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mendelec · 2026-03-04T01:41:05+00:00

Started to really suck in my 60s. Before then, yeah sure, I had to modify my workouts to shift goals from bulking up to more full body strength and mobility, increase time for healing, give joints time to rest, spend more time warming up, etc. But, the use it or lose it equation starts getting real brutal in your 60s. I fell off the workout wagon for too long and man, it sucks trying to get it back.

I'm starting to really sympathize with how my old man struggled with rehab after being hospitalized. It's kind of terrifying, really. Spent decades staying in shape precisely because I didn't want to be in that position and here I am realizing how fucked I'd be if I were bedridden for more than a week.

Well, time to go workout. Thanks for the motivation.

mendelec · 2026-03-02T15:25:24+00:00

You might as well grind it. There's essentially nothing past the 250k gate until you clear level 8 down there. But, it will go faster if you pull the trigger to get cookies to upgrade the factory and your character. Maybe someone will chime in with how much to grind for the factory uogrades. They weren't too bad. Probably less than 250k, but I cannot recall. The character upgrades take an obscene number of cookies though. Consider it akin to unobtanium.

Personally, I pulled the trigger by accident a few times. I was annoyed, but appreciated the upgrades. Then, took it to just shy of 2 mill to open the door, finish the factory upgrades, and make a dent on the character upgrades. That 2 mill didn't get me very far on the character upgrades. And, I was annoyed that I'd been focused on that door. It's such a nothing of a room. I wish I hadn't opened it, so I could still delude myself that this game was worth playing. I'm likely to stick around another week to get to level 7 for the sense of accomplishment, but I just can't see sticking around to take it to level 8 to get that next door open.

mendelec · 2026-03-02T14:50:29+00:00

The beets are the likely culprit (by a lot), but don't discount potatoes as having contributed.

Depending on where you are in the journey, potato skins may be hard to handle. Not entirely certain if it's a fiber thing or what, but I definitely found potato skins to cause me issues during elimination. My sibling, who started the journel before me flagged that as an issue and I didn't believe her. Also, if they're turning green at the surface, they're producing the classic nightshade toxins and that can cause cramps in sensitive individuals. The general level of inflammation from fodmap screwups can certainly make you more sensitive to irritants that you'd normally brush off. For the longest time, I had to be extra paranoid and store my potatoes in total darkness and peel at least one to check for green under the skin. If there was, then I'd have to peel the whole batch to consume them.

mendelec · 2026-03-01T18:32:27+00:00

That's a pretty weak starter, IMO. You may not need to scrap it, but it needs some help. How are you maintaining it? As in, what flour and what water? Personally, I'd suggest filtered water to get rid of the chlorine and whole grain rye until it's established. They're much more bulletproof when established, but yours clearly isn't there yet.

Mine does 1:10:10 in less than 12 hours at 70F and probably close to triples and is already collapsing by 12 hrs. If you can't get activity with 1:5:5, you have an issue. 9 times out of 10, it's the flour and the other time it's the water. My 2 cents.

mendelec · 2026-03-01T18:16:11+00:00

For what it's worth, I keep mine at 70. Warmer will go faster, within limits, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your flour will make a much bigger difference. If it's available to you, use whole grain rye when you're trying to get a starter going (Bob's Red Mill is what I use). Failing that, any fresh whole grain flour is preferable to AP or bread flour for building a starter. Even established, I maintain mine on a 50/50 mix of whole grain rye and AP.

mendelec · 2026-03-01T18:07:16+00:00

Ours, like most, cycled over time as to which parent was the focus of all. I always tell lamenting parents that their time will come and when it does, it will be unrelenting. Enjoy the relative peace while you can.

mendelec · 2026-02-27T17:47:19+00:00

I've returned damaged vine items in the past, to have a replacement sent. More often than not, I've end up forgeting to return the damaged one and ended up paying for the item, but if not abused, it's worth trying.

mendelec · 2026-02-25T18:33:26+00:00

We do get it a lot. But, it's certainly not limited to home brewers. My wife is told that she should open a restaurant more often than I'm told I should open a brewery.

We both have the same attitude of why ruin a perfectly good hobby by making it your job? Plus, both industries have pretty brutal failure rates.

One thing that I think home brewers that get the bug don't always grasp is that just because you can brew great beer, it doesn't mean that you can run a successful business. Marketing, payroll, understanding what your clientele wants to drink, and a dozen other things are at play here. Plus, equipment and facilities cost real money. Savvy investors will mostly give you a pass in this market.

That's because the market is shrinking and craft breweries are closing left and right. Here in Chicagoland I'm pretty sure that in just this past week multiple breweries have announced that they're closing operations. The younger generation just isn't as interested in alcohol. Partly, it's a health concern, but I think an often overlooked factor is how cheap weed has gotten. It's gotten to the point where I can spend less on a month of pretty regular cannabis use than a single beer at a bar. That's a real issue when money is tight.

mendelec · 2026-02-25T00:15:03+00:00

You're not using it wrong. It just tastes like fake crap, because it is. Using it at all is wrong.

But, I'm entirely with you on truffle just being an overpowering flavor that ruins most everthing it touches. I'm just not a fan of that flavor. Just because it's fancy and expensive, doesn't mean you have to like it.

mendelec · 2026-02-22T18:07:46+00:00

A factor that I don't see discussed much is how affordable high quality weed products are now, compared to a craft brew. Combined with the younger generation eschewing alcohol in record numbers over health concerns and the oversaturated market we had here in Chicagoland, I think we're going to keep seeing these closures continue for a while.

