#food processor price

[glenindia22]

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[wallabywannabe]

Whatever is triggering my inflammation I don't know, but at this point it seems inflammation is the source of my headache in some way. So I did a bit of a dive into supplements and discovered I probably have not been getting ideal amounts of the best anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids for years because of my vegetarian, and let's be honest, not always nutrtionally complete, diet. So I started fish oil supplement but I also ordered a vegan one made from algae.

There was a supplement called sulforaphane that seemed really great for inflammation, but it's really hard to keep in its active form and was expensive enough that instead my next project is going to be figuring out how to like raw broccoli because apparently it's full of it.

[reasonsforhope]

"A 9th grader from Snellville, Georgia, has won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, after inventing a handheld device designed to detect pesticide residues on produce.

Sirish Subash set himself apart with his AI-based sensor to win the grand prize of $25,000 cash and the prestigious title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.”

Like most inventors, Sirish was intrigued with curiosity and a simple question. His mother always insisted that he wash the fruit before eating it, and the boy wondered if the preventative action actually did any good.

He learned that 70% of produce items contain pesticide residues that are linked to possible health problems like cancer and Alzheimer’s—and washing only removes part of the contamination.

“If we could detect them, we could avoid consuming them, and reduce the risk of those health issues.”

His device, called PestiSCAND, employs spectrophotometry, which involves measuring the light that is reflected off the surface of fruits and vegetables. In his experiments he tested over 12,000 samples of apples, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes. Different materials reflect and absorb different wavelengths of light, and PestiSCAND can look for the specific wavelengths related to the pesticide residues.

After scanning the food, PestiSCAND uses an AI machine learning model to analyze the lightwaves to determine the presence of pesticides. With its sensor and processor, the prototype achieved a detection accuracy rate of greater than 85%, meeting the project’s objectives for effectiveness and speed.

Sirish plans to continue working on the prototype with a price-point goal of just $20 per device, and hopes to get it to market by the time he starts college." [Note: That's in 4 years.]

-via Good News Network, October 27, 2024

[allidrawscomics]

I'm sick of being called a "consumer."

There's a scene in the beginning of It where the clown keeps trying to convince the boy to take the paper boat from him. When the boy takes the bait he gets grabbed. I'm that kid and I have no choice but to take the dumb paper boat from these clown ass companies who call me a "consumer." The word 'consumer' sounds like I'm eating their product. I'm using it up all at once the way a fire consumes something. They only need me to take it. They don't care about building a relationship with me as a customer. They don't take pride in providing a product worth buying because the product's quality does not reflect on any one person's work ethic or reputation. It's ok if people hate a company with a revolving door of employees. A CEO can always get hired someplace else. If people don't want to do business with a company the company might find ways around that. Oh you don't want to shop for your groceries at the only grocery store in your food desert? Lol. You don't want to ride in a Boeing plane and you even picked out your flight to avoid one? The airline can just switch planes and they've likely overbooked the flight anyway so it would honestly be more convenient for them if you didn't want to use that ticket you've already paid for. Cable and internet providers will make deals with apartment complexes for exclusivity. You bought tools from Sears because of the lifetime warranty on what your dad told you was a quality brand but they moved manufacturing to China with cheap parts years ago and you will be getting that same ratchet replaced over and over with ratchets that are really just the refurbished ones brought in broken from other customers. I can't opt out of the economy. I don't really go anywhere or do anything. I stay home and draw on outdated software with old equipment and listen to Youtube video essays and read webcomics and try to learn languages with freely available tools. I like paying creators directly when I like their work. But even then, I can't opt out of dealing with puritanical payment processors or social media companies that let AI scrapers ravage my work and the work of all the creators I adore before we even get a we-totally-promise-not-to toggle. We're out here getting eaten alive by a system that has stopped shaming us for "killing" industries that priced us out because they found new ways to exploit us.

We're not the consumers, you fuckers are.

[najia-cooks]

[ID: Seven yoghurt balls on a plate drizzled with olive oil. The one in the center is plain; the others are covered in mint, toasted sesame seeds, ground sumac, za'tar, crushed red chili pepper, and nigella seeds. End ID]

لبنة نباتية / Labna nabatia (Vegan labna)

Labna (with diacritics: "لَبْنَة"; in Levantine pronunciation sometimes "لَبَنَة" "labanay") is a Levantine cow's, sheep's, or goat's milk yoghurt that has been strained to remove the whey and leave the curd, giving it a taste and texture in between those of a thick, tart sour cream and a soft cheese. The removal of whey, in addition to increasing the yoghurt's tanginess and pungency, makes it easier to preserve: it will keep in burlap or cheesecloth for some time without refrigeration, and may be preserved for even longer by rolling it into balls and submerging the balls in olive oil. Labna stored in this way is called "لبنة كُر��ات" ("labna kurāt") or "لبنة طابات" ("labna ṭābāt"), "labna balls." Labna may be spread on a plate, topped with olive oil and herbs, and eaten as a dip for breakfast or an appetizer; or spread on kmaj bread alongside herbs, olives, and dates to make sandwiches.

The word "labna" comes from the Arabic root ل ب ن (l b n), which derives from a Proto-West-Semitic term meaning "white," and produces words relating to milk, yoghurt, nursing, and chewing. The related term "لَبَن" ("laban"; also transliterated "leban") refers to milk in Standard Arabic, but in Levantine Arabic is more likely to refer to yoghurt; a speaker may specify "لَبَن رَائِب‎" (laban rā'ib), "curdled milk," to avoid confusion.

Labna is a much-beloved food in Palestine, with some people asserting that no Palestinian home is without a jar. Making labna tabat is, for many, a necessary preparation for the winter season. However, by the mid-2010s, the continuation of Israel's blockade of the Gaza strip, as well as Israeli military violence, had severely weakened Gaza's dairy industry to the point where almost no labna was being produced. Most of the 11 dairy processors active in Gaza in 2017 (down from 15 in 2016) only produced white cheese—though Mustafa Eid's company Khalij had recently expanded production to other forms of dairy that could be made locally with limited equipment, such as labna, yoghurt, and buttermilk.

