AnxiousCucumber's recent activity
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Comment on How has your industry changed in the past decade? in ~life
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Comment on The destruction of the soft power of the United States in ~society
AnxiousCucumber Link"It is hard for a man to understand an issue, when his livelihood depends upon him not understanding it."But for some reason they don't seem to give a shit. Something is more important to them so they allowed Trump to continue and they constantly help spread lies to give him more power.
"It is hard for a man to understand an issue, when his livelihood depends upon him not understanding it."
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Comment on Warner Bros. to release new ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ in 2026, Peter Jackson to produce and Andy Serkis to direct in ~movies
AnxiousCucumber LinkIs that a subtle dig at Amazon's treatment of ROP? Anyways, I'd initially thought the hunt for Gollum would be after the events of the Hobbit, with Strider and Gandalf seeking him out before...“...the undeniable devotion Peter, Fran and Philippa have shown towards protecting the legacy of Tolkien’s works, and to ensure audiences could experience the incredible world he created in a way that honors his literary vision,”
Is that a subtle dig at Amazon's treatment of ROP?
Anyways, I'd initially thought the hunt for Gollum would be after the events of the Hobbit, with Strider and Gandalf seeking him out before Sauron's agents ultimately find him. Dramatic tension similar to the sense of urgency of hobbits fleeing the Shire with the Ring.
200 years before the events of the Hobbit, Gollum would be hiding under the Misty Mountains, staying put in his cave, eating blind fish and strangling wayward scrawny goblins. That's not much to work with. -
Comment on ‘Hopeless and broken’: why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair in ~enviro
AnxiousCucumber LinkAuthor Kim Stanley Robinson has taken climate change and made a fiction novel out of it, The Ministry for the Future. The catalysts that force society to change are mostly violent in nature and...Author Kim Stanley Robinson has taken climate change and made a fiction novel out of it, The Ministry for the Future.
The catalysts that force society to change are mostly violent in nature and include:
Drone swarming private and passenger jets in mass numbers on one day, crashing them all, so jet travel ceases. Airships become popular again.
Black ops hit squads on CEOs of fossil fuel companies and investment bankers who do business with polluters. Suddenly there is political willpower to make big changes. The polluters run out of money and are forced out of business.
Hypersonic missile swarm weapons that render aircraft carrier battle groups obsolete. The carriers all go to Antarctica to provide ports and power for the now obsolete oil drilling industry to begin water drilling. This removes the water under the glaciers so they don't slide away as fast, and it's pumped and sprayed on top so it freezes and artificially grows the ice sheet.There's many other ideas in there too. Can't recall them all. It's been a couple years since I've read the book but it was good read!
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Comment on Gold is back — and it has a message for us in ~finance
AnxiousCucumber LinkGold has been rising, but other hard assets are also climbing. Uranium, oil, Bitcoin. Silver and copper are just starting their rise. The author cites inflation and uncertainty as main reasons....Gold has been rising, but other hard assets are also climbing. Uranium, oil, Bitcoin. Silver and copper are just starting their rise. The author cites inflation and uncertainty as main reasons. There will always be uncertainty. The world macroeconomic picture is less certain today than in 2011, the last big run in gold.
Inflation (measured by the 1990 or 1980 cpi on shadowstats) is far above the 2% 'target' rate. The US is adding a trillion dollars in debt every hundred days.
Even if there weren't two major regional wars in Europe and the mid East, and the de dollarizing of international trade, it's a surprise gold isn't moving higher and faster based on inflationary forces. -
Comment on What was your first computer game? (Soundcheck question 2023) in ~games
AnxiousCucumber Link5.25" floppy games... Circa 1990-91 Oregon Trail on Commodore 64 King's Quest on Tandy 10005.25" floppy games... Circa 1990-91
Oregon Trail on Commodore 64
King's Quest on Tandy 1000 -
Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
AnxiousCucumber Link Parent*neat*neat
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
AnxiousCucumber LinkEntertaining lots of whisky drinkers this season, so Mortlach 12 year and Oban 14 year for close friends and family. Jameson's and Maker's Mark for everyone else. Big square ice cubes from silicon...Entertaining lots of whisky drinkers this season, so Mortlach 12 year and Oban 14 year for close friends and family. Jameson's and Maker's Mark for everyone else. Big square ice cubes from silicon molds for on the rocks drinkers, and a set of glencairn glasses for those who drink it great. More than a few old fashioneds and boulevardiers too.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
AnxiousCucumber LinkBeen making obscure cocktails. Last week's winner was the Golden Dream: 1 oz triple sec 1 oz Galliano 1 oz orange juice 1 oz half and half (10% coffee cream). Shake with ice, stain into a chilled...Been making obscure cocktails. Last week's winner was the Golden Dream:
1 oz triple sec
1 oz Galliano
1 oz orange juice
1 oz half and half (10% coffee cream).
