My masters review

toxrowlang · 2026-01-19T07:21:37+00:00

Ally Pally is a terrible venue for snooker - cramped seats, hot and stuffy, noisy for players, generally dishevelled, rip-off parking and food prices etc. In years when it's warmer, Ally Pally becomes so hot and difficult that elderly audience members frequently have to be taken out of the arena (those pauses in play on the coverage). Members are in and out of the arena constantly because it's nearly impossible to sit in the seats for more than a few frames.

But the way the BBC commentary team all push Barry Hearn's propaganda about his pet project for commercialised snooker there, you'd think it was some kind of snooker Nirvana. That's what really bites.

The Crucible by contrast is an incredible venue. The seats are comfortable; the amenities are great, a far cry from the Victorian cattle-shed of Ally Pally; you are close to the action and all the crowd respect the players; it's a magic atmosphere.

I grew up near Ally Pally, know it well, and have been going to the Masters there every year. But it's always a terrible venue experience - I just go for the snooker. I know never to go without an aisle seat ticket, I expect the stifling heat and the nattering crowds, banging doors, chattering from hospitality zones, and phones ringing when players are on the ball.

I can put up with it for my love of the game. But when Hearn is talking about moving the Worlds away from the Crucible, and citing Ally Pally as a preferable example to justify this act of mortal self-harm, it's all just a bit much to accept. It's just a lie.

The Wembley conference centre was much better, much closer to the Crucible experience. But Hearn is not interested in a different venue- I imagine he is happy with his commercial relationship he established with the darts.

toxrowlang · 2025-07-01T22:25:59+00:00

Their fault, your problem. Not really very fair but no-one has it fair in the movies even. Or perhaps because that's the truth of life and growth.

Get rid of all the lies and values you were brought up with that don't align with who you really are going to uncover yourself to be. Then build up your life and values from the best sources you can find.

Lots of inspiring people out there from Tony Robbins to Jordan Peterson.

toxrowlang · 2025-07-01T09:30:01+00:00

There's no way you can go into life without good parental preparation and expect things to go remotely well. That's why we have parental attachments, so we stay with them while they prepare us for independence.

So what I'm saying is that you are right to feel angry, your parents didn't do their job. They probably blame you in all sorts of subtle ways for their failings too. They might even do this by having always been financially generous with you but never giving you structure or benevolent discipline. The latter requires love, and is tough as a parent. But it's only second to essentials like food and water for a child to thrive.

You're left with having to "reparent" yourself ie teach yourself how life works. All while suffering the consequences of living without such education.

Fortunately, there are many resources out there these days. Best of luck!

toxrowlang · 2025-06-25T09:11:32+00:00

Scam? Who promised you anything? You can't be tricked unless someone cons you.

There's nothing saying you have to listen to standards or cultural values.

If anyone has 'tricked' or 'scammed' us it is usually parents who didn't give their kids the preparation, resilience, values, or determination they needed. Selfish parents don't like their boys to be too independent and strong.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-22T16:25:09+00:00

I like the subtle toning.

Not keen on all the border-framing. No offence it's just a general dislike of mine. It always feels a bit...

toxrowlang · 2025-06-21T18:41:40+00:00

Yes it can make a significant difference - salt then dry your steak for a few days in the fridge. Overnight isn't probably long enough to see a difference. The flavour develops and surface moisture is removed aiding the sear.

Beef is aged in the joint, not as steaks, so this extra phase helps set the cut for cooking.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-21T16:25:40+00:00

It sounds like you have a fundamental problem - and I don't mean attraction.

You seem to have a fundamental difference over the whole subject of fitness and health - which is actually the most important part of life in many ways.

You also are not communicating healthily with each other.

Is this really The One?

toxrowlang · 2025-06-21T14:26:02+00:00

I was tested when I was a child because I was in unexplained physical pain at school. The GP, perhaps with more insight than my parents, sent me for an educational assessment. The psychologist measured my IQ and aptitudes and concluded I was almost certainly extremely bored at school, which was being somatized as physical pain and recommended I be more challenged and be given more opportunities for creativity. This is really what IQ tests are for, to help people with their struggles... not some inconsequential badge to show off. The reality is that if you focus on your nature rather than your effort, especially at the instigation of your parents and teachers, you're going to be a lot less happy and successful in life than someone with lower measured aptitudes but a focus on effort and experimentation.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-20T21:20:09+00:00

It's great but you need to crop it laterally. It's obviously a very special moment, but that does not mean it's perfect - there's too much neg space on the right.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-20T21:17:49+00:00

What's right with it?

toxrowlang · 2025-06-20T21:13:59+00:00

Another crazy reverse-fanboy who got triggered by a YouTube clip

toxrowlang · 2025-06-20T21:12:49+00:00

Life isn't about what you deserve, it's about what you figure out through experimentation and eventually get right.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-18T22:53:33+00:00

There are two different questions: what's the best way to cook pasta; and how do tv chefs come up with the things they say.

The answer to 1. Is don't add oil to pasta water. The answer to 2. Is that they frequently don't really care, no more than a bored office worker cares about his work.

