![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
"7 things" #2
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
unique_name_123 gave me: computer, spirituality, laurel,
rules, games, travel, artichoke.
Computer: I tend to use computers for as long as they meet my needs and not jump to the newest things just because they're the newest things. I hope to get many more years out of the Mac Mini on which I'm typing this, and OS 10.6 is fine with me (I found nothing compelling in Lion). The problem with this is that we are moving more and more to a "quick-replacement" mindset, to the point where it is harder and harder to hang onto older tools. I especially see this with my phone (and imagine tablets are the same); they're constantly updating apps, and when you find out that the latest update was a step backward there's no way to roll back. (Google+, I'm talking to you! This week.) We are moving from a model where you maintain, and make decisions about, your computer environment to one in which your current hardware is just a portal to The Cloud (TM), which will seamlessly manage everything you care about. I don't think that's going to be ok, but I'm not really sure what to do about it.
Spirituality: I used to think I didn't have a spiritual bone in my body. I couldn't (and can't) grok meditation, yoga, drumming, and other eastern-influenced new-age ideas. I have friends who swear by this, but none of that has ever clicked with me. But then I discovered Jewish prayer, and I find that the traditional texts and melodies of our liturgy have great power for me. I don't necessarily understand everything I'm saying on a deep level, and I'm sure I don't agree with every word of the traditional prayer, but that doesn't hinder me: there is something about connecting with God in the words that Jews have used for hundreds or thousands of years, with melodies both old and very new, in a community of like-minded people, that just clicks for me. Our Shabbat morning minyan is the height of my week, spiritually speaking. So I guess I do have a spiritual bone or two in my body; I just needed to find out how to reach it.
Laurel: I went to that event to compete to be the royal bard. I didn't win that contest, but I got a pretty fabulous consolation prize. :-) The friends who orchestrated this did a wonderful job of creating a Viking magic moment for me, and I was touched by the words of the people who spoke for me. A few memories (an incomplete list): the silver medallion (niello) made by Master Kyriel and strung with hand-made beads by Countess Marieke; Mistress Dorigen's brilliant poem, and thinking I must be high or something because what the herald was reading didn't make sense (turns out he didn't understand the form and was reading things in the wrong order); the cloak embroidered by Mistress Isabelle of blessed memory; and Mistress Thora presenting me with documentation for everything (of course, and I mean that with complete sincerity).
Rules: My thin, flexible, metal rule is usually the best one for the job. Unlike its wooden cousins, its markings have not worn off with use, nor do I have to worry about a slight nick in the edge sending my pen or pencil or X-acto blade astray. Its cork backing, which cuts out a bit shy of the edge, raises the rule just enough to ensure that ink does not smear. It's important to have the right tool for the job, and this one is usually the right tool.
Games: I understand that "normal" people display knick-knacks and fine china and stuff in their dining rooms. We have bookcases full of books. and on top of some of those bookcases we have stacks of board games. These are not all of our games, to be sure; they are the expeditionary force from the larger closet full of games upstairs. These are the ones we play often enough that putting them properly away just doesn't seem to happen. The contents of these stacks vary over time, and Dani just came home from Origins with a bag of new games so another round of shuffling will be coming soon. Currently near the tops of the stacks: Pandemic, Agricola, Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico. Dani has given up and retired Titan to the closet, and we don't seem to be playing as much Iron Dragon as we ought, and we have regretfully given up on American Megafauna (version 1 and version 2) completely. Dominion made a brief appearance in that pile but evolved a whole lot of "eh" from me, so it doesn't come out much now, unless we have lots of guests at a games day. It may be time to either prune the piles or spread them out onto more bookcases; things are teetering just a bit.
Travel: Despite the fact that I'm looking forward to going to Israel this summer, I hate travel. I hate the disruption; I hate dealing with the TSA; I hate what airplanes do to my ears; I hate being disconnected from my normal life; I hate having to figure out what I can eat and how to work around Shabbat (if it's not a context where that's taken care of, like a kallah). I hate travel, but I love new experiences -- so somebody needs to get working on teleportation devices, so I can see the world but sleep in my own bed!
Artichoke: I sometimes think that the artichoke is the vegetable kingdom's answer to the lobster. There's tasty stuff in there, but there's a lot of armor to crack through to get to it! (Granted, I no longer take up arms, or forks, against the lobster.) I enjoy artichokes in forms where someone else has already done the work of rendering them accessible, but I remain completely clueless about what to do with a fresh artichoke to make a tasty meal come out the other end. Canned artichoke hearts seem like cheating.
no subject
I have ideas about smoked artichokes, but no actual experience as yet.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
And I'd love a teleporter :-)
no subject
no subject
no subject
I like artichokes prepared simply. Slice off the top about a third of the way up, then steam whole until the leaves pull off easily. Serve with lemon butter or homemade garlic mayonnaise (my favorite, and a family tradition) for dipping.