Dairy farmers and processors pushed for this kind of innovation and self-sufficiency against deep economic disadvantage. With large swathes of Gaza's arable land rendered unusable by Israeli border policing and land mines, about 90% of farmers were forced by scarce pasture land and low fodder production to feed their herds with increasingly expensive fodder imported from Israel—dairy farmers surveyed in 2017 spent an estimated 87% of their income on fodder, which had doubled in price since 2007. Cattle were thus fed with low quantities of, or low-quality, fodder, resulting in lower milk production and lower-quality milk.

Most dairy processors were also unable to access or afford the equipment necessary to maintain, upgrade, or diversify their factories. Since 2007, Israel has tightly restricted entry into Gaza of items which they consider to have a "dual use": i.e., a potential civilian and military function. This includes medical equipment, construction materials, and agricultural equipment and machinery, and impacts everything from laboratory equipment to ensure safe food supplies to packaging and labelling equipment. Of the dairy products that Gazan farmers and processors do manage to produce, Israel's control over their export can cause huge financial losses—as when Israel prohibited the export of Palestinian dairy and meat to East Jerusalem without warning in March of 2020, costing estimated annual losses of 300 million USD.

In addition to this kind of economic manipulation, direct military violence threatens Gaza's dairy industry. Mamoun Dalloul says that his factory was accused of holding rockets and subsequently bombed in 2008, 2010, 2012, and again in 2014, resulting in repeated moves and the loss of the capability to produce yellow cheese. The Israeli military partially or totally destroyed 10 dairy processing factories, and killed almost 2,000 cows, during its 2014 invasion of Gaza, resulting in an estimated 43 million USD of damage to the dairy sector alone. Damage to cow-breeding farms in 2014 reduced the number of dairy cows to 2,600, just over half their previous number. Damage to, or destruction of, wells, water reservoirs, water tanks, and the Gaza Power Plant's fuel tank exacerbated pre-existing problems with producing cattle feed and with the transportation, processing, and refrigeration of dairy products, leading to spoiled milk that had to be disposed of. Repeated offensives made dairy processors reluctant to re-invest in equipment that could be destroyed at any time.

Israeli industry profits by making Gazan self-sufficiency untenable. Israeli goods entering Palestine are not subject to import taxes, and Israeli dairy companies are not dealing with the contaminated water, limited electricity, high costs of feed, out-of-date and expensive-to-repair equipment, and scarce land (some companies, such as Tnuva, purchase milk from farms on illegal settlements in the West Bank) with which Gazan producers must contend. The result is that the local market in Gaza is flooded with imports that are cheaper, more diverse, and of higher quality than anything that local producers can offer. Many consumers believe that Israeli products are safer to eat.

Nevertheless, Gazans continue building and rebuilding. Despite significant decreases in ice cream factories' production after the imposition of Israel's blockade in 2007, Abu Mohammad noted in 2015 that locally produced ice cream was cheaper and more varied than Israeli imports. In 2017, the amount of dairy sold in 74 shops in Gaza that was sourced locally, rather than from Israel, had increased from 10% to 60%. Ayadi Tayyiba, the region's first factory with an all-woman staff, opened in 2022; it produced cheese, yoghurt, and labna with sheep's milk from affiliated farms. However, demand for sheep's milk products has decreased in Gaza due to its higher production costs, leading the factory to supplement its supply with purchased cow's milk.

The current Israeli genocidal offensive on Gaza has caused damage of the same kind as—though to a greater extent than—previous shellings and invasions. Lack of ability to sell milk that had already been produced to factories, as well as lack of access to electricity, caused an estimated 35,000 liters of milk to spoil daily in October of 2023.

Support Palestinian resistance by calling Elbit System’s (Israel’s primary weapons manufacturer) landlord, donating to Palestine Legal's activist defense fund, and donating to Palestine Action’s bail fund.

Equipment:

A blender

A kettle or pot, to boil water

A cheesecloth or tea towel

Ingredients:

1 cup (130g) cashews (soaked, if your blender is not high-speed)

3/4 cup filtered or distilled water, boiled

1-3 vegetarian probiotic capsules (containing at least 10 billion cultures total)

A few pinches sea salt

More water, to boil

Arabic-language recipes for vegan labna use bulghur, almonds, or cashews as their base. This recipe uses cashew to achieve a smooth, creamy, non-crumbly texture, and a mild taste like that of cow's milk labna. You might try replacing half the cashews with blanched almonds for a flavor more similar to that of sheep's or goat's cheese.

Make sure your probiotic capsules contain no prebiotics, as they can interfere with the culture. The probiotic may be multi-strain, but should contain some of: Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium bifidus, Lactobacillus acidophilus. The number of capsules you need will depend on how many cultures each capsule is guaranteed to contain.

Instead of probiotic capsules, you can use a speciality starter culture pack intended for use in culturing vegan dairy, many of which are available online. Note that starter cultures may be packaged with small amounts of powdered milk for the bacteria to feed on, and may not be truly vegan.

If you want a mustier, goat-ier taste to your labna, try replacing the water with rejuvelac made with wheat berries.

You can also start a culture by using any other product with active cultures, such as a spoonful of vegan cultured yoghurt. If you have a lot of cultured yoghurt, you can just skip to straining that directly (step 5) to make your labna—though you won't be able to control how tangy the labna is that way.

Instructions:

This recipe works by blending together cashews and water into a smooth, creamy spread, then culturing it into yoghurt, and then straining it (the way yoghurt is strained to make labna). It's possible that you could skip the straining step by adding more cashews, or less water, to the yoghurt to obtain a thicker texture, but I have not tested the recipe this way.

1. If your blender is not high-speed, you will need to soak your cashews to soften them. Soak in filtered or distilled water for 2-4 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge. Rinse them off with just-boiled water.

2. Boil several cups of water and use the just-boiled water to rinse your blender, tamper, measuring cups, the bowl you will ferment your yoghurt in, and a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir. Your bowl and stirring implement should be in a non-reactive material such as wood, clay, glass, or silicone.

