Timmah!

Oui, mon bon ami; depui trente ans. Regardez mon nouveau jouet! =D J'aime m'occuper de mes amis. =)

It's part of a wider strategy: Get the Ukrainian government to agree to the Minsk protocol-recognizing the pro-russian puppet governments & 'autonomy' of Donbass from Ukraine-which will lead to mass protests by the Ukrainian people; then initiate a false flag attack on the seat of government in Kyiv by russian forces; then send in regular forces to 'save' & occupy the Capitol. He's tried this twice already in the past 20 years or so. Then partition the country....he's hoping 3rd time's a charm.

Invading a country & occupying it are two different things; Putin's popularity will quickly plummet as guerilla warfare will start sending Russian sons home to their mothers. And all Russia is nowadays is basically a gas station; if he can't sell it, the economy further plummets. 2/3 of its exports are petroleum related. Most he seems to be aiming for is a door-in-the-face ploy; where he threatens the capitol & then offers to withdraw to the Donbas....or so it would seem.

Yeah, we still have the northern shale fields; more expensive, but still there if we need it.

No; THAT is wishful thinking.

Nice! ...my neighbor, she had some very nice 'hot cross' buns.

...wouldn't you like to be a prepper too?' It was called The Boy Scouts back in my day; anyhoo... prime fishing season is shortly upon us & one will need appropriate beverages to slake one's- & one's friends'- thirst on those long summer days & evenings to come. Thank you Boy Scouts! Be Prepared!

Lol, busy week.

Unfortunately, it's relevant again...always will be, considering human nature...well probably always will be.

Yeah, Russia's been killing & oppressing the Ukrainians for over a millennium...when Puto claims they're one people with them, nothing could be further from the truth, the russian co-mingling in eastern lands is a result of murder and forced colonial occupation for their natural resources. If their land was shitty, he, Stalin, Catherine the great wouldn't be so interested in killing & stealing over the centuries to take it from the Ukrainians.

My buddy's allergies are gone, & the air smells so much cleaner. Only $55, fan included. Sealed the bottom of the cube with a square of cardboard.

https://youtu.be/pekBo-ynIhI

Heynow!

Heynow!! Benvenuto, amico.

Heirloom Tomatoes are one of my long-time passions...they're fucking SPECTACULAR!

I log all variables when working a new system, to dial it in....will include pics. I've got 75 heirloom tomato seed varieties from as far back as 2010 that I need to propagate to get fresh seeds...so there will be plenty of pics over the coming months...

These guys make short work of spoiled produce...they're processing 5-8 ounces/day if I keep bedding in optimal temp & moisture levels. So Mr. tomato will become earthworm castings....& return in a couple months as...another tomato! =D.

Thing is, this is nothing new; faaar from it; Russia has been waging a campaign of aggression, oppression & ethnic cleansing against Ukraine for about 1,000 years. This includes Catherine The Great shipping Russians to Ukraine, ordering the Russian language taught, banning the Ukraine language in Ukraine... then Stalin relocating Tatars, replacing them with Russians & even going so far as to engineer a famine to kill Ukranians in the region to make room for the transplanted Russians. It's no wonder the vast majority of Ukranians see Russia for what it is & has been for centuries: a murderous state bent on eliminating & assimilating the Ukrainian People & their culture. Putin's like the fucking Borg from the Star Trek franchise.

That itty-bitty peppercorn looks like a GIANT

Baby carrots, fresh celery & snow peas will be featuring in my Chicken Pot Pies slated for creation today.

Proper equipment-especially thermometers-in-concert with Maillard & Umami food pairings makes for next-level gnoshing. Civilizations across time & history have discovered natural Umami pairings without knowing the principle. With that knowledge, one can purposely enhance a meal's flavor. Examples would be: Pork + cabbage, green tea & salmon (the flavor sources don't have to be food, they can include drink, etc. for completion of the pairing), Spaghetti sauce + Parmesan cheese... Here's one helpful site to explain Umami pairings & how easily you can incorporate the principle into your cooking. Could be as simple as sauteeing some garlic &/or onions with maybe a nice reduction with soy sauce for an Umami bomb. Many people use these pairings without knowing why they taste good & how to expand that principle to all their cooking, whenever they choose. It's more than worth the 15 minutes' reading to acquire this ability: https://www.foodpairing.com/umami-as-the-fifth-taste/

Simple is usually better in any context or endeavour. Ever since learning about the Maillard Process years ago, I apply it wherever possible -to include toast. That knowledge & a laser thermometer & probe thermometer has me zapping & probing everything, including toast. The sweet spot being ~350f; nothing much happening below 250F. This goes for steaks, coffee, whatever has some protein + a little sugar; you can baste proteinaceous-dominant foods with a modest sugar solution to facilitate/enhance the Maillard reaction. This was a toasted sammich with Black Forest Ham, freshly-cracked black pepper, Pepperjack Cheese, Kosher Salt & a shmear of Hellmann's. Always found cutting a sandwich into strips makes for easier face-stuffing. First few times, I zap the toast with the laser thermometer to get a visual & olfactive sense of what 350F looks/smells like on toast, in this toaster; then note the time & accordingly set toaster's doneness setting; then-on-out, just toss the bread in & let it do its job. This concludes my sammich TED Talk.

This Galaxy S10+ takes remarkably nice pics...& even nicer video when paired with my Osmo Mobile 3 gimbal: