misc updates

[cellio]

We all know that, in order to get a driver's license, you have to pass a written test and a road test. It appears that in order to renew a license, you have to pass a navigation test. PennDOT will not, as a matter of policy, share the phone numbers of the testing centers -- you only get a street address. So if you need clarification on some aspect of the directions, you have to work it out yourself. This might be funny if they didn't technically work for me.

But does this perhaps signal a new trend in local law? Will the licensing test be enhanced for both giving and following directions? Will Pittsburghers learn which way is north? Will the age-old question of whether alleys count when counting blocks be answered? Will people flunk the test if they give directions that include the phrase "where [something] used to be" or use the local (non-mapped) name of a road (e.g. "the parkway")?

I wouldn't hold my breath.

---

In other news, tonight was the night of cooking quantities of meat in freezable ways. I had rescued most of the meat from the freezer last night (except for some dubious chicken that I tossed), which meant I had to cook it today. Cue the crock pot of BBQ chicken, the meatloaf, and the sauteed ground turkey with cranberries and apples. (This last was what we ate tonight, and was improvised around the theme of "what usually goes on or in turkey". It needed gravy, I think.)

I am told that our fridge was a very good one -- in 1965. Time to start paying attention to sales, I think. It's functional for now, though.

We also had an On the Mark practice tonight. I think the three of us are going to sound good at Darkover. It won't be as rich a mix as we're used to (with only three people), but there's a lot to be said for working with the same people for twelve years. I can say things like "do something frilly with the flute here" and get exactly what I was looking for out the other end. :-)

(OTM would normally have been tomorrow night, but got pushed by a D&D game which in turn was pushed by Thursday's board meeting on a non-standard night. If I had remembered that choir would be cancelled last night, I might have been able to jiggle things to not miss tonight's dance workshop. Oops.)

Comments

[magid.livejournal.com]

A fridge that's lasted since 1965 is at least fully amortized by now ;-).
And reading about the food you made makes me want to buy meat and start cooking, forget about that silly work thing.

[cellio]

A fridge that's lasted since 1965 is at least fully amortized by now ;-).

True. Though for us, it was just a small contributor to the purchase price of the house. :-) I wonder how much we'll improve energy consumption by replacing it -- i.e. how quickly a new fridge would pay for itself on those grounds alone. I can't imagine that a 1965 fridge is doing all that well in that department, but how would one even measure it?

And reading about the food you made makes me want to buy meat and start cooking, forget about that silly work thing.

Fair's fair. Many of your food entries cause a similar reaction in me. :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Maybe a used appliance place would have some approximate numbers to compare to the fuel-efficiency numbers put on those big yellow stickers on new fridges?

I have a fridge not nearly as old as that, and I've been wondering the same thing. Perhaps you'll inspire me to get moving on this one.

Fair's fair. Many of your food entries cause a similar reaction in me. :-)
Thank you!
I did end up stopping at the kosher market on the way to work, so I now own much more meat than before... (If only I had room for a deep freeze! (Other than trying to fit one into my bedroom somehow, I can't figure out where to put one. It's a small apartment.))

[cellio]

I did end up stopping at the kosher market on the way to work

Bwahaha... the influence begins. :-)

It's a small apartment.

One of the biggest advantages of moving from apartment-dweller to house-dweller was that I suddenly had access to a wonderful innovation called a basement. :-) (Yes, I realize that rental houses aren't as cost-effective in Boston as they are in Pittsburgh. I rented (and shared) houses for several years before buying.)

[magid.livejournal.com]

I do have part of a basement for storage, but it's a long way down a narrow staircase; I know if I put a freezer down there it would be the food equivalent of a roach motel, without anything checking out, just 'cause I'd forget it was there. So far my best thoughts have been to clean up my back stairwell to see if there's enough room to fit the smallest freezer out there... if there's an outlet.

I've realized that I'm just lazy enough to not want the responsibility of a whole house (and yard, etc) by myself. Oh that it were otherwise.