3. Make the yoghurt. Blend cashews with 3/4 cup just-boiled water for a couple of minutes until very smooth. Transfer to your bowl and allow to cool to about skin temperature (it should feel slightly warm if dabbed on the inside of your wrist). If the mixture is too hot, it may kill the bacteria.

4. Culture the yoghurt. Open the probiotic capsules and stir the powder into the cashew paste. Cover the bowl with a cheesecloth or tea towel. Ferment for 24 hours: on the countertop in summer, or in an oven with the light on in winter.

Taste the yoghurt with a clean implement (avoid double-dipping!). Continue fermenting for another 12-24 hours, depending on how tangy you want your labna to be. A skin forming on top of the yoghurt is no problem and can be mixed back in. Discard any yoghurt that grows mold of any kind.

5. Strain the yoghurt to make labna. Place a mesh strainer in a bowl, making sure there's enough room beneath the strainer for liquid to collect at the bottom of the bowl; line the strainer with cheesecloth or a tea towel, and scoop the cultured yoghurt in. Sprinkle salt over top of the yoghurt. Fold the towel or cheesecloth back over the yoghurt, and add a small weight, such as a ceramic plate or a can of beans, on top.

You can also tie the cheesecloth into a bag around a wooden spoon and place the wooden spoon across the rim of a pitcher or other tall container to collect the whey. The draining may occur less quickly without the weight, though.

Strain in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours, depending on the desired texture. I ended up draining about 2 Tbsp of whey.

6. If not making labna balls: Put in an airtight jar, and add just enough olive oil to cover the surface of the labna. Store in the fridge for up to two months.

7. To form balls (optional): Oil your hands to form the labna into small balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They may still be quite soft.

Optionally sprinkle with, or roll in, dried mint, za'tar, sesame seeds, nigella seeds (القزحة), ground sumac, or crushed red chili pepper, as desired.

Optionally, for firmer balls, lightly cover with another layer of parchment paper and then a kitchen towel, and leave in the refrigerator to dry for about a day.

Place labna balls in a clean glass jar and add olive oil to cover. Retrieve labna from the jar with a clean implement. They will last in the fridge for about a year.

[goodstuffhappenedtoday]

Millions of U.S. apples were almost left to rot. Now, they'll go to hungry families

NOVEMBER 27, 2023 By Alan Jinich

It's getting late in the harvest season in Berkeley County, West Virginia and Carla Kitchen's team is in the process of hand-picking nearly half a million pounds of apples. In a normal year, Kitchen would sell to processors like Andros that make applesauce, concentrate, and other products. But this year they turned her away. ... Across the country, growers were left without a market. Due to an oversupply carried over from last year's harvest, growers were faced with a game-time economic decision: Should they pay the labor to harvest, crossing their fingers for a buyer to come along, or simply leave the apples to rot?

Bumper crops, export declines and the weather have contributed to the apple crisis

... While many growers in neighboring states like Maryland and Virginia left their apples to drop. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was able to convince the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pay for the apples produced by growers in his state, which only makes up 1% of the national market.

A relief program in West Virginia donated its surplus apples to hunger-fighting charities

This apple relief program, covered under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935, purchased $10 million worth of apples from a dozen West Virginia growers. Those apples were then donated to hunger-fighting charities across the country from South Carolina and Michigan all the way out to The Navajo Nation.

Mike Meyer, head of advocacy at The Farmlink Project, says it's the largest food rescue they've ever done and they hope it can serve as a model for their future missions. "There's over 100 billion pounds of produce waste in this country every year; we only need seven billion to drive food insecurity to zero," Meyer says. "We're very happy to have this opportunity. We get to support farmers, we get to fight hunger with an apple. It's one of the most nutritional items we can get into the hands of the food insecure."

At Timber Ridge Fruit Farm in Virginia, owners Cordell and Kim Watt watch a truck from The Farmlink Project load up on their apples before driving out to a food pantry in Bethesda, Md. Despite being headquartered in Virginia, Timber Ridge was able to participate in the apple rescue since they own orchards in West Virginia as well. Cordell is a third-generation grower here and he says they've never had to deal with a surplus this large.

At the So What Else food pantry in Bethesda, Md., apple pallets from Timber Ridge fill the warehouse up to the ceiling. Emanuel Ibanez and other volunteers are picking through the crates, bagging fresh apples into family-sized loads. "I'm just bewildered," Ibanez says. "We have a warehouse full of apples and I can barely walk through it." "People in need got nutritious food out of this program. And that's the most important thing" Executive director Megan Joe says this is the largest shipment of produce they've ever distributed – 10 truckloads over the span of three weeks. The food pantry typically serves 6,000 families, but this shipment has reached a much wider circle. "My coworkers are like, 'Megan, do we really need this many?' And I'm like, yes!" Joe says. "The growing prices in the grocery stores are really tough for a lot of families. And it's honestly gotten worse since COVID."

"It's the first time we've done this type of program, but we believe it can set the stage for the region," Kent Leonhardt, West Virginia's commissioner of agriculture says. "People in need got nutritious food out of this program. And that's the most important thing." Following West Virginia's rescue program, the USDA announced an additional $100 million purchase to relieve the apple surplus in other states around the country. This is the largest government buy of apples and apple products to date. But with the harvest window coming to an end, many growers have already left their apples to drop and rot.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

As Canadians battle sky-high grocery prices and a soaring cost of living, the Government of Canada is working on an action plan to stabilize rising food costs. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, shared that he met with five major Canadian grocery chains and domestic and international food processors to plan ways to decrease food prices. "The cost of groceries has risen drastically over the past years, and Canadians are struggling to put food on their tables," said Minister Champagne.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[spilledkaleidoscope]

Kim Skill's Drabble for the Anon who prompted me with writing the skills in an everyday situation.

(very heavy on the skills but I guess that was the point of these lol

(Spoilers for A Cracked Foundation obviously)

Kim pushed his glasses up for what felt like the hundredth time since he entered the store. While it was hot outside as well, there was a slight breeze there, which couldn’t be said about the crowded spaces between the rows of tall, stuffed cabinets.

SURVIVOR - A fire hazard.

Between the humid heat and the constant noise around him, Kim couldn’t wait to leave.

He maneuvered himself into a corner to check his grocery list and was satisfied to see every item in his basket. The cloying smell of artificial fruit aromas made him look to his side where he found a row of big glass jars containing various sweets. The condensation had rendered them slightly foggy.

VICE - Oh fuck yeah!!

Kim couldn’t help but sigh.

It’s not on the list, so I’m not getting it, he shot back and dropped his notebook in the basket for emphasis.

VICE - Then put it on the fucking list? Who cares! They have honey gummies, Kim!!

PROCESSOR - Even just a handful of these confections contain about a fourth of the recommended daily intake of sugar. The ratio between nutrients and price is unsatisfactory.

CONNECTION - Sometimes food can be about memories instead of sustenance.

CONTROL - I’m not a child. Besides, what’s the point of implementing a rule if you are going to break it for something so trivial.

Kim bit the inside of his cheek and wondered if this was something he could ever get used to - mundane everyday tasks turning into discussions inside his head that would divert his attention. Of course, this happened here and there when he was on duty as well, but not nearly as frequently as on his days off.

GEARHEAD - Naturally. After all, work requires you to focus.

CONNECTION - Every part of you.

VICE - Oh my god now you’re just thinking about work?! Fucking- Dolores Dei’s Dick, I wish I was able to scream.

Kim blinked.

CONTROL - What was that?

VICE - You heard me.

CONNECTION - You shouldn’t say that…

VICE - Yeah and you should maybe back me up a bit?!

CONNECTION - But I did-

CONTROL - Unimportant. You’re not saying that again.

RHETORIC - Why? It’s a nice alliteration. 

I would really appreciate it, if I could concentrate on finishing up here instead of whatever this is supposed to be. I’m not going to have this slip me while interacting with the cashier.

VICE - You mean “Dolores Dei’s Dick”?

CONTROL - This is not happening.

RHETORIC - I don’t understand the problem. She could have had one.

PROCESSOR - The nature of Dolores Dei’s genitals has not been recorded.

CONNECTION - Can you stop? This is very disrespectful.

VICE - I’ll stop if Kim gets the gummies.

SURVIVOR - People are starting to give you glances. You are being perceived.

GEARHEAD - Presumably because you’ve been intensely staring into your basket for about three minutes.

RHETORIC - No, let’s talk about it. Why would it be disrespectful? Are you trans-phobic?

CONNECTION - Wha- of course not?!

CONTROL - And again I’m arguing with my own brain. Unbelievable.

Maybe I should just leave my basket, leave the store and walk into the Pale, Kim thought as he frowned at a box of flour. Except that in his (and every other human being's) experience, that might make things worse. 

PROCESSOR - You could walk into the ocean instead.

VICE - Dolores Dei’s Dick Dolores Dei’s Dick Dolores-

CONTROL - ENOUGH.

A sharp pain shot through Kim’s forehead, so sudden that he almost swung his basket into the glass containers next to him.

CORPUS - Psychosomatic. Unfair.

“Everything alright?”

Kim almost jumped. For a man of his size and the penchant to dress like a peacock, Harry could be surprisingly quiet. Maybe it was the hustle and bustle of the crowd around them that had hidden his approach.

SURVIVOR - Apologies. 

Kim answered with a wave of his hand, making the wicker basket at his elbow creak.

“Just a headache.”

Harry knitted his fingers into the handles of his tote bag thoughtfully and cocked his head to the side, eyes fixed on Kim’s. The lieutenant raised one of his eyebrows in response.

“Don’t. We talked about this.”

“Huh? Oh- I..I wasn’t going to, I was just..uhm.”

“Hm. Maybe we should pay and leave, that should give you time to come up with an excuse.”

His glance wandered towards Harry’s tote before he could stop himself. Harry’s expression switched from sheepish to defensive.

“No booze,” Harry said quickly and opened the bag for Kim to see.

VICE - OH HEY!

“I didn’t know you liked those.” Kim pointed at the honey gummies.Harry shrugged. “I don’t think I’ve had them before, I just kinda thought you might like them.”

[mehavethoughts]

Tips For People Whose Families Won't Stop Violating Boycott Guidelines

Obviously, some of us are financially dependent on family. As someone who's been navigating this scenario for a while, here are some tips I've been using to try to avoid contributing.

-Request store brand food items only, or items you specifically know don't violate boycott guidelines

-Refuse to eat/use anything that does. If it is safe to do so, make clear your reasoning is because of those guidelines, and offer alternative products you will use. (For example, instead of Dove soap, propose another brand). This one is key!!! By doing so, you enforce that it is a waste of money to buy those things for you.

-Buy your own things as is possible, if you cannot convince family members to avoid boycott guidelines

-Download the 'No Thanks!' app for use when shopping. It's a great tool that lets you scan barcodes, and if the product is registered in their database as one that is being boycotted, it'll let you know

-Suggest alternatives before the topic comes up. If you're discussing where to order food, for example, try suggesting local restaurants. For this, you can use the insane prices of Doordash and similar locations as your argument, or argue that the food from these establishments is more filling. This is especially helpful for those whose families may not listen to pro-Palestine arguments, or who may be in danger if they show support around family

-When it comes to birthdays, holidays, or other times when you expect you will be given gifts, provide a clear list of things you would like that you have already vetted. If possible, request that people do not go off-list, or that if they do, they use the No Thanks app to be sure the item complies with boycott guidelines. If you receive a gift that does violate these guidelines, return it. I know that sounds harsh, but the point of this is the same as the point of refusing to eat anything you're brought from offending restaurants or grocery stores: if you accept these items anyway, you're sending the message that your stance is optional, and that they can ignore it, which will lead to repeat incidents

-On the birthday/holiday gifts note, consider using thrift stores to your advantage. Give a guideline of things you usually like and ask people to thrift an item for you, especially if that's the sort of thing your friends/family members would like to do. For example, I might ask someone thrift me a nice teapot or some teacups, because I like thrift store finds better than store-bought anyway

-When it comes to electronics, do not buy until your old devices are no longer functional. Then, consider buying refurbished, or avoiding brands that are bad. When it comes to computers, AMD is terrible, but INTEL is worse, so go for an AMD processor. If your charger broke, consider going to a thrift store. I know my local savers often has charger cords for much cheaper, and they do work in my experience. Note that the Salvation Army is incredibly queerphobic and should not be used as an alternative to corrupt businesses, as it is one itself

-Request, if possible, items not be purchased for you using Amazon. A great way to avoid this is to, when preparing lists for holidays, birthdays, etc., give online purchase links from places other than Amazon. This is especially effective if you pick things from small businesses with no Amazon-equivalent, such as pieces from small artists, because it means they can't find a cheaper price on Amazon

Note that this guide was designed based off my personal experiences with a mother who does not care about Palestine, and refuses to boycott. I am using these methods myself because they are the only way I can avoid putting money into the wrong hands as a person who is financially dependent on family.

If they seem hand-holdy or overbearing, that is because they need to be. I am prioritizing not sending money to the Israeli apartheid regime above the comfort of myself and my family, because lives are more important than a few awkward conversations or coming off as ungrateful.

I also recognize that not everyone can safely follow these guidelines, especially minors in abusive situations. That is why I presented some non-Palestine related arguments in these suggestions, like Doordashing McDonalds being more expensive than getting food from a small pizza joint for less filling items, or thrift store items being preferable on a personal note.

If you can't argue for Palestine, it still means a lot to simply avoid these businesses using whatever means necessary.

[debonairrose]

thermodynamics and our insanity.

A* (A-Star) Pathfinding Algorithm

i think that everything in the universe is taking the path of least resistance. well, not really- i don't believe that our consciousness is the sole product of our minds i think we're more than this. i think people have souls, they can be kind towards strangers even though for a fact in some cases we know that we're not getting any benefit back out of it. it might even cost us yet we still choose to help others.

i think our actions are highly deterministic, but not fully. we can go with the flow of life or we can be bothered about something and make a change. make a choice that doesn't make sense, put more effort than what's it worth.

even our computer algorithms are just slaves to thermodynamics, we frown upon using programs that "lag" or are slow, we find faster alternatives or we abandon the program altogether. we try to organize concepts and thoughts as efficient algorithms that run on these processors. even the processors themselves, when they get faster, they're not really "getting faster"- they're just using the same amount of electricity more efficiently.

in essence, everything is converging towards the least amount of effort, the shortest path.

human societies also converge towards the path of least resistance, in the form of: road networks, social networks, internet routing hubs, government procedures, data collection and privacy, ads, fuel economy, google search,,, etc.

we do things that are useless in terms of reproduction and thermodynamics. if we're strictly machines whose purpose is to reproduce and slow down entropy as much as possible, then most of what we do doesn't make sense and violates this assumption.

i think we're more than that. i think we can accelerate entropy and give a big middle finger to thermodynamics, a big fuck you to the laws of physics despite being completely slaves to them.

please slow down and try to open up the images and gifs and admire them one by one. some images contain "alt" description which can be viewed by hovering a mouse over the images on a computer. what's the hurry for?

i think nature is lazy and it's just following the same recipe whenever it can. it feels fractal, it's always converging to the same boring and eloquent solution. it's obsessed with the least resistance path.

what about food, and over consumption? how people choose cheap sugar filled food and drinks? social relationships? the steps you take in order to be attractive to others? the amount of exploration you need in order to pick a movie to watch? war? the forming of stars? the shape of planets? the separation in their orbits? daily traffic? the taste of ice cream? what makes you laugh at a joke? the shape of cities? language?

all these concepts are in their own fucking universes and have their "whatever-the-fuck-x-dimension" problem space.

and all these pretty patterns that we just saw are only patterns we could recognize. but our minds are too simple to recognize patterns that hide in high dimensional spaces. but they're still there, they're probably even prettier, it's lost beauty that we cannot see or even think of.

all these patterns that we're recognizing are there only because our brains are optimized to recognize things in 3d space. ok... what about higher dimensional spaces? 4? 6? 1337 dimensions? i'm not talking spacetime dimensions, i'm talking about all concepts, prices, star formation, molecular chemistry, fuel prices, the rate of foreign words infiltrating a language. they're all still canvases for "shortest pathways" to emerge, even if it doesn't look straight to your naked eye, in a higher dimension they're the shortest path.

let me demonstrate an example, suppose you wanna travel from the U.S. to Spain, the shortest path would be a line right?

well it depends, where is this line? in what dimension? can the line be "curved"? are there any obstacles on the way?

in this case, you warped and deformed a 3-dimensional sphere surface onto a 2d rectangle, do you really think you're going to maintain information without deformation? absolutely not, and that's why on the rectangular map view on the left, the shortest path isn't the red straight line, it's the blue curved path, which is counter intuitive for a person used to walking from point A to point B in a straight path.

well, the same concept applies to our reality, our perception of it is limited and deformed, it's not real. that's why things may seem chaotic, illogical or inefficient.

in our physical reality the actual shortest path would be going through the fucking earth, piercing it, but i don't think that this is the most efficient path for an airplane to take.

just like how a person chooses to abandon easy sugar and junk food even though it's more effort to eat healthily, when including more dimensions into the bigger picture, suddenly you find it's more "efficient" and more of a "lesser curved path" to just put more effort and willpower into eating more healthy, you live longer, you are happier because you have a higher quality life.

now you might ask, since this is the most efficient path, why aren't most people taking it? well, you see... you can't take a path if there's a big ass rock blocking it. we're so hardwired into consuming as many calories as we can for the sake of surviving the bad days. but nature isn't perfect on its own. it didn't set for us a "max limit", it didn't account for the imbalance that our brains would do as a consequence of efficient farming and food production. so we had to rely on our brains in order to build a bridge over that rock sitting over the most efficient path. ( you can say that i'm wrong and our brains built that bridge, we're still a part of nature- well fuck off :3 ).

there's a person who's alive right now, who's aware of the passage of time and how brief everything is. i love this person. i love this person from the entirety of my soul. my soul is not a slave to the universe, my soul will outlive it, my soul is illogical and rebellious. i don't want the shortest path, i don't want the least effort path. i want to live, and i want to suffer, and i want to experience everything with this person. i want to be present, i want to be in the moment.

sometimes i'm scared.

i'm scared of happy moments slipping away from my fingers. and in my fear, i try to save everything, write everything and record it all. i want proof that it was all real. this however, is a distraction from being in the moment, and i think there's a balance between writing everything down and letting everything pass as if i don't really care. and right now this balance is yet to be found by me.

sometimes i'm scared of forgetting.

but that's how we are. we're logarithmic creatures. our bodies are slaves to thermodynamics, our brains too. just like a CPU, they don't have infinite memory nor infinite thinking capacity. having that would be very expensive. our brains are captive to the same rules. we can't remember everything.

people who say that forgetting is a bless are just coping. they're high on copium. embracing forgetfulness is just fake existence. it's incomplete. our brains and senses are slaves to mathematical power law. we remember and forget following a power law rate.

but, there's a secretly beautiful thing about forgetting. it's remembering things again. or, at the bare minimum, being told about things you've lived through with someone else. revisiting a story from a perspective that isn't yours. seeing things from the eyes of someone else, i think that's beautiful.

the reason we can't remember everything is solely because of thermodynamics, memory costs extra neurons, extra connections, more chemical reactions. and at some point adding more becomes just extra baggage to the system and isn't really a net positive due to the limitation imposed by chemical reaction speeds in the brain. information flow within the brain is just limited by reaction speeds. just like how we can't increase a CPU's clock cycles beyond 10Ghz because of excess heat, the few extra cycles become extra baggage due to the problem of electrical resistance. the more electrical resistance in a wire there is, the more heat it generates. and the more heat is in a system the higher its resistance is.

we're simply forgetting for the exact same reason a CPU is never allowed to work faster even though it can. pure theoretical physics limitations.

showing how simple laws physics determine the "spacing", "size", or "frequency". pay attention to the graph's x and y axis spacing. 1) notice how properties of planets and electrons are following the exact same pattern. 2) on the audio spectrogram on the right; the top graph is incomprehensible because it's linear, if we just change the scaling to logarithmic, your eyes will function like your ears and you will be able to spot details. 3) notice how the CPU wirings (the gray image) exponentially grow due to electrical resistance laws 4) same with animal size vs bone thickness 5) zip's law on word usage frequency in a given language.

this logarithmic nature of the universe is repeating, it's fractal, no matter whether you look inward or outward, the fractal pattern doesn't care about which point in the scale you are. it's following the same behavior. these are entirely separate branches of physics, one of them is planetary and the other is quantum, they operate with different scales and are totally irrelevant in relation to each other in terms of their effect on one another. yet guess what, they're following the same behavior, even though they're weaving their waves on different invisible fabrics of the universe, but the universe is fractal so i guess it doesn't matter.

despite how the entirety of your sensory inputs work logarithmically (non-linearly), because of standard education, people think that the universe operates linearly, one of their mistakes is in the difference between the audio and brightness controls in Linux vs windows. on windows they behave how you expect them to behave, but on Linux, the controls are non-logarithmic (linear) making the use of them very frustrating, most of the brightness slider is just low brightness and then it suddenly exploding in brightness (or volume in the case of an audio slider) in the last portion of it, making it feel imbalanced only because the slider was linear.

the concept of phase criticality is the middle point when complex systems change from one state to the other. like when you pressure water so much and give it enough heat at the same time it becomes both liquid and gas at the same time. there is a theory that the same behavior emerges in complex systems like the brain. the neurons there also follow the same pattern, they can be too "hot"; firing chaotically all the time, people call it a seizure. or too cold; being in a coma. the optimal state is the critical phase state where your brain is at right now as you're reading this post.

and "obviously" in the video, you can see that the state in the middle (critical phase) is fractal. which is consistent for a complex system such as the brain.

that's just another way concepts and patterns are constantly repeating in the universe across different things.. and honestly saying that the universe is fractal or logarithmic becomes meaningless. because you can obviously see that everywhere, it's easy to do so, it's just that people don't use their brain.

and i think it doesn't matter at this point, since that's the default in the universe, but maybe people are obsessed with it because it gives them a sense of value, like they're not stupid or blind and can see. to me right now it feels like they're saying "liquid water can take any shape!" ok. so?

i suggest you watch this video. it's really a roller coaster of ideas and this shit is like brain candy- well, candy for the brain. :3

the 80-20 rule says 80 of things are responsible for 20 percent of things or vice versa. like… 80% of profit can come from 20% of customers. or that 80% of our misery would go away if only we solved 20% of the problems, or that you can learn 20% of a subject to be able to achieve 80% of things. or that 80% of blog interactions come from 20% of reblogs or followers.

so what? what the fuck are you looking for? why are we treating 80-20 as if it's some golden ratio shit, oh don't even get me started on the golden rashitio where people randomly fit a standard spiral png on random images on call it "wow the universe is so beautiful" bro stfu the thing doesn't even fit the image. so what about the million other beautiful things that don't follow that "rule"?

this is confirmation bias. what about all the other ratios? what about all the numbers you aren't looking for, are 80% of your words are made by 20% of your keys on the keyboard? it's really easy to actually just google "letters frequency in english" and run a calculator for 10 seconds (it's a 50-20 ratio). boohoo, the results didn't fit this silly cognitive bias.

and actually wake up. 80% isn't good enough, it's not good enough at all. are you really okay with a fleet of airplanes whose survival rate is 80%? is it okay if your heart surgeon read only 20% of the books he should've read? is it okay if your CPU did 80% of its operation correctly, the whole fucking modern world would fall apart. most things in life are not crucial, but so many things require perfection, fuck the 20% effort 80% results thing, fuck that, it's not the most we can achieve, give me a 900% effort 99% results lifestyle. give me perfection, give me awe, inspire me, give me beauty. i don't want to live in a world filled with inventions that are 80% of what could've been achieved, i want to live in a world filled with fewer things that are a testament to human perfection.

