Recommend something to me!

[conuly]

It can literally be ANYthing in ANY category! Practical life stuff! Pieces of advice to live by! Words I should know! Fiction I should consume! Recipes! A favorite tourist trap! Whatever!

I'll go first:

A while back we went to the oncologist and they insist everybody walking in the door puts on a Halyard mask fluidshield level 3, and man, those things are both effective and comfortable. They're surgical masks, not N95s, but of course you can make them more effective by putting a fabric mask over if necessary.

Also, Jenn figured out that if you take leftover biriyani or probably fried rice and heat it in a skillet and then scramble some eggs on top of it it is VERY DELISH, even before you remember to add the hot sauce. And now I know how to use up leftover fried rice rather than watching it get increasingly forlorn in the fridge before I toss it.

Comments

[dine]

that fried rice/egg thing sounds very tasty! leftover fried rice is sad, and I too often end up dumping it instead of eating it later

you might enjoy reading The Bloggess's posts - she's an interesting and amusing author who writes about many subjects, including her wacky life, mental illness, her family and pets, and stuff she's doing (like opening a fantastic-sounding bookstore I'd love to visit, and the book club she started). there's a DW feed if that's easier

if you like chocolatey things, my sister swears by this, and has since we were teens. it's got a very rich flavour; I used to chill the leftovers then eat it with a spoon *g*

Bonnie’s favourite cocoa fudge frosting

1 stick butter
>½ c cocoa
1 lb sifted confectioners sugar
½ c less 1 Tbl milk
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter over medium heat – add cocoa and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Pour into small bowl. Alternately add conf. sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Blend in vanilla

Spread on cake while frosting is still warm

[conuly]

I do always love frosting recipes. Is it mandatory to spread on cake, or can I eat as-is?

[fuzzyred]

I definitely recommend watching Bob Ross. If you like landsacpe paintings at all and ever need calm background noise, Bob is the way to go. He paints amazing things and he's so soothing to listen to and also funny.

[conuly]

I did used to watch as a kid :)

[kshandra]

After finding the first book in a Little Free Library earlier this year, I have FINALLY begun reading the Parasol Protectorate series and am completely in love.

[archersangel]

i read that a few years ago & liked it.
just don't look at the descriptions on amazon or the back of the later books. 3-5 spoil the ones before it.

[agoodwinsmith]

Measure twice.

I know - but seriously.

[marahmarie]

When even measuring twice doesn't work *studies my CSS*

[darkoshi]

"Shoe Goo" is good for fixing rubber shoe soles. It is also handy for fixing various other things, like scissors whose plastic handles have cracked or come loose from the metal parts. It comes in clear and black, is like a thick glue, and dries into a hard rubbery solid. I've used it to patch damaged insulation on electric cord, and to add a grippy texture on plastic kitchen clips.

(I feel like I have all kinds of things I could recommend, but when put on the spot like this, I can hardly think of any)

[conuly]

That sounds amazingly useful and helpful, thanks.

[lilysea]

I highly recommend this face mask - comfortable AND good protection

and it has a bit that tucks underneath your chin, so it has a good seal that stays sealed when you talk

3M Aura 1870+ N95 Respirator

NIOSH Certified
TGA Approved
N95 (95% Filter Efficiency)
P2 (Australian Standard Equivalent to N95)
Individually Wrapped
Padded Foam Nose Piece
Double Elastic Head Bands
Latex Free
Anti-Fog (for Glasses)

[conuly]

Thanks :)

[pauamma]

Decide in advance when to cooperate with the inevitable, when to go down fighting, and when to run away. Plan accordingly.

[marahmarie]

"You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away"...an underrated song, for sure.

[siliconshaman]

Practical advice:
If you have a cast iron skillet, once it's been washed, use a tiny drop of olive oil and some greaseproof paper and oil it before putting it away. That way it doesn't rust. Use the greaseproof paper to rub the oil around inside, and then wipe down with kitchen tissue to leave a thin film of oil.

There is a system to gambling. 1.Never bet more than you can afford to lose.
2.If you're playing cards, or any game with repetitive bets, split winnings on each turn into thirds. Put a third aside to cash out later, a third as your float..and upto a third to gamble with on the next turn. Quit when you run out of money in your float, and do not dip into the money/chips you put aside for later, and that way you'll always come out ahead.