Shake with ice, stain into a chilled martini glass.
Tastes just like a creamsicle. -
Comment on Chef knife recommendations? in ~food
AnxiousCucumber LinkVictorianox, motion carried. To be contrarian however... If you're in the states, look for Wasabi knives. They're better than whatever's at Walmart and won't cost a million dollars.Victorianox, motion carried.
To be contrarian however... If you're in the states, look for Wasabi knives. They're better than whatever's at Walmart and won't cost a million dollars. -
Advice on a first time visit to Oahu, Hawaii
Hi ~travel! My partner and I are going to Oahu for a ten day holiday at end of October. Neither of us have been there before. We are looking for advice on what to see, eat, do. We have a rental...
Hi ~travel!
My partner and I are going to Oahu for a ten day holiday at end of October. Neither of us have been there before. We are looking for advice on what to see, eat, do. We have a rental car.
We'd love to see some less popular nooks of Oahu without angering the locals.So far we have to do:
- Pearl harbor museum, USS Arizona.
- Surf somewhere we can both enjoy. I am experienced but in intermediate paddling shape. Partner is a novice. Trying for a couple hours' AM paddle out for a few days. Beach, point, or rock reef breaks.
- Drink a Mai Tai. Where is the best bar on the island? Posh or dive? We like dive bars but aren't afraid to splash out for a fantastic experience.
Attend a luau. Who's got the best roast swine?Removed this on the advice of commenters, also very expensive after looking into it. Will go eat at a few food trucks instead!- Day hikes. Where are the good trails?
- Non-surf watersports. Can't afford marlin fishing with our budget but snorkeling, diving, or sailing are realistic options.
Anything else? Some of the best travel suggestions have come from strangers in hostels or bars - probably also Tildes. Thanks for reading everyone!
edit: for brevity
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Comment on YouTube is axing its ad-free Premium Lite subscription plan in ~tech
AnxiousCucumber LinkThis comes at the same time Chrome declared all my installed ad blocker plugins that targeted YouTube ads as now "contains malware" and disabled them. The enshittification continues! Time to go...This comes at the same time Chrome declared all my installed ad blocker plugins that targeted YouTube ads as now "contains malware" and disabled them. The enshittification continues! Time to go back to Firefox (or another third party browser not owned by Google).
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Comment on Just finished reading The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, and wondering what to read next in ~books
AnxiousCucumber LinkCS Lewis was a friend and fellow Oxford scholar with Tolkien. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia. A different style than LOTR but also an excellent fantasy series.CS Lewis was a friend and fellow Oxford scholar with Tolkien. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia. A different style than LOTR but also an excellent fantasy series.
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Comment on What's the funniest story you know? in ~talk
AnxiousCucumber LinkMany years ago, I was working as a line cook at a golf course. It was wintertime, so less golfers and lots of Christmas parties and events going on. One of the event menus had an eggnog creme...Many years ago, I was working as a line cook at a golf course. It was wintertime, so less golfers and lots of Christmas parties and events going on. One of the event menus had an eggnog creme brulee as the dessert. So me and Jarred (another cook) are working this event, making a hundred eggnog creme brulees. We both happen to be cis white guys. Our fabulously flaming dishwasher Rolando was doing prep at the next work station over.
Jarred (to me) : "I hate eggnog. Its consistency is like drinking jizz."
Me: "Have you drank lots of jizz to compare?"
Jarred (angrily) : "No! Of course not!"
Me: "Then how can you be sure?"
Jarred: "I know! Let's ask Rolando." (Aside to Rolando) "Hey Rolando! Is drinking eggnog the same consistency as drinking jizz?"
Rolando (pauses in thought) : "I'm not sure... I've never tried eggnog before."
Chef here. Across the board there has been an explosion of special diets.
"Special diet" is not the same as a genuine allergy or ideological/ religious diet. It means nowadays about a fifth of the people who walk into the dining room want to feel special. They want something off menu, they want some trendy ingredient they saw on the food network, they want some influencer's most recent fad diet.
Because of this explosion of requests, it is affecting labor cost and menu prices. It takes just as much time to create a bespoke meal for one person as it takes for a menu listed meal for twenty people. One of my sous chefs spends about a third of their workday taking care of all the special diets (and those are the ones who have had the decency to give us advance notice).
Diners are also paying more because of ingredient costs, as anyone who has bought groceries has noticed.