the same applies to my love. i don't want an 80% love, i want perfection, i want it to hurt, i want to suffer because of it, i wanna love for real. i wanna pay for that true love. i wanna remember more. i wanna put more effort, more effort, more more more MORE MORE MORE FUCKING EFFORT. i don't wanna be comfortable i don't wanna be comfortable, i don't need to be comfortable, i don't want comfort, i want something real. i wanna love fully, i wanna deserve that love, i want something so beautiful, and i don't wanna give up so easily, i don't wanna forget beautiful memories due to me succumbing to the fucking universe and physics and power laws and logarithmic tendencies. i want to put my maximum effort. i feel like i'm not doing enough, i am not enough. i can always do more, i can achieve more, i ought to do more, why the fuck put a limit to myself? i can do it. i can perfect my time management and i can achieve what i want i can learn how to balance things in my life.

i can love beautifully.

i'm not a machine, my body is. my soul isn't i'm not a slave to it. my body will die, my soul won't. my soul is insane, illogical and i say fuck you to the universe. even after i die, i give you a big fat middle finger because my soul will rebel against this place.

i don't want least resistance love. i don't accept forgetting even though i will forget a lot. my soul refuses to let go of all the moments we've had together. sometimes i try to cheat by recording everything. but i want to live in the moment, i want to find the balance.

i don't accept being a slave to some shitty power law. i might just be delusional, and i might forget anyway. but i know that i did not accept this and i know that i did put effort and it wasn't the shortest path.

sometimes i'm scared of getting used to things.

but i take nothing for granted, things are always moving and are always changing, i don't want things to be fake or stale. i want everything that is real, even if it's sad. i want my existence to be truthful.

written by: debonairrose.tumblr.com

as a gift to @lusi-1 (i hope you like my brain vomit darlingo)

[mykneeshurt]

bestie, may I please request tall 6ft lady x soap 👀 preferably civilian lady x military 🧼 can be smutty

thank you love your mind and talent 🧎���‍♀️

This was literally so cute to write. Of course there’s smut. It’s me. I hope you love it 💕

Warnings - fluff, unprotected sex, p in v

Soap sat on the sofa nervously twiddling his thumbs, he’d never felt so nervous. Tonight was going to be the night he was going to ask you to marry him. You’d been together 4 years, 4 wonderful, fun filled years. As he sat nervously waiting for you to return home he reminisced on the day he first met you.

He was sat in his favourite Italian restaurant with Gaz, Price and Ghost. They’d gone out for a meal to celebrate a mission well done. He was in his own world, until he saw you.

You glided over to their table, to take their order but Soap couldn’t peel his eyes away from your legs. Long, slender, defined. He felt like his eyes were travelling for days until he found your face. A gleaming smile staring back at him.

The team ordered their food with no issues, they were polite, charming even. Until you got to Soap, he ended up tripping over his words and ordering the wrong dish entirely. He thought he blew it, but lucky for him you adored how shy and flustered he got. You slid your number to him when they paid the bill. The rest was history.

Hearing the keys jangle in the door his heart rate sky rocketed. ‘Hi Johnny!’ You chirped as you entered the house you shared. ‘Hey babe! How was work’ he called as you faffed around in the hallway. ‘Was alright, had some absolute arse speak to me like shit though, want to …’ you voice trailed off as you stepped into the living room.

Soap had sprinkled rose petals over the floor, lit candles and lit the open fire. The fire was the selling point for the house, the Victorian style hearth had stolen your heart. ‘Johnny?’ You asked timidly, as you placed your hands over your mouth in shock. He came over to you and slid his arms around your waist. ‘Just wanted to do something nice.’ You placed your hands over his squeezing them gently.

He led you over to the table where a rather impressive dinner sat waiting for you. ‘Did you make all this?’ Tears filled your eyes, utter happiness and shock flowed through you. ‘Yeah, had a fight with the food processor earlier’ he laughed. He’d cooked a simple but delicious pasta dish which left you satisfied. Sipping at your wine you couldn’t stop smiling. ‘I can’t believe all this Johnny. You didn’t have to.’ He cupped your jaw and placed a firm passionate kiss on your lips. ‘I wanted to.’

He brought out dessert which was a rich chocolate cake, he reported he made it. But you had your suspicions. As you finished you cake you noticed Soap becoming more twitchy. Before you could ask what was wrong, he grabbed your hand. ‘You know I love you so much. And I know we’ve spoken about it before. But I feel it’s the right time now.’ Your breath hitched in your throat, tears now free falling down your cheeks. ‘Will you marry me?’

You sobbed, the happiest sob you’ve ever released. Jumping up from the chair you flung your arms around him ‘YES JOHNNY! A thousand times yes!’ Smiling into the kiss the salty taste of your tears pricked at the sides of your mouths.

Picking you up Soap didn’t break the kiss, he walked you over to the sofa and place you gently beneath him. He deepened the kiss, his hands roamed over your body. Desperately trying to touch every part of you. ‘Fuck, I love you Johnny’ you whispered into his neck. ‘I love you’ he replied nipping at your jaw.

He worked his way down your torso, desperately clawing at your skin. He undid your trousers and slid them down to your feet. He looked up at you from the floor, your long legs causing him to go wild. Apart from your lips they were his favourite part of you. He trailed gentle kisses from your ankle to your thigh. You rolled your hips as he placed his lips above your centre. Already dripping from his touch.

‘Johnny, please just fuck me, I wanna feel you.’ His blue eyes looked up at you. Your skin glistening in the glow from the fire, your hair was messy, lips swollen. A picture of pure beauty before him. ‘So needy love’ he whispered into your thigh.

He pulled back and removed his clothes as you pulled down your panties. He placed his forearms next to your head as he lined himself up, hitching your leg over his hip. Slowly he pushed into you, the stretch taking away your breath. You arched your back as you melted into the sofa. ‘Fuck’ he moaned as he felt you around his cock. He set up a pace, which slow, sensual. Now Soap could fuck, but tonight he wants to worship you, make love to you.

You pulled him closer, arms around his neck and nestled into his Mohawk. His breaths filled your ears as he thrusted into your weeping pussy. The way you clenched around him had him seeing stars. You reached down and toyed with your clit, he pulled back slightly to watch you. He loved nothing more that seeing you play with yourself. ‘Just like that, let me see you cum’ he panted. ‘Fuck Johnny, fill me please, I wanna feel you.’

He thrusts increased, harder, faster, deeper. Feeling you clench as you came he threw his head back, finding his own release. He buried his face in your neck, breathing in your scent as he came back down to earth. You toyed with his hair as you whispered sweet nothings to him, your Johnny.

[glenindia22]

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[eclipse-song]

TOTALLY NOT PRESIDENTS CHOICE ROASTED RED PEPPER DIP RECIPE

If there is anyone out there like me who is insane and drinks down a tub of this shit in a day so finds the $5 price tag, then you're in luck because I'm crazy enough to have replicated it at home as close as I possibly could so that I could save money and eat as much as I wanted.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE:

1 red bell pepper (You will be roasting this)

1 cup of mayonnaise

1/2 cup of sour cream

1/4 tsp garlic powder (honestly this is an estimation you can go crazy if you want and eyeball it)

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika

a dash of lemon salt (the back of the package said citric acid which I did not have so I just added a bit of lemon salt and didn't notice a difference)

Appliances:

Food processor of some kind (a blender might also be able to work, I haven't tested that yet), something to roast red peppers with

Instructions:

What you're gonna do now is roast a red pepper. Or buy some. But I roasted one. I tossed that shit in the oven at 450 F with some olive oil and salt and they came back out smelling yummy delicious. Pick your poison on that one, just make sure it's around the equivalent of at least 1 red pepper. Then you are going to toss EVERYTHING into your food processor or blender (if anyone actually tries this then lmk if that works). Blend until smooth and enjoy. That's it. That's all it takes. Eat it with some bread, crackers, pita, whatever you like. Fuck Galen Weston and his expensive ass red pepper dip that tastes so good. You just made more than that 226 g tub has AND you saved a few bucks.

As a note: I would recommend letting the peppers cool a little bit before this step but that's just me. Make sure you also peel the skin off of them if you're roasting them at home.

[fallout4-reacts]

How about companions react to Sole "adopting" a baby deathclaw and basically keeping it like a pet?

To be fully honest, I remember viewing a companion react on this subject (or maybe a meme... don't remember... maybe I just dreamed of...?), but fortunately, I no longer recall the details It's so cute I'm going to do it with joy I hope to be original ans you'll like it

Cait (romanced) : Cait is practicing her fighting skills in the Sanctuary gym. She hears protests on the street but no gunshots, so she continues to punch the punching bag without paying attention. The door opens and closes after a few moments.

"Cait!" exclaimed Sole emphatically. "Remember when you said we could get an animal to fill our space?"

Cait lowers her head, pressing her brow against the training bag. Yes, she recalls the conversation, but Sole appears to have a different memory. Cait had stated that she might be willing to tolerate a stray animal if there was one in need. She turns to her love slowly, a hollow growl rising in her throat to communicate her dissatisfaction... and chokes on her own air.

"What?!"

"Isn't he the cutest little baby in existence?"

"IT'S A DEATHCLAW!"

"It's a tiny little Bibi, and it's all too cute, and I called it Ernest, and Ernest is going to be a cute little trooping companion."

"Ernest is going to eat Dogmeat, then is going to eat Mom, and Mom-who-looks-dumb is going to eat Ernest."

"We're keeping it!"

Cait completely rumbles this time. Sole's tone is devoid of retort, and their gaze is firmly fixed on the former arena combatant. Cait shrugs and sighs.

"You go out hunting for his food."

Codsworth : He'd known Sole for a few weeks before the bombs falls. Since the bombs, he's known Sole for a few months. He is aware that occasionally a ceiling tile is missing. But this time, he is confident that they did not return all the change on their coin.

"Madam/Sir, this is a deathclaw."

"He's a BABY deathclaw, and look at how cute he is!"

"He's cute now, but he'll grow up and become a threat one day."

"Like everything else I raise, what."

Sole's depressing tone causes Codsworth's processor to sink into its truster.

"I will prepare his room," he finally concedes.

Curie (romanced but not for long) : "We're going to call him Ernest!" declares Sole.

"No, Gustave."

"Okay!"

Curie hasn't let go of the adorable roudoudou deathclaw that Sole brought to the clinic. She didn't offer him a single time with her friend under the false pretense of passing examinations to ensure his health. Sole thinks it adorable at first, but after a few hours, they return to the clinic, irritated.

"Can I get my deathclaw back?"

"This is my Deathclaw. And the answer is, of course, no. It turns out that a stable environment is critical at critical stages of a baby's growth, and your life is anything from steady."

"This is MY deathclaw!"

"Not any longer. Gustave belongs to me."

Sole growls impatiently and approaches to retrieve the baby. Curie moves through their path, looking menacing for the first time since being transplanted into the body of a synth (and, to be honest, even before that). Sole is taken aback, but they frown and reach out.

"Okay, enough Curie; it's my baby."

"I said no."

She appears to be determined to die rather than move, with her hands on her hips, and her eyes are as deadly as those of a true deathclaw mother. Sole eventually left, but not before saying, "But I have visitation rights every other weekend!"

"You'll see that with my lawyer!"

Danse : Since their return to the Prydwen, Sole has been odd. They ran straight for the front bridge, their bags bulging to the brim. When they have such of material on them, they usually walk through their dorm and sort out what goes into their personal trunk. Proctor Ingram might have wanted them to visit her, or they might have wanted to sell stuff to Proctor Teagan. When Sole went through the mess with their bag entirely empty, he opted for the second alternative.

"Did you get a good price?"

"It’s not for sale!" Sole instantly defends... They then realize their error. "I mean, sure! Yes, I had a lot of dealings with... um, Teagan."

"Proctor Teagan, Knight. I've told you a thousand times that you're overly comfortable with officials. We have ranks, and you must follow the regulations, even while addressing other Brotherhoods."

"You're correct, Danse. Sorry."

"Paladin Danse."

"Yes, Sir, I'm sorry. I'll be more cautious."

Danse, on the other hand, is suspicious. He thinks Sole is a little too eager to accept criticism, which is not typical of them, and they appear a touch