JB's Miscellaneous Ramblings

BCxXXi - PR1

2025-04-10T01:04:06Z

There's an update on the website! There isn't reg yet. Soon™ https://wp.baitcon.org/baitcon-xxxi-update-1/

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Hot. Too hot

2024-07-09T20:47:56Z

I'm voluntarily skipping squares tonight because it is too freaking hot to dance in an air-conditioned room. (Walker Memorial, for those who know.) This is a thing that basically never happens but today's heat combined with going easy on air conditioning the house because electric bills, and thus the fact that I have been working most of the day between two fans and only in my underwear… Yeah, I can't. *sigh*

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Maybe I’ll remember here occasionally?

2024-06-04T04:11:07Z

I mean, past history says not, but notifications about replies to this certainly would help at least a bit…

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Passover '21 day -3

2021-03-25T06:50:34Z

I don't actually have passover plans this year as yet, but for reasons I'm making soup and charoset. Tonight was soup nite one. Using the same Serious Eats recipe as here - https://jbsegal.dreamwidth.org/568055.html - and after 5 initial batches of (3 [surprisingly meaty] backs, and 2 smallish legs) - about 4.5 pounds, and about 2.5q water so the overnight "this won't fit in the fridge and there's no snow outside" simmer is of about 12.5q. Parsnip, Carrot, Bay, Onion, Dill.

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Baitcon XXX: The Dates Will Surprise You!

2019-10-08T17:42:07Z

No, it will actually be surprising, because we never asked about this date. 😕 So, after a bunch of back and forths with The Abode, nearly every time the available dates changing from what they'd said last time, we have picked a date from what was left/available. Baitcon XXX will be held: --> AUGUST 7-10, 2020 <--

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Please reg?

2019-05-16T00:27:34Z

So, I know it's obligatory to have the annual panic, but here it is again: Baitcon reg numbers are about HALF what we need them to be, and it's about 10-11 days before our cancellation deadline... Please reg if you're coming? Thank you!

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Baitcon XVIII! The invitation is up!

2018-04-23T19:39:38Z

The Baitcon Invitation is up, Registration is open, and the excitement is building! I hope to see you there! (If you don't know what to do to register/be invited, and you want to, please DM me. Here (dw), FB, Hangouts, iMessage, whatever.)

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What was this book?

2018-04-06T05:35:17Z

Thanks to https://tedium.co/2018/04/05/genesis-storytime-cable-channel-history/ ( and separately, thanks to whoever told me about this mailing list, because I would not have found this article without it. Who are you?) I am reminded of the story I once saw on this channel in.. 94? Very shortly after we moved to Falls Church, at least. It was a story about a kid who, one day after school, is at home when the wall opens up and a trains lets a lot of people off and he doesn’t like having this train suddenly appear in his house, and he goes to try to find out why it’s there. In the course of his investigation, he finds the city planning office, and the all powerful computer, and the secret behind this computer.

I believe it to be have been originally published as a picture book, because how else would have ended up adapted on this channel?

Does this sound at all familiar to people? Anyone? Bueller?

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I really DO mean to post more here

2018-03-23T17:52:36Z

It’s just not actually frictionless enough for quick-n-trivial posts, which might not, in fact, be what the site is best for but if it’s going to supplant FB for me it has to be able to do that. :(

As a step in that direction, I HAVE added a desktop shortcut on my iPad for this posting page.

Speaking of which, is there a style I could set my reading page to which will expand comments in place without having to either forward-and-back, or new-tab it?

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It’s confessional season

2018-02-16T02:51:26Z

https://aroraborealis.dreamwidth.org/1100754.html

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Where I slept, 2017 edition.

2018-01-04T21:45:17Z

Posted yesterday, and then corrected 3x in quick succession, on FB.

I believe this to be a complete list.
Six of the locations are almost 'traditional' at this point. 3 are part of the insane birthday trip.
Oh, and if I were totaling the nights up, it'd be 364, as there was a night lost to travel and tourism in Iceland.

• Somerville, MA
• Boston, MA
• Acton, MA
• Warwick, RI
• Troy, NH
• Foxborough, MA
• Pawling, NY
• Pittsfield, MA
• New Lebanon, NY
• Holbæk, Denmark
• Vejle, Denmark
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Bay Lake, FL
• Falls Church, VA
• Fairlee, VT

The oddest part of all of this was the ~6 months I spent living alone, which is far and away the longest time I've ever spent in such a state.
I'm still not sure how I feel about this, but it's been a pleasure welcoming Robin to the LSE.

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BC 28: The Date Announcement!

2017-10-20T20:13:22Z

Baitcon XXVIII
Subtitle TBD

Will Be Held:
Friday, June 29th - Monday, July 2d, 2018*
at the Mountain Campground of the Abode of the Message.

*Yes, we know Firefly starts the next day. We're sorry. These things happen, as there aren't nearly enough weekends in the summer.

Also: Sorry for the delay in this announcement.

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BC27: Please RSVP?

2017-05-17T18:29:39Z

It's an annual ritual, I know, but one I could live without.

We're 5 weeks from Baitcon and we haven't come near making our minimium
numbers as yet. If you're planning on coming, PLEASE rsvp asap?

http://wp.baitcon.org/baitcon-xxvii/registration-payment/

Thanks,
JB

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Ever have one of those days...

2017-04-27T18:39:43Z

... when you walk out the door, see the other side of the street empty for street sweeping and your heart sinks because you think you parked not-your-car there and now it's gone, but you have to get to something else so you don't have time to stop and think about it. And then on the way to that something else you lose your keys, so you go walking back and forth between home and Davis scanning for your keys (and not pausing to look for the car because of course it's been towed...) and HAPPILY you manage to find your keys, which someone picked up and brought in to their office, which wasn't the office you were going to, but then you have to go to work - half an hour later than planned - and then you have to tell the owners of the car what's up, because you need the license plate number to check on its status, and of course that conversation is no fun "Your car? Either towed or stolen. What's your lic. plate number?"
And you get the number, and you call the local tow-mafia and... they don't have the car. "You should call the cops and ask them." and you do, and they don't, either.
So you start tagging people around you to try to look on nearby side streets, because maybe you're just too tired and stupid to ACTUALLY remember where you parked?, and one of those very kind people manages to find the car, around the corner from where you thought you'd left it and it's safe and sound and suddenly ALL the stress can leave your body, and you collapse?

Yeah, me neither...

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Baitcon XVII Take 2!

2017-04-26T07:11:41Z

The invitation is now live and registration is now open for our 2nd take at Baitcon XXVII, D.M.I.C.

We're back at The Abode again, and as promised last year the dates are 23-26 June.

Details, the invitation, and the reg link, as ever, are at http://wp.baitcon.org/

We hope you can make it! If you have any questions, please ask away, here, or in mail to bcc.

JB and all of BCC

baitcon is also a good place to chat.

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jbsegal @ 2017-04-19T23:31:00

2017-04-20T03:34:52Z

From mom's house. Portrait by Bev Zuk

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You know what's annoying?

2017-04-18T04:36:47Z

When you finally get around to doing your taxes (Hey, at least it's > 24h in advance of deadline (when I started, at least)) and you get to the Filing part of it, and the online system you're using locks up, such that you can't actually DO the filing... and when you log out and back in and try it again (having to repeat only a few minor steps, luckily), it locks in the same place.

I'm sort of going to assume their ops folks are NOT happy right now and I'll try again tomorrow, but STILL...

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Escape To The Country

2017-04-16T00:40:44Z

There are times that I really wish I could even consider the idea of living in a moderately or even extremely remote setting with gorgeous views and surrounding nature.

However the idea of more than a month in such a setting has me getting ready for a walk in to Davis to be surrounded by people.

(Thoughts from both the Subject's eponymous show, as well as things like All Creatures Great And Small.)

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Passover '17 - Various food notes

2017-04-15T23:11:58Z

So, I wasn't hosting a seder this year, but I was planning on providing soup and charoset at one, one which ended up not happening.

Subsequently, I've had a lot of leftover soup and matzah ball mix, and charoset left over.

Soup: I've noted elsewhere: "I have always started with an initial boil of various lengths (Mom called for 2-3 hours), I've varied over the years from that to ~6) that produces something that's never right to begin with - no matter whose meat/water/veg proportions I use.
It's then strained.

It's worth noting that even when I've precisely followed Cooks Illustrated's recipe precisely, this 1st boil has always completely failed to produce something that is like soup to me. I'm... always sort of perplexed by this. Ok, utterly confused."

This year, being the year of the Instant Pot, I decided to start with iPotted stock, via http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/04/pressure-cooker-chicken-stock-recipe.html - modified by adding dill and a parsnip, subtracting the garlic, and taking the celery out after the 1st batch, because it wasn't right.

... and by 1st batch I meant 1st 3 batches. Thanks to kimberlogic and ahf, I had 3 pots to work with, and then did a 2nd run for 6 batches in total, 12Kg chicken, and just about 12q of water. I believe what came out of the 1st boil was something like 12-12.5q of broth, and about 1q of shmaltz. Yes, more stock than water.

... And that stock was... still not right. Tastier than average for my 1st boil, but still not what I want for my end product, or even for a soup I'm ready to eat then. I still don't understand it at all.

As for matzah balls, when I got home from the emergency backup seder I went to on Monday, I boiled up a batch as the seder had been sadly soup-free (but otherwise lovely!) and I wanted some.

They were rocks. They're usually dense, but this was ridiculous. Also, somehow despite all the salt I'd put in, they were nearly salt-free in taste.

Over the next couple of days, I asked everyone with experience for their matzah ball recipe. It seems to be that mom, back when she was giving me the full instructions for her seder experience, halved the amount of fat that goes in to them. I went and added enough extra fat to bring them in line with normal recipes, and more salt.

And then I went and asked if anyone had ever pressure cooked matzah balls. The answer is Of Course They Have, and tamidon pointed me at http://foodsforlonglife.blogspot.com/2017/03/instant-pot-matzo-ball-soup.html and so, mindful of the caution pookfreak had about not overboiling due to the time bringing cold soup to boil, I brought the soup to low pressure and immediately opened it, then added the mix. 15 min high pressure, quick release... voila, they were _excellent_. Ok, still not enough salt, but other than that...

On to the haroset: 1# of Macintosh (4 small) to .5# of Granny Smith (1 large), 1# walnuts, WAY more nutmeg than I usually add, due to an more-aggressive than I'm used to grater, cassia, and wine... worked excellently! MAYBE a bit less nutmeg, or a bit more cinnamon.

And FINALLY! Allison was feeling driven and stripped off all the chicken meat (cardboard as usual, as its been boiled free of ALL its flavor, fat, etc.) so I contacted old family friends for the chicken croquettes recipe that for years was the standard destination for such chicken meat in my childhood. I got that yesterday and haven't yet had a chance to make it - it's just a thick white sauce, mix in the shredded chicken to the right texture, bread (or matzah meal) and fry. I hope to do this soon.

So yeah, despite not actually serving food to people, I've had good progress this year in making everything better for next year. Yay!

(NOW let's see how this wall of text looks when it's cross-dumped to FB. No cut.)

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A second test of IFTTT cross-posting

2017-04-15T21:29:30Z

This post includes at least some of the body of the post. The interesting thing for this one - as it's a 'link post' that I included the body in to - is how much of the body and then does it pay attention to
( Read more... )
This is outside the cut.

I suppose if I had a more of a clue about RSS, maybe I'd know what to expect.

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This is a test - crosspost to FB?

2017-04-13T03:12:36Z

... via IFTTT.com and their RSS feeds. Let's see if it works...

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Judy Segal - 1935-2016

2016-11-18T06:42:11Z

There will never be a good time to say this so I'll just say it now.
My mother, Judy Segal, died this evening, fairly suddenly and completely unexpectedly.
I expect the funeral will be on Sunday, but that's not certain yet, though it absolutely will be in Pawling. I will be heading there tomorrow (Friday).

What any time between now and the 27th looks like, I have no idea as yet. At some point I'll probably do something like sitting shiva. At some other point I'll probably hold a farewell celebration, also in NY.

Offers of practical help - "I've been through this and can try to answer questions for you when you have them" - are very welcome. Of especial interest is anyone who's dealt with a house with a reverse mortgage on it.

Anyone who knows people who want a collection of old Star Trek fanzines should also let me know.

Please feel free to share this with all who knew her.

Judith Z Segal - 9/25/1935-11/17/2016

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Baitcon XXVII - D.M.I.C. - The annual PLEASE Register notice

2016-05-15T18:04:51Z

I know I say this every year - including noting that I say this every year - but it's more true than ever at the moment:
We have a minimum we need to be able to afford to do this, while paying our contract with the site and we need that minimum well in advance.

That deadline is approaching. Please! If you're intending to come to Baitcon this year, hie yourself to the website and register soon.

Hope to see you there!

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Baitcon XXVII - D.M.I.C. - Reg is open

2016-05-04T22:53:13Z

The invitation/registration for Baitcon XXVII is up and running.
We invite you to stop by wp.baitcon.org to check it all out.

If you've never been to Baitcon before, please contact us before registering.

I'd also like to call out right now that we're less than 2 months out from the date now... As ever, we have a minimum registration number that we have to meet by a month out to be sure we're able to do it, so please register soon!

I hope to see you there!

JB (and the rest of BCC)

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Dreams

2016-02-10T22:47:21Z

I almost never remember having dreams, let alone what they are, so this one was multiply odd - odder still that I remember it 9 hours later.

Basically, it was an extended period of hanging out in a (very dark?) house, trying to convince the very nice but very persistent vampire couple who lived there - but who I never actually saw, just felt in the dark - that no, they really didn't want to bite/feed on/turn me. Were I to relax and stop insisting/preventing, they would've gone ahead with it and I didn't want that.

They might've had a cat, too.

I FEEL like I was half awake for most of this, but that it took forever for me to get to the point of "I am REALLY not enjoying this, and if I wake All The Way up (say, by getting up and going the bathroom) I can probably not pick this up again when I go back to sleep", and in fact that worked.

It wasn't a nightmare, as much as an extended stress-ball of a thing. It certainly Means Something.

{sigh}

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