otarush's recent activity
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Comment on Over two percent of the US’s electricity generation now goes to bitcoin in ~enviro
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Comment on Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? in ~food
otarush LinkThe conclusion of the article, that the best time to caramelize onions is yesterday, is accurate in my experience. Take a weekend afternoon and do a large bag of onions with some butter as the...The conclusion of the article, that the best time to caramelize onions is yesterday, is accurate in my experience. Take a weekend afternoon and do a large bag of onions with some butter as the fat, then put them in large Ziploc bags in a thin layer and chuck those in the freezer. The butter and generally not very high water content makes them have a consistency when frozen akin to fruit leather and you can just rip off a chunk. You need a surprisingly small chunk of deep mahogany caramelized onions to get that flavor into your dinner.
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Comment on Why do you think that there isn't a male-led/focused feminist-style movement? in ~life.men
otarush Link ParentFirst, I understand why you aren't saying anything. It's also really frustrating to not be able to speak up about a harmful policy, and I do believe that is a harmful policy. At my company, we had...First, I understand why you aren't saying anything. It's also really frustrating to not be able to speak up about a harmful policy, and I do believe that is a harmful policy.
At my company, we had a similar "get the number of women in management up" effort. Thing is, we're an engineering company. We are 25% women, and that's because there aren't a lot of women graduating with EE degrees because of various systematic reasons that we (the company) cannot immediately fix.
I am a woman (and an engineer), and I was in a women's "town hall" type meeting with a (male) member of our business unit's leadership. We were almost all engineers, actually. We brought up that policy to the member of leadership, because we hate it too. We worked hard to be engineers, we don't want to be forced into management just because we're women and also even if we did want to be in management there's nothing like the stain of an unfair promotion to cut a new manager's feet out from under them. Anyway, he was really surprised to hear this basically unanimous feedback, and apparently the company is working on adjusting the gender balance goals or something.
Also, if you promote most of the women out of individual contributor roles, the gender imbalance gets really bad in that sector. 25%, 15%, is enough to not be literally the only woman on an entire project... But at my previous job, we had a similar policy and there were two female individual contributors in a business unit of over 100 people. Goddamn it felt lonely sometimes. And I have threatened to quit to avoid going into management because it sounds like a job where I'd be miserable, so that wasn't an option to find a role with a little more balance.
It might be possible to find some women who would agree with you and who might bring it up on your behalf without mentioning you, although there is some risk to that of course. But if you're friends with any, you might ask them what they think about it. Obviously it would be better if you could say what you think about it without needing a proxy or a roundabout way to approach the topic. But unfair is unfair and, like how toxic masculinity harms men, poorly thought out policies to promote women harm women too. I have been harmed by the policy you're describing. It's a bad policy.
I wish it was possible for our male allies to bring up that kind of thing without all the Andrew Tate fanboys being like "One of us!"
ETA: it goes without saying, that policy is also really unfair for men. It's just bad. I offer my perspective on it because going from "one group hates this" to "everyone hates this" can be effective for accomplishing change.
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Comment on I’m a microbiologist and here is what (and where) I never eat in ~food
otarush Link ParentSome rice cookers keep the rice hot enough to prevent bacterial growth, check the manual for yours.Some rice cookers keep the rice hot enough to prevent bacterial growth, check the manual for yours.
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Comment on Anyone here have a home carbonation system (SodaStream, DrinkMate, Aarke, etc.)? in ~food
otarush LinkI have a DrinkMate, which is nice for carbonating water and all that, but where it really shines is when the beer I'm making finishes fermenting and I want to try it nearly immediately. I'll...I have a DrinkMate, which is nice for carbonating water and all that, but where it really shines is when the beer I'm making finishes fermenting and I want to try it nearly immediately. I'll dispense the last of the fermentation bucket into a bottle, throw it in the freezer for 45 minutes, and carbonate with the DrinkMate. It, amazingly, doesn't explode beer all over my countertop like the one time I tried that with a SodaStream. I then get to try my super young beer that will markedly improve after sitting in a keg for a week carbonating normally... But I'm impatient.