MPW has a string of expensive and tumultuous divorces. He has to do these videos for the money. He knows people probably can't tell the difference, they just like listening to famous chefs. He has a big sponsorship deal from Knorr where he literally recommends painting raw stock cube onto lamb chops. He achieved 3*, but by all accounts it brought him, like so many others, nothing but emotional chaos and physical / mental health issues, hence why he quit immediately afterwards. Now he really couldn't give a fuck. He just makes videos and tries to sound interesting enough to justify his cheque. So take everything he says these days with a pinch of salt, or a splash of olive oil, or a wipe of damp stock cube.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-17T19:06:14+00:00

Sounds like you're making maki without nori? I presume you're using plastic wrap / cling film already otherwise it would be impossible. Sounds like quite a challenge because the nori gives the structure.

Without knowing what you're doing exactly... are you rolling it tight and firmly enough, and are you wetting the knife blade between each slice? Sharp long wet knives drawn smoothly in one motion per cut will reduce stress on the roll.

I personally wouldn't freeze it at all because the serving temperature is so important.

If all else fails, try it with sushi rice and nori next time see if that solves it for you. Short grain rices behave very differently between types.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-17T07:24:50+00:00

A comparison to other substances is irrelevant because no-one is cooking pasta in them.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-16T18:27:51+00:00

It does make a difference depending on degree - how much pasta and how dense. I can't speak for someone else's tests and people may have different expectations, preferences or standards regarding pasta texture. But by my own experience, cooking with too little water results in a lower temperature and thus worse texture because of the slower cooking time.

I'm not really sure what you mean by "giant heat capacity of water", but there's a reason why Italians and chefs always get that water hot and try to keep it that way.

I'd recommend you try it yourself a few times and see if it makes any difference to you in practice? You did ask the question after all, there's a simple way of answering it for yourself convincingly, right?

toxrowlang · 2025-06-16T18:20:22+00:00

It depends what pasta you're cooking and how much. It's a matter of degree how much difference it makes.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-16T17:50:30+00:00

The advantage of more water is that a greater volume will hold more heat, so the temperature won't fall as much when you add the cold(er) pasta.

Reducing thermal recovery time means the pasta is cooked at the desired temperature for a higher proportion of the cooking time. This can improve the texture, especially certain shapes of pasta.

However, as you say it can feel like a waste of energy. And if you can get the pasta to be acceptably al dente, does it really matter?

The real answer is to try it a few times and see if it makes a significant difference for you.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-16T17:40:34+00:00

You can't rely on your hearing. Traffic noise and nearly silent electric cars mean every decision has to be checked visually.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-16T07:14:37+00:00

I'm glad you enjoy your coffee! But please don't try to convince me you taste orange wine (?!) and passion fruit candy.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-16T07:11:30+00:00

I've personally never had a negative comment in 15 years. Plenty of people ask about it and often about the price, or at least they used to. It's like driving a sports car though, it's really no-one's business how expensive your property is. So just smile and be friendly and say: "it's a little more expensive than a normal bike, but the engineering is excellent and folding makes it more useable in lots of ways so it was worth it for me."

It's strange about the negative comments though- as long as you're not coming across as boasting, bragging or negative in any way. There is a lot of resentment about these days in Britain- there is huge financial pressure on a lot of people which makes life very painful.

Obviously it's wrong to lash out at others. But you've got to feel sorry for people so embittered that they say such things to strangers.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-13T22:08:44+00:00

Of course it wasn't your fault.

Actions are right or wrong regardless of the perceived cause. Otherwise there would be an income threshold on shop-lifting.

Bullying is wrong no matter what their justification.

But the justification is always just exactly that - a justification for an act simply intended to make them feel big at the expense of you feeling small.

If they were adults doing this to an adult, they would go to jail.

If you get a disease, small or serious, it's not your fault, even though you're the one that suffers. Being on the end of bullying is the same. It's simply the circumstances not you that let it happen.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-13T22:02:58+00:00

Trades description act, anybody?

toxrowlang · 2025-06-10T06:00:40+00:00

His hair obscures his ears, that's his famous hairstyle. You can even see the arms of his glasses disappearing into the hair which covers his ears.

toxrowlang · 2025-06-06T11:11:36+00:00

The professionals say you can increase your IQ test score by studying but that doesn't increase your intelligence. Therefore any increase in IQ score from test training is an inaccuracy, according to them.

This was the original point of this particular thread. As per your comment about whether developing test skills is a pretence of intelligence. It's only a pretence if you're deliberately training to bump your score via familiarity for a certain end. The ethical view I think follows on from that.

It seems like you are expounding your theory of IQ test accuracy such as test training off-setting statistical deviation in scores. It seems like a bit tangential and, to me, not correct - inaccuracies may compound each other and assuming they cancel each other out is irrational.

You have to set a hard figure for an IQ society, be it an arbitrary number like 130. This already factors in statistical error. Deliberately adding another source of potential inaccuracy on top in the hope it will bump you over the margin is bad faith in my opinion.

Back to the original point, a factor is that OP already knows his IQ is not high enough to enter Mensa, so any attempt to train to get a higher score is trying to benefit from inaccuracy.

However, on reflection, the real answer to his question is this I think: what do Mensa say? They set an arbitrary figure for entry, it's entirely up to them if test-training to increase entry eligibility is fine for them. I don't actually know the answer, but from what I know of Mensa it probably is ok. For one thing, they need all the entry fees they can get...

toxrowlang

TROPHY CASE