Artichokes are one of those things that really exemplify human ingenuity (or desperation to me). The plants look /so/ unfriendly, I wonder who first thought it would be a good idea to approach one in hope there might be something tasty?
no subject
no subject
Artichokes are one of those things that really exemplify human ingenuity (or desperation to me).
Indeed. Right up there with certain shellfish -- what did it take for someone to decide there was food in there and it's worth getting?
Your list: singing, Vogon poetry, teleportation, passive flirtation devices, the perfect meal, ritual, the moon.
no subject
Was neither a soldier nor champion of law
But the first to devour an oyster... raw
-- BC by Johnny Hart
no subject
As for artichokes, the laboriousness is half the point for me: a leisurely evening with good company and a glass of wine, chatting as you slowly work your way in to the prize at the centre (perhaps this is why there's no room in my life for board games)...
no subject
no subject
no subject
That's so you can divest the fruit of its seeds without getting red juice on your shirt. :-)
I never ate pomegranates until my husband brought one home not long after we were married. We eat the seeds straight with a dusting of sugar. I'll have to try them in salads; that sounds nice.
no subject
Take it home, and take scissors and trim off the pointed tips. Generally, they have split and so you'll cut them just below that split. You may also wish to trim off the stem, if it has one, to allow it to sit flat on a steamer or bottom of pan.
Take a steamer or a pot and add some water. Acidulate it (add some lemon juice) slightly, and put artichoke in. Bring to boil so you get steam, cover and let it steam for about 45 minutes or so (if it's large, it will take longer), until a fork stabbed in the bottom comes out easily and a leaf tugs off without resistance.
While it is cooking, make a dipping sauce of your choice... some people prefer drawn butter, others some mayonaise-based sauce like a hollandaise or an aioli (garlic mayo)... essentially, whatever sounds good.... some people assert the only reason for artichokes is as a sauce-conveyance system; the Joy of Cooking probably has several sauces that would go well with them, as would Julia Child.
Once cooked, you have the option of eating it warm (my preference) or chilled. To eat, pull off a leaf. Grasp it at the trimmed end, dunk the end that was attached to the vegetable into the sauce, place the leaf in your mouth, and -- through closed teeth -- drag the leaf so that you are scraping the leaf with your teeth. This will get the "meat" of the artichoke off the leaf and into your mouth, where it is best enjoyed. :-)
Proceed thusly with all the leaves. When you get to the fuzzy center (the inside leaves will be softer and a bit spikier; I like them... some don't), scrape it off and discard the fuzz. What you have left is the "heart" or "bottom" of the artichoke. Slice, dunk in the sauce, and enjoy.
Good luck!
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
I don't think this is recent. It's just accelerating. When I was a kid, I earned pocket money fixing stuff, toasters, vacuum cleaners, radios, etc. I'd take it apart, look it over, tell the adult what part needed replacement, they'd get it, I'd put it in, they'd give me a couple of bucks. The teen-ager down the street from my grandmother was doing the same thing with cars. Brilliant mechanic. He opened his own shop and then a few years later sold it at a loss. They kept changing the cars so much, he had to keep buying new sets of tools for each make and MODEL YEAR. Now, everything has a motherboard and it's cheaper to replace than repair. Once you've developed that attitude with hardware, software is just a small step.
'I understand that "normal" people display knick-knacks and fine china and stuff in their dining rooms. We have bookcases full of books'
My wife recently read a home-decorating article that stated no more that a quarter to a third of the bookshelves should actually contain books. We laughed out loud. I like the idea of having a few games downstairs for company, unfortunately, one of the dis-advantages of being out in the country is that visitors don't want to come unless it's a major party. I don't get to game nearly as much as I'd like to.
BTW, yes this is a request for seven words. And yes, i'm still working on the list that Dorinda gave me. I may use your Rules dodge to dodge one of my own. :)
no subject
My wife recently read a home-decorating article that stated no more that a quarter to a third of the bookshelves should actually contain books.
This is why friends don't let friends be guided by home-decorators. :-)
I may use your Rules dodge
That wasn't a dodge; that was an attempt at creativity! I've seen other people take some of their words in unexpected directions and I figure it's part of the game.
Your words: G'kar, Mike Jittlov, troubadours, meat, pointy-haired bosses, programming languages, Antarctica.
no subject
no subject