Show newer

Growing up in San Antonio in the 80s, I walked to school because I enjoyed being alone. On my way, I walked through the woods (also storm drains) and gained a healthy love for forests and trees. That first scene of Frodo in the woods in Lord of the Rings? That was me.

I love love LOVE that San Antonio has turned a lot of my walks into parks and walkways through the woods. I miss being surrounded by trees, but knowing the walks are now protected makes me happy.

Sadly, my "home base" woods has been completely cleared out for flood control, but the rest is still there and open for everyone.

mysanantonio.com/lifestyle/out

Usually, every September 11th, I post a link to an amazingly well done site that has researched pretty much everything about the attack and events leading up to it. Sadly, the site is gone and no longer updated, but it is archived at Archive.Org.

History Commons had a 9/11 timeline spanning from 1945 (when the Empire State Building was struck by a B-25) to 2018, each article referenced by a media link. It's an interesting (and reliable) read, with some surprising little known info, including a possible fifth plane that never made it into the air (United Flight 23).

Sad it hasn't been updated. It had some other timelines that could well serve us today.

web.archive.org/web/20211009005323/http://www.historycommons.org/project.jsp?project=911_project

This Week's Fancy Pants Meal: Lime Marinated Shrimp

Can't really recommend this one. It tastes really good, sure. But so much of the food ends up dumped out that it feels super wasteful. But still, if you want to make it, here's the recipe:

# Lime Marinated Shrimp

Celebrity Chefs Across America

1.0 whole shallot (minced)
2.0 cloves garlic (minced)
2.0 whole serrano chiles (stemmed) (seeded) (finely chopped)
4.0 whole scallions (thinly sliced)
0.5 cup cilantro (chopped)
0.5 cup parsley (chopped)
2.0 tbsp honey
0.5 cup water
0.25 teaspoon pepper
1.0 cup lime juice
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 cup olive oil
1.0 pound shrimp (peeled) (deveined)

1 - Place shrimp in a small bowl and refrigerate.
2 - Combine shallot, garlic, chiles, scallions, cilantro, parsley, honey, water and pepper in a medium mixing bowl.
3 - In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice and salt.
4 - Slowly whisk the olive oil into the lime juice/salt mixture.
5 - Add the lime mixture to the other ingredients.
6 - Pour marinade over shrimp and refrigerate for 1 hour before grilling.
7 - Light the grill.
8 - Remove the shrimp from the refridgerator and drain for five minutes before grilling.
9 - Thread 5 to 6 shrimp on wooden or metal kebab sticks.
10 - Make sure the grill is clean and hot.
11 - Place shrimp on the grill and cook approximately 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
12 - Serve immediately.

Huh. I have a VPN now for when I'm traveling. Linux is awesome.

So, with salisbury steak, cinnamon rolls, kolaches and now yeast rolls mastered, I need to focus on the klobasnek/pigs-in-a-blanket recipe. Once I've done all that, I can retire and eat only those foods until I die.

Which shouldn't take long because my blood sugar will be so high, my body'll shut down.

***** The Internet age verification nightmare *****

Democrats and Republicans alike, via bipartisan federal legislation, are pushing for an Internet where EVERYONE has to be fully identified via government ID to use social media (and that we can be sure will only be the starting point, expanding to anything "not suitable for children" in short order. And of course, that's what any politician declares it to be).

Despite claimed safeguards, the identify information is bound to be correlated between sites, eliminating any kind of compartmentalization between the different kinds of sites you use. Make a comment on a tech site? Ask a question on a medical site? It will all be brought together into your government profile eventually, because of the government ID requirements. And eventually it will be hacked and leaked.

Many people are missing the insidiousness of these legislative pushes -- a federal one now being heavily promoted in TV ads -- because they usually frame their arguments in terms of requiring parents to give permission for children to use social media, authenticated by government ID proof of age.

But in order to do this, EVERYONE has to be required to use those government IDs for access, even adults who don't have or never have had children. Otherwise, there's no way to prove that any given account creation request isn't being made by a child.

It's bad. Very very bad. And both parties are complicit. -L

Quick note to artists out there in the Fediverse: one of the best ways to gain followers is to follow & boost others.

On Mastodon, people *actually do* get to choose who they follow and what they see, so they can be selective. It's easy to tell if you're just "drop and go" posting by the number of peers you follow and what you boost.

Don't become just an Art Spammer. Mastodon is not Instagram, where that's literally all you can do. Engagement here actually works and means something.

#art

You are not a failure just because you failed at something. Nobody should be defined by their lowest point, though everyone feels that way sometimes. Let your failures help define what you will strive for, who you want to be, not who you are.

Show older
DriveinSaturday.org

Drive-in Saturday: you're all becoming stronger, faster hunters.