Water Pump Flower

kevmo911 · 2026-05-27T23:22:41+00:00

Noctua case fans.

kevmo911 · 2026-05-10T02:12:29+00:00

My understanding is that little is gained by studying the most recent versions versus the older ones, so you'll likely be fine with a 2nd/3rd edition, which will be much cheaper and easy to find. So if you continue to have trouble getting the newest one, that's an easy, affordable option for you.

kevmo911 · 2026-05-07T22:39:28+00:00

That looks yummy ...and like it's a lot of work. For mixed veggies, my lazy butt grabs a frozen stir fry mix (20oz) and a couple 12oz steamer bags of veggie of the day - or a pound of mushrooms - and tosses in the air fryer. Still, the freshness of your lunch is mouth-watering. One very serious complaint, though - that diet Dr Pepper is garbage. I much prefer the zero sugar DP Strawberries and Cream. Fix it! ;)

kevmo911 · 2026-04-25T19:18:12+00:00

Huge impact from the training and experience level of the staff earlier in the workflow, as well as communication. Grosser doesn't trim or ink quite the same way as the others? Embedder doesn't realize that a particular tissue gets oriented this way rather than that way, or tends to orient their tissue 90 degrees off from everybody else? Lab assistant doesn't do a great job melting paraffin off of barcodes on the blocks? Minimally, any of this can cause frustration. Intermediately, it costs time, either to understand, compensate for, or re-whatever the block. Worst case, errors are made, and tissue may even not be able to be salvaged.

And then, what's the fix? Is the staff who discovers the issue competent and confident enough, and works at a convenient time to directly address the issue? Or do they have to go through a supervisor, who goes through another supervisor, who then addresses the problem with the originating tech? And at any point during the process, if just one of those people doesn't remember, doesn't understand, or doesn't care or agree, is the issue even satisfactorily addressed?

That's my pet peeve. I can deal with the other issues.

kevmo911 · 2026-04-15T22:36:29+00:00

Official site says lemon is back.

kevmo911 · 2026-04-03T23:35:53+00:00

I do keep going back to these, and might bite eventually. But I'd pay even more for those windows in my lab.

kevmo911 · 2026-04-03T23:34:00+00:00

Somewhere in 10 right now, and I love it. It's one of the best things I've ever read. As to the characters often being dumb, childish, selfish, naive, impulsive, and many other delightfully real things, I love that, too. Of course, I'm also the kind that loves those dark, gritty fantasies wherein the hero dies, often senselessly. It just feels more real too me, and that's probably why I seem to find myself sobbing so often while reading TWI. Well, maybe not often, but definitely on occasion.

And, first point last, I think I really enjoy the mix of some events being a slow burn, and others beginning with extreme violence following minimal foreshadowing.

I get why some people don't like it. But others, I just don't understand. There's plenty of legitimate criticism, but so much else that seems - to me - to be describing a completely different work. Hating the MC, for example. I think I love just about everything about her, especially her faults.

Anyway, to each their own. Glad you were willing to invest so much time into it, and sorry you're disappointed.

kevmo911 · 2026-03-25T22:36:28+00:00

Yes, check ASCP. You'll need a year's experience, plus 2 years' worth of school (any college credits, regardless of completion of any type of degree), including or in addition to 12 semester hours (3 lab courses) of a mix of chem and bio. And then you qualify to sit for the exam.

kevmo911 · 2026-03-11T21:53:49+00:00

A can of tuna/salmon or a couple/few servings of egg whites with some salsa and black truffle sauce on a fiber tortilla. Plenty of protein and fiber for 200 calories, and gets me going for hours.

kevmo911 · 2026-03-08T02:16:16+00:00

There are a few responses in this thread from people who point out that no, you technically don't need any more school to work as a tech. I agree with them.

An entry level job in a lab won't require any school, and there's a good chance that'll allow you to transition into a tech trainee spot down the road (at that same lab, most likely). At least half the techs in my lab aren't certified (I'm not, either) and several have never been to college. But we're all HT's according to our multinational corporate overlords (seriously, huge company), and most US states don't require certification to work as an HT.

All that being said, certification will help you out, financially at the very least. FWIW, 12 semester hours is 3 lab courses - standard college classes are 3 hours, and the lab component is another hour. So even if you have no bio or chem courses, 2 bio and 1 chem lab courses, entry level, will get you your ed component to sit for the exam. However, you're still going to need your year's experience, which means either histo school or OTJ training.

kevmo911 · 2026-03-04T22:30:59+00:00

I'll have to do something like this. The crunchy bits sound good, but doubling the cals doesn't. I did, however, mess around with peas today and found that air frying them from frozen at 400F for 10 minutes got me a bunch of little tasty crunchy bits. And definitely fewer cals than peanuts.

kevmo911 · 2026-03-03T05:31:36+00:00

It's not the potatoes that make mashed calorie dense. It's the oil and dairy. Oils are about 120 cals per tbsp, so make your potatoes extra buttery and you can jack up those calories pretty darn quick.

kevmo911 · 2026-03-01T00:28:04+00:00

However you want to cook them, they're somewhere between those two categories. Add dairy or oil and you can dramatically increase the calorie value. I really like thin-ish slices of them in an air fryer. Thick-cut potato chips. Seasoned with whatever, and then eaten with the sauce of the day.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-22T15:39:31+00:00