It's also nice to carbonate OJ with for mimosas. However, I think 98% of my usage is just the massive quantities of carbonated water I drink.
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Comment on Small kitchen appliances; does quality exist? in ~food
otarush Link ParentI got a Zojirushi rice maker for Christmas in 2011, for my first year of college. It makes rice nearly every day for my husband and I still. I get the rice at the Asian market for $40 for a 50...I got a Zojirushi rice maker for Christmas in 2011, for my first year of college. It makes rice nearly every day for my husband and I still. I get the rice at the Asian market for $40 for a 50 pound bag of good quality medium grain (Nishiki, usually). I throw rice in there, some lentils in a skillet with chicken broth/spices/aromatics, and they're done around the same time. Dinner for two people for under $2.
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Comment on Small kitchen appliances; does quality exist? in ~food
otarush Link ParentI have one of those, it's damn near replaced the sous vide setup for stuff like pork chops. It does bread way the hell better than my crappy gas oven, even if I do the whole cast iron skillet...I have one of those, it's damn near replaced the sous vide setup for stuff like pork chops. It does bread way the hell better than my crappy gas oven, even if I do the whole cast iron skillet steam thing, because the gas oven necessarily vents all of the steam out rather quickly...
Also it's a good air fryer replacement, because it's a small convection oven and that's all an air fryer is.
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Comment on How did you learn to cook? in ~food
otarush Link ParentTo your point about adding alcohol around the perimeter of the pan, if you're doing a stir fry, that's the proper way to add liquids in general. Soy sauce in particular develops some lovely...To your point about adding alcohol around the perimeter of the pan, if you're doing a stir fry, that's the proper way to add liquids in general. Soy sauce in particular develops some lovely flavors when added around the outside of the pan so some of the water instantly flashes into steam.
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Comment on Hubble Network wants to connect a billion devices with space-based Bluetooth network in ~tech
otarush Link ParentI'm with you on being skeptical that this would actually work. 2.4 GHz is also strongly absorbed by water - that is, of course, how microwave ovens work - and there's a fair amount of atmospheric...I'm with you on being skeptical that this would actually work.
2.4 GHz is also strongly absorbed by water - that is, of course, how microwave ovens work - and there's a fair amount of atmospheric water. Also, my understanding of Bluetooth is that part of how it manages to get data through a channel despite its low power is that it tracks noisy channels and frequency hops to avoid them. Basically, the two devices communicate about which frequencies are bad. One-way Bluetooth couldn't have this mechanism, which means your phone (it's supposed to work with any Bluetooth device, right?) could be ineffectually trying to yell over your Nintendo Switch sitting next to it and the satellite would never be able to see it.
There is a low power unidirectional satellite communications protocol I can think of, although it goes the opposite direction - GPS. This has the advantage of having its own block of bandwidth.
However, I'm just a baseband verification nerd. Maybe they came up with something that'll make everyone's jaws drop.
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Comment on Pride events with your company in ~lgbt
otarush LinkMy current employer (semiconductor industry related) has quite the collection of rainbow swag for the LGBTQ+ employee resource group and anyone else who wants it, and we're doing an ice cream...My current employer (semiconductor industry related) has quite the collection of rainbow swag for the LGBTQ+ employee resource group and anyone else who wants it, and we're doing an ice cream social for anyone who's interested. It's a small site so it's hard to do anything too big. There's actually quite a few LGBTQ+ employees, including a manager, and I feel like we don't have any problems with the company culture. And, well, rainbows are fun! The new Pride Month company lanyard is actually really awesome looking, if rainbows are your thing.
It's more the year-round things, like not having to lie about the gender of some of my exes, that matter to me though.