Always treat yourself.
Set aside a small treat for yourself every day, either at the end or the beginning of the day. It might only be cookie or something similar, but at least then there is something good in your day, no matter how bad it is.

[mindstalk]

"that way you'll always come out ahead."

Assuming you make any net winnings in the first place.

[sallymn]

Sis was watching a rerun of an Aussie cooking show today, and this toffee apple fitter recipe just popped up (I'm about to post on it); I've told her that she has my permission to try them anytime at all :)

As for advice, I still go with Aldous Huxley's "It's a little embarrassing that after 45 years of research & study, the best advice I can give people is to be a little kinder to each other."

[conuly]

Oooh, food!

[moxie_man]

What is this thing called "left over" fried rice?

[conuly]

*shrugs*

We always order it, but we don't always finish it, what can I say?

[purplecat]

Always cut your toe nails straight.

I actually have no idea if this is good advice, but my father always said it was the only thing he learned doing National Service.

[bitterlawngnome]

It is good if one gets ingrown toenails - this will largely prevent them from getting ingrown (the next level is to cut a notch in the middle and file down the bridge of the nail so that it buckles upward away from the edges). Learned this from a naturopath - the regular doctor had advised surgery (!!) instead.

[8hyenas]

I feel like everyone panicked at the question and now the advice is very telling.

Put walnuts in lentil soups. Just lentil, potato, walnuts, and a broth. Savory nut pastes for sandwiches are really good and truly better than most options. (Brought to you by the six vegan cookbooks I read recently.)

If there's a chore you've been thinking about doing for more than five years, just pay someone.

[flamingsword]

“If there's a chore you've been thinking about doing for more than five years, just pay someone.“

I’m stealing that.

[fred_mouse]

Roast potato makes better soup than boiled.

Also, there are so many good novellas getting published at the moment. When Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo is fabulous, and the most recent one I've finished; I can recommend so many more if you tempt me to...

Also, also -- have just read Alison Bechdel's third memoir, The Secret to Superhuman Strength, and loved it.

[conuly]

Roast potato makes better soup than boiled.

Does it? I'll have to do a blind taste test.

[readerjane]

Rosemary Kirstein’s The Steerswoman.

[adrian_turtle]

OMG, yes! Seconded.

[adrian_turtle]

Recommended for people with more books than bookcase space:
Many shelves will fit 2 rows of paperbacks, and some will fit a row of hardcovers with paperbacks in front. Raise the back row so you can see all the titles--I use 4x4 lumber (which is actually 3.5"), and the building supply store was happy to cut the 8-foot board into 3 pieces for me. A 2x4 prop would give you more room for hardcovers, but I wouldn't recommend that unless you alphabetize.

[mabiana]

Excellent idea, thank you!

[deoh]

The Years of Rice and Salt is probably my favorite relatively lesser known book, so I'll recommend that.

[conuly]

I lost my copy! Alas.

[dhampyresa]

I highly reccomend Stromae's latest album, Multitude.

[brokenallbroken]

I'm very fond of both Father Brown (the new one with Mark Williams, haven't seen the old version) and Death In Paradise, if you like cozy-ish British murder mysteries.

Father Brown is cozier: a Catholic priest in a post-war village in Gloucestershire fights crime with his umbrella, bicycle, and trusty cast of secondary characters, including the police inspector who never seems to learn to listen, no matter how many times Father Brown solves the case. No arcs to speak of, but several tertiary characters (including some of the criminals) recur.

Death in Paradise is a police procedural with a fish-out-of-water British detective detailed to a Caribbean island with an alarming murder rate. It's less continuity-y than Father Brown.

Both have high humor content, lovely scenery, and fairly low gore. Both have been running for 11 seasons, so you can binge without running out. My PBS station airs both of them, or they are streaming on BritBox.

[conuly]

You know, I ought to talk my mother into getting BritBox for herself. British mystery series are exactly what she likes.

[archersangel]

i recommend not getting the boston cream pie pop tarts, not good.

palmolive pure + clear fragrance free, if you have problems with fragrance in stuff.

if you can't run towards a taxi or away from someone in them, do not buy the shoes.

[flamingsword]

I have a rule, which is that if any outfit helps someone else kick my ass, then I don’t wear it. Even the Japanese fashion stuff I wear, I know how to fight in.