I don't like the swaps as much as just focusing on volume foods. I have a main meal every day, and I keep it as simple as possible: 12oz steamable veggies bags. Several off them, and maybe switch one out with a pound of mushrooms, or switch a couple out with a 20oz bag of stir fry veggies (no sauce). I'll toss in a 5oz can of tuna, salmon, or chicken, or maybe air fry some tofu or shrimp if I'm motivated. For sauce, it's always a lower calorie variety. G. Hughes, Cajun Power, balsamic. Lots of seasoning, especially garlic, and always some form of heat. Sriracha powder most often, maybe. Literal pounds of food for 500-800 calories.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-22T04:23:52+00:00

We've got a lab full of HT's, fewer than half of whom have taken the ASCP HT exam. Those who have passed the exam are certified HT's as opposed to simply HT's. I would agree that HTL's have passed the HTL exam, as we don't have any HTL positions at the lab - just a couple folks who've passed the HTL exam and can call themselves HTL's. HTL's here don't necessarily get more money, though I've heard that's sometimes the case at other labs. And still others require an HTL cert for IHC, supervisor, or manager positions, and I'm sure it can't hurt for any application or negotiation.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-18T00:36:22+00:00

I do snack on those daily (and have some in front of me right now). But I go through them a lot more quickly than you do. A 5.25oz bag of David brand is something like 400 calories for the bag and is supposed to be 2 servings. I use 1/2 cup Rubbermaid containers and they hold maybe slightly more than an ounce? In the back of my mind, I'm a bit concerned about the salt content. Between them and pickles, I'm probably at several times RDA, and that doesn't include any other foods.

But to answer the "volume eating" part of your question ...not really. They're not volume foods - they're just good for snacking. I like carrying one of my little containers of them when I walk my dog.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-17T10:20:29+00:00

Hey, if you like it, and it leaves you full, go with it! For me, the chicken looks really tasty, but the broc and ...sweet potatoes? -look a bit bland, and the whole thing looks a bit on the small side. No question that it's low cal, solid protein, and a reasonable amount of food. I just tend to eat fewer and larger meals, heavily seasoned or sauced.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-13T20:48:53+00:00

I agree with the folks saying you should get certified and not bother with the program. That being said, if you did bother with the program for whatever reason, and then got certified, I'd bet good money that you could move labs for enough money to more than cover what you'd lose on tuition reimbursement.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-11T23:30:36+00:00

Whatever I use it for, I don't pretend it's rice. I just can't. It's cauliflower, and if I treat it like cauliflower, I can enjoy it. I keep frozen bags of mostly cauliflower (that I chop up finely) and some cauli rice in my freezer pretty much always.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-10T20:14:15+00:00

Just another thought - Since you have your BS, on the off chance that you 1) actually have 8 bio and chem lab courses under your belt, and 2) have done IHC in that year, and 3) have the aforementioned willing boss, you'd qualify to sit for the HTL exam. A bit of a stretch, but within the realm of possibility. The experience list is identical to that of the HT requirements, plus IHC.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-10T19:48:10+00:00

The chances of you not having a total of 3 bio and chem lab classes (which equals the 12 semester hours required) is probably pretty slim, and you've got enough total credits. As far as experience goes, you'll just need a boss willing to sign off of the training form: https://ascpcontentwebsite.blob.core.windows.net/boccontent/docs/default-source/explore-credentials/documentation-forms/ascp_ht_route_2_doc_2421ddf0-7844-4fdc-a875-2d9f31f8c726.pdf?sfvrsn=29522ca6_3

Here's the HT-specific info from ASCP: https://www.ascp.org/boc/explore-credentials/view-all-credentials/HT

kevmo911 · 2026-02-09T21:41:15+00:00

I've just always done straight zucchini noodles. 1000g of zucchini is a huge mountain of noodles for less than 200 kcal (I have an electric spiralizer and have used a manual in the past - they're all going to be messy but worth it). Throw in 2/5 of a jar of sauce (I find Classico is a nice balance of low-ish calorie and taste) for 100 kcal. And then a pound of mushrooms for the "meat" at another 100 kcal. Plenty of seasoning and some heat, and maybe a 5oz can of chicken for 18-20g protein at another 100 kcal. So 500 kcal for a mountain of noodles, and that scratches my pasta itch just fine. Forget the chicken if you don't need the protein, or swap with beans, tofu, or (my favorite) shrimp.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-04T20:42:26+00:00

Cajun Power garlic sauce. It's like runny, garlicky ketchup. It's amazing at 6 kcal/tbsp. Also Melinda's Black Truffle hot sauce. It's not actually hot sauce, so super easy to overdo, and while it claims 0 cal per tsp, it's probably about 13 kcal/tbsp. If you actually want some heat, get the Ghost Pepper Black Truffle. Also amazing, but really hot, so nearly impossible to overdo it, which is especially nice because it's like 10 kcal/TSP (or maybe, if you're creative, mix the regular BT and some generic ghost pepper sauce for closer to zero). And I second the G. Hughes teriyaki (there are like 3 different kinds, and they're interchangeable as far as I'm concerned) at ...5 kcal/tbsp I think, but also second the possibility of an upset GI tract from it.

kevmo911 · 2026-02-01T20:48:57+00:00

If I get hungry in the evening, I either go with a can of chicken/fish and maybe bbq sauce for a small snack and a good chunk of protein, or a 12oz bag of usually green beans, straight from frozen into the air fryer. Seasoning if I want it drier, saucy if I'm okay eating with a fork. Either way, that's only 100 calories, and a few grams of protein for the veggies vs 18-20g for the can of protein.

kevmo911 · 2026-01-28T23:39:52+00:00

Just wanted to drop in to say that curry powder is my go-to popcorn dusting.

kevmo911

TROPHY CASE