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Comment on What are you 3D printing now? What setup do you have? What issues are you running into? in ~hobbies
otarush LinkI'm currently trying to run off a bunch of minis for an in person Lancer game on an Elegoo Saturn S. I'm having fun with build plate adhesion for about half of what I put on any given plate. At...I'm currently trying to run off a bunch of minis for an in person Lancer game on an Elegoo Saturn S. I'm having fun with build plate adhesion for about half of what I put on any given plate. At least the failures will make good scatter terrain... I'm going to try lowering my lift speed some, the addition of SirayaTech Tenacious resin probably made it harder to separate from the FEP.
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Comment on What whisky/whiskey have you been enjoying, and what's your opinion on them? in ~food
otarush Link ParentThat's one of my favorites too, but I find myself having difficulty justifying the price. Have you tried Aberlour 12 or Glenfarclas 12? They're both also at least partially sherry casked,...That's one of my favorites too, but I find myself having difficulty justifying the price. Have you tried Aberlour 12 or Glenfarclas 12? They're both also at least partially sherry casked, non-peated, and around $50 depending on your state. Between the two I prefer Aberlour but they're both solid. Glenallachie 12 may be more difficult to find in the US depending on what state you're in but I also very much enjoy that one and it's in the same general parially-sherry-casked unpeated Speyside family at sub-$60 a bottle.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
otarush Link ParentSomething that I think works really well, albeit is a bit untraditional, is doing tofu as the protein in pretty much any Indian tomato-based curry. Get the gravy going, cube tofu, let it simmer...Something that I think works really well, albeit is a bit untraditional, is doing tofu as the protein in pretty much any Indian tomato-based curry. Get the gravy going, cube tofu, let it simmer for 25 minutes, serve with rice. The gravy has enough flavor that it really doesn't need meat to be tasty. I think paneer is more traditional as a vegetarian protein (and is quite tasty) but I'm lactose intolerant so fresh cheeses are dicey.
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Comment on Introductions | June 2023, part 1 in ~talk
otarush LinkHello everyone! I like text posts with solid discussion, various creative hobbies, TTRPGs, and general nerdy stuff. I'm in from Reddit because the niche hobby communities are my favorite part of...Hello everyone! I like text posts with solid discussion, various creative hobbies, TTRPGs, and general nerdy stuff. I'm in from Reddit because the niche hobby communities are my favorite part of the site, and Tildes reminds me of those. The app news made me lurk over here for a bit, and seems like y'all have a solid community!
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Comment on What's your not-D&D RPG, and why? in ~games.tabletop
otarush Link ParentI'm playing in a long-running Lancer campaign, the third that my group has done, at the moment. I absolutely love the system because I feel like I have fun and impactful combat choices to make...I'm playing in a long-running Lancer campaign, the third that my group has done, at the moment. I absolutely love the system because I feel like I have fun and impactful combat choices to make nearly every turn, and the fluff lends itself to weird, anime-style shenanigans pretty well. I also like the lack of crunch in the social roleplaying. It feels like a nice mix of a proper dedicated wargaming system and FATE or something.
I second the companion software being excellent.
I never understood the Bitcoin mining thing in Texas. Yes, theoretically consistently higher prices from increased demand might encourage people to build more capacity to be online during emergencies, but what other grids do is they just pay for capacity. Also, don't Bitcoin miners like cheap electricity anyway?
Besides, if the state of Texas wants load to increase, they can tell Texans that it's our patriotic duty to drop the AC to 68 or plug in our EVs at 6 PM or something. We're currently not supposed to do that on days that are risky for outages because Texas actually has significant renewable generation and the bottom of the solar/wind "duck curve" for generation intersects with almost the hottest part of the day right around 6-7 PM in the summer. I think being able to plug in my Mach E at a convenient time would be nicer for me than some guys mining crypto.
And according to my friend who works for PUC, the crypto guys don't really turn off when ERCOT sends out those notices. I wish I had a better source than "Trust me guys, my friend says so!" and it's absolutely fair if nobody believes me on that.