[foms]

Caramelized garlic and peaches (together, in butter or olive oil or both). Works nicely, if some of the garlic ends up just slightly burnt.

Sometimes, I've been putting on my outside shoes, in the morning. It lowers my psychological barrier to going out. I don't want to wear outdoor shoes, in my home, but there have been days when it allowed me to get my butt out for a walk.

I'll echo the exhortation toward The Steerswoman.

[flamingsword]

Have you ever had rosemary grilled peaches? 😋 So much yum!

[mindstalk]

Stale rice can be refreshed by adding a bit of water and microwaving it. Though I don't recall trying this with fried rice.

If you liked Korra, https://archiveofourown.org/works/2808119 is a good Varrick/Zhu-li novel fanfic.

https://harelba.github.io/q/ is a useful tool for doing SQL queries against CSV files.

Mask braces like https://www.fixthemask.com/ are great for boosting the effectiveness (fit) of ASTM surgical masks or even KF94s/KN95 ear loop masks. Double masking is like a crude, less breathable, mask brace.

[conuly]

Yeah, I do know about mask braces but... idk, I'm not sure I can sell my mother on them.

[bitterlawngnome]

I have no idea what the range of your musical tastes might be, but I liked this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXmF6h3Yd_A

#BlackGirlMagic

[flamingsword]

Have you seen the ten-year old who can sing opera? Victory Brinker is amazing! https://youtu.be/SuU33M8xdyM
If this is what she’s like now, I can’t wait to see what she does as a grownup.

[flamingsword]

Book that is also a TV show:

Atlas of the Heart on HBO Max offers a radically different way to think of emotions, and it’s written by a researcher and social worker rather than the normal self-help guru with no scientific backing. Rather than talking about emotions as things that happen to us beyond our ability to manage, it talks about feelings as responses to external stimuli as mediated by internal habits, acculturation, and upbringing. It talks about feelings as things that we can name and shift over time. It’s really helping make my therapy journey a lot easier, to understand better the felt senses of feelings that I could not used to name.

[shadowkat]

Thanks for this, got some good advice.

1. Station Eleven has been rec'd to me multiple times as a book and a show on HBO Max. By a wide range of people. It's about survivors of a flu pandemic who use art to heal the world.

2. Send yourself flowers or roses - Kathleen Turner

3. Hannah Gadsby's Nannette on Netflix

4. Moon Knight on Disney +

Also Doctor Oakley Yukon Vet on National Geographic on Disney +

[captainsblog]

In my early days, before there were interwebs everywhere, advice tended to come on Argus posters on classroom walls and through cheesy mass media offerings. One of the briefly famed ones was a 1920s poem by dude named Max Ehrmann that became known as the "Desiderata." One of the pieces of advice he left off it was "always use your copyright notice on your work," so it dropped into public domain and, by my time, got turned into a one-hit wonder single by a dude named Les Crane. You can youtube it, but that's not the advice I'm giving.

That's from the National Lampoon riff on it from their pre-film glory days, called "Deteriorata." A moderately famous voice actor named Norman Rose read it, but future bigger stars Melissa Manchester and Christopher Guest were also on the track. Les Crane ultimately admitted he liked the spoof better.

If confined to one line of advice, I almost always go with the third sentence. (Which is stupid now, because my car has different size tires on the front and back and I can't rotate them.)

Go placidly amidst the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep. Rotate your tires. Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself; and heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys. Know what to kiss - and when. Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do. Wherever possible, put people on hold. Be comforted, that in the face of all irridity and disillusionment, and despite the changing fortunes of time, there is always a big future in computer maintenance.

(You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
Whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back.)

Remember the Pueblo. Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle, and mutilate. Know yourself. If you need help, call the FBI. Exercise caution in your daily affairs, especially with those persons closest to you... That lemon on your left, for instance. Be assured that a walk through the seas of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet. Fall not in love, therefore, it will stick to your face. Gracefully surrender the things of youth: the birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan - and let not the sands of time get in your lunch. Hire people with hooks. For a good time, call 606-4311, ask for Ken. Take heart in the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese. And reflect that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be worse in Milwaukee.

(You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
Whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back.)

Therefore, make peace with your god, whatever you perceive him to be: hairy thunderer or cosmic muffin. With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate. GIVE UP!

(You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
Whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back.)