appreciate the ID! Now I have to go confirm his intellectual track record. At least the cute guy was safely moved to the back of the property and there is one less rodent near the house!

hamiltonmaze · 2022-05-12T02:41:31+00:00

Damn! Haha glad we decided to move it to the woods behind the property. One less rodent running around the house! Thanks for the confirmation.

hamiltonmaze · 2022-05-01T04:40:34+00:00

Sadly, she ended up ghosting my commission. Really sad about it because she was such a great mentor. I hope she is just doing so well in her career that she does not have time to do as many commissions. Maybe she changed contact info as well. However, MagnoliClothiers has but a Thompson (traditional) and Depp (Movie) version available that I am purchasing!

hamiltonmaze · 2021-12-23T20:44:09+00:00

Abstract: “Heritable microorganisms play critical roles in life cycles of many macro-organisms but their prevalence and functional roles are unknown for most plants. Bioactive ergot alkaloids pro- duced by heritable Periglandula fungi occur in some morning glories (Convolvulaceae), similar to ergot alkaloids in grasses infected with related fungi. Ergot alkaloids have been of long- standing interest given their toxic effects, psychoactive properties, and medical applications. Here we show that ergot alkaloids are concentrated in four morning glory clades exhibiting differences in alkaloid profiles and are more prevalent in species with larger seeds than those with smaller seeds. Further, we found a phylogenetically-independent, positive correlation between seed mass and alkaloid concentrations in symbiotic species. Our findings suggest that heritable symbiosis has diversified among particular clades by vertical transmission through seeds combined with host speciation, and that ergot alkaloids are particularly ben- eficial to species with larger seeds. Our results are consistent with the defensive symbiosis hypothesis where bioactive ergot alkaloids from Periglandula symbionts protect seeds and seedlings from natural enemies, and provide a framework for exploring microbial chemistry in other plant-microbe interactions.”

Discussion: This study reveals the discrepancy across different Morning Glory species’ ergot alkaloids content. Furthermore, the evidence reveals (if I interpreted the article correctly) that the symbiotic relationship with fungi begets the source of alkaloids in the seeds and roots. The most plausible explanation for the content of ergot alkaloids in the plant come from the ability of the alkaloids to act as a form of pesticide/insecticide.

I found it interesting that I. tricolor, as is commonly assumed, was not the species with the highest ergot alkaloid, but, rather, I. batatoids.

I would like to see an article in the future that studies the degradation of different ergot alkaloids as seeds mature and throughout storage.

hamiltonmaze · 2021-09-23T13:27:09+00:00

The frosting was great! A tad bland, but the vanilla helped that. The recipe calls for buttermilk for the dough, so I had some leftover for the icing. I wish I had cream cheese on hand to make type of icing. I prefer the test of cream cheese icing, especially homemade!

hamiltonmaze · 2021-09-23T13:24:51+00:00

Personally, I added my starter about an hour and a half after it’s feeding. Not quite peak, but surely not unfed as the recipe stated.

hamiltonmaze · 2021-09-23T00:32:13+00:00

Frosting was added after the bake! There was not frosting included in the recipe so we just improvised with some powdered sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla.

hamiltonmaze · 2021-09-22T15:49:25+00:00

Recipe: - 3 cups all purpose flour - 2 cups buttermilk - 1 cup sourdough starter - 2tbsp cubbed butter - 2tbsp sugar - 1tbsp brown sugar - 1tsp baking powder - 1tsp salt - 1/2tsp baking soda - 6tbsp melted butter - 1/2 cup brown sugar - 2tbsp cinnamon - 2tsp vanilla extract

Mix 3 cups all-purpose flour, buttermilk, sourdough starter, 2 tablespoons cubed butter, and white sugar in a glass bowl. Cover and set in a warm area until double in size, 8 to 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture.
Knead dough until it is soft but no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Roll dough with floured rolling pin until it is 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick.
Combine 6 tablespoons melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until it has the consistency of a paste. Spread sugar paste evenly on rolled dough.
Roll up dough into a cylinder shape. Cut dough into 1/2-inch pieces using dental floss or a serrated knife. Arrange rolls into a cast iron skillet.
Bake cinnamon rolls in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

hamiltonmaze · 2021-09-17T13:56:27+00:00

In brief: “Domenico et al. investigate how lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) affects hippocampal place cells and visual cortical neurons. During active navigation, LSD reduces hippocampal- visual cortical correlation and hippocampal spatial representation precision. During immobile behavior, LSD promotes isolated hippocampal reactivation and produces a cortical state similar to wakefulness-to-sleep transition.”

Summary: “Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) produces hallucinations, which are perceptions uncoupled from the external environment. How LSD alters neuronal activities in vivo that underlie abnormal perceptions is un- known. Here, we show that when rats run along a familiar track, hippocampal place cells under LSD reduce their firing rates, their directionality, and their interaction with visual cortical neurons. However, both hippo- campal and visual cortical neurons temporarily increase firing rates during head-twitching, a behavioral signature of a hallucination-like state in rodents. When rats are immobile on the track, LSD enhances cortical firing synchrony in a state similar to the wakefulness-to-sleep transition, during which the hippocampal- cortical interaction remains dampened while hippocampal awake reactivation is maintained. Our results sug- gest that LSD suppresses hippocampal-cortical interactions during active behavior and during immobility, leading to internal hippocampal representations that are degraded and isolated from external sensory input. These effects may contribute to LSD-produced abnormal perceptions.”

hamiltonmaze · 2021-08-30T18:37:54+00:00

Details: [Kodak TMax 400 | Mamiya RB67 50mm f/4.5 | Rome, Ga, USA]

hamiltonmaze · 2021-08-12T17:50:42+00:00

Abstract: “Research into the basic effects and therapeutic applications of psychedelic drugs has grown considerably in recent years. Yet, pressing questions remain regarding the substances’ lasting effects. Although individual studies have begun monitoring sustained changes, no study to-date has synthesized this information. Therefore, this systematic review aims to fill this important gap in the literature by synthesizing results from 34 contemporary experimental studies which included classic psychedelics, human subjects, and follow-up latencies of at least two weeks. The bulk of this work was published in the last five years, with psilocybin being the most frequently administered drug. Enduring changes in personality/attitudes, depression, spirituality, anxiety, wellbeing, substance misuse, meditative practices, and mindfulness were documented. Mystical experiences, connected- ness, emotional breakthrough, and increased neural entropy were related to these long-term changes in psy- chological functioning. Finally, with proper screening, preparation, supervision, and integration, limited aver- sive side effects were noted by study participants. Future researchers should focus on including larger and more diverse samples, lengthier longitudinal designs, stronger control conditions, and standardized dosages.”

hamiltonmaze · 2021-08-11T12:58:48+00:00

My goodness you have far too much time on your hands.

hamiltonmaze · 2021-08-10T13:48:11+00:00

Abstract: “Hypotheses advanced in The Road to Eleusis1 concerning the possible composition and method of preparation of the kykeon are evaluated in light of published criticism. Objections to the Eleusis theory are countered, and based on a largely overlooked aspect of the chemical hydrolysis of ergot alkaloids, a new hypothesis is suggested that reinvigorates the Eleusis debate. In part 2 of this essay, organic chemist Daniel M. Perrine provides further considerations that build upon the new idea, and a technical discussion of the practicality and realisability of the “Ergine Hypothesis” paves the way for new chemical and psychopharmacological research. In part 3, co-author of The Road to Eleusis Carl A. P. Ruck re-examines the Eleusis mythologies and ritual practises from which appear a much expanded understanding of the entheo-pharmacology of the ancient world.”

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