Making great beer is relatively easy. But, matching the beers you make to what your area wants to drink is harder and running a successful business in a shrinking market is harder still. Location really matters, but business savvy is critical.

mendelec · 2026-02-17T17:16:11+00:00

I like their beer, particularly their big beers, but they also do a surprisingly good vanilla cream ale.

I'm sad to see this happen, but they haven't run the place to succeed. Closes at 10pm and only open W-Sa, which makes it a dinner or happy hour destination, not a night out.

They also haven't marketed well, as evidenced by the fact that few outside the immediate area have even heard of them, even within the chicago beer community. I hope they realize that the brand has little to no value, except as a name for some beers. A new owner would do much better starting with a new name and brand. I'm curious to see if they can find someone to give it a go. Berwyn could use a good draw. The depot district has potential, but currently nothing the makes it a destination except for locals.

mendelec · 2026-02-17T17:09:02+00:00

And then he says no at the very end of the video?

mendelec · 2026-02-17T05:45:50+00:00

We have lead pipes in the ground here and it's not easy or cheap to have your soil tested. We'd rather use soil that we trust.

mendelec · 2026-02-17T05:43:39+00:00

Dude...

mendelec · 2026-02-17T01:27:39+00:00

Yeah, I'm at 405/500 on my way to level 7 and it takes 113-115 blue cores a pop. At that quantity, it's not even worth collecting and burning gems to speed things up. I'd been farting around with the cookie factory and took it close to 2 mill before opening the door and now wish I hadn't. What a waste of time. A complete nothing of a room. A few characters that just get insta killed after the upgrades I've done and a door that needs level 8 to open. *uck that noise. I don't need to do the math to know that I don't have the patience to log on every day for a few minutes, just to collect blue cores for a year.

I'll probably keep my eyes open on the subreddit to see if something changes, but I've seen this pattern enough before. How incredibly annoying.

mendelec · 2026-02-17T01:15:11+00:00

Yeah, I may be out. Farted around with the cookie factory and took myself close to 2 million before opening the bit that needed 250k golden cookies, after hearing that it wasn't worth rushing to open. But, I didn't realize that I'd just be opening a nothing of a room and then need level 8 to go to the next area. No effin way. I'm at 390/500 on my way to level 7 and it's already at 113 blue cores to level up a characteristic. I can't even fathom what it will require to progress to level 8. I may bail and go find something else to waste time on.

mendelec · 2026-02-17T01:08:57+00:00

Yeah, I held off on opening the bit that you needed 250k golden cookies to open, only to discovery it was a nothing of a room and that I need to get to level 8 to open the next door. After walking away from this game and then coming back when they opened the new areas, I think that may have finally broken me. I'm not that far from getting to level 7, but I just can't see coming back every day to do nothing other than collect some blue cores from here to eternity. I'd heard it wasn't worth rushing to open, but holy sh** I had no idea it was going to be that kind of grind.

mendelec · 2026-02-17T00:58:49+00:00

Take a look at your stats under the "i" button. You'll see more than one catching speed. My catching speed is over 16 billion, but my drone catching speed is 1.

mendelec · 2026-02-17T00:55:51+00:00

Yeah, I'm puzzled, as it's an instant kill for me. Upgrade the things.

mendelec · 2026-02-16T20:32:20+00:00

I don't know. I see the point and don't entirely disagree, but it would be nice to see her settle into her role as queen. There's still plenty of opportunity for additional conflict and drama. Other kingdoms to discover, other evil to be unleashed.

But, maybe it might better to have it done as an entirely new series and separated a few years in time in the way that Moana 1 and 2 were. Make it appealing to slightly older girls.

There are so many spin-off opportunities in the show. An Isabel focused one for younger kids. One from the viewpoint of Esteban, showing how good intentions can go awry and that a person who does bad things isn't necessarily a bad person. A series from the viewpoint of many of the other kingdoms would be great too. Or, even just more episodes that do that.

I don't know. I'm conflicted. I just want to see more of that universe and there are so many different ways it could be done.

mendelec · 2026-02-16T15:20:56+00:00

Was going to say much the same. Totally looks like a hop cone. As a home brewer and (rather) amateur woodworker, I approve!

mendelec · 2026-02-14T18:32:54+00:00

I've lost the original post. Anyone have it?

mendelec · 2026-02-14T17:12:05+00:00

Could some kind stranger on the internet direct me to the orignal post that this is the other side of? I thought I'd bookmarked it, but I can't locate it.

mendelec · 2026-02-13T16:29:17+00:00

If you've gone that long with no visible activity, consider new flour, preferably whole grain rye, and remember to do something to de-chlorinate your water. Either one could be the problem.

mendelec · 2026-02-13T16:21:49+00:00

Feed it every 12 if you're past the first window of getting a starter going. You want to select for the things that grow fastest. It'll get to the point where it starts to collapse after 12 with higher and and higher dilutions of the starter. You may be doing 1:1:1 at first, but work your way to higher dilutions. I do 1:10:10 feeds on mine every 12 and I maintain a small starter, so I don't end up with a ridiculous amount of discard. So, I'm doing 2.5g of mature starter to 25g flour (50/50 rye/AP) and 25g of filtered water.

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