[mrpeck.livejournal.com]

When I replaced my harvest gold refrigerator (actual age unknown but it certainly wasn't new) a few years back, I bought the most efficient refrigerator I could find and managed to cut my total electric bill by 30-40%. I was pretty surprised.

[cellio]

Wow! I hadn't realized just how large a part of an electric bill could be accounted for by a fridge.

[steven.livejournal.com]

Is it one of those lovely fridges with a heavy single door, and a freezer compartment on the inside? Is it avocado or harvest gold?

[cellio]

It actually has two doors (frezer on top), and it's that brownish color that I don't know the official name for. It's contemporary with avocado and harvest gold AFAIK, though!

I'm hoping that when we replace it we can find a black one. I think black is striking, and last time I bought a fridge I was told "no one buys black fridges" and got a $300 discount. (My previous house came sans fridge but this one came with, so I decided it wasn't worth trying to do a great fridge shuffle. But then, I thought the fridge we were getting was less than half my age.)

Question for you....

[lil-lamb.livejournal.com]

Hello

I have a question for you - I have to make a side dish for our Steppes Fall event this weekend. It has to be something that can be re-heated on site, or can be a cold side dish. Any ideas? I thought about creamed Spinach or something.

Re: Question for you....

[cellio]

Pies of various sorts -- meat, spinach, cheese/onion -- work well. Cariadoc's Miscellany contains recipes for several. I'm particularly fond of the ember-day tarts. The spinach and ember-day tarts freeze and reheat well.

(Drat. That's what I should have done with the turkey -- made a meat pie. I have parve ready-made crusts that I forgot about.)

Many of the "starch and cheese" dishes (turnips, noodles...) should reheat well, though I wouldn't try freezing them. Sturdier vegetables like carrots should also reheat fine.

Hope this helps!

Re: Question for you....

[lil-lamb.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info! I added the link to my favorites.

[zare-k.livejournal.com]

[or use the local (non-mapped) name of a road (e.g. "the parkway")?]

The whole "parkway" thing annoys me, as it requires way too much active attention to parse the traffic watch on the radio. "Accident on westbound parkway east at the Edgewood/Swissvale exit"... huh? What's wrong with "Accident on 376 West at Edgewood/Swissvale"? That would have saved me the trouble of trying to route around a traffic jam that was on the /other side of the damn road/. Yargh.

Then there are the people that give directions by saying "get on the parkway"... /which one/?

[cellio]

I completely agree. The roads have names, and they're even well-labelled. People know what you mean if you say "376" -- so why do so few people say that?

Another labelling problem: beltways. By definition labels like "north" will not stay relevant for the entire stretch of road so labelled. What's wrong with clockwise and counter-clockwise, or, if you insist, inner loop and outer loop? I've seen too many cases of, e.g., entering a beltway at the 9:00 position and being confronted with options for "east" and "west".

[goljerp]

inner loop and outer loop

Maybe it's me, or the fact that I haven't driven around DC too much, but this isn't too descriptive to me. Which way is which? Is "inner" inherently clockwise?

entering a beltway at the 9:00 position and being confronted with options for "east" and "west"

I think it's around the Boston beltway where there's a stretch which is labeled both North and South (for different numbered highways, of course) (i.e. 128 North, I93 South).

[cellio]

Is "inner" inherently clockwise?

In countries where we drive on the right side of the street, yes. But I don't like "inner/outer" loop as much as "clockwise/counter-clockwise", precisely because I have to stop and reason it out. I'd learn the mapping pretty quickly in practice, but it's still an extra step. And it would confuse visiting Brits. I think most people understand what "clockwise" means, even though clocks with hands are an endangered species now.

[goljerp]

(lightbulb) Ah, that's how they figure it. Since said loops are always limited access roads, though, I don't usually think of it that way.

[zare-k.livejournal.com]

There is something like that in the SF Bay Area as well, where (I think) the same freeway is labelled 80W and 880E. There is some rationale for why that was thought to be a good idea, but I have no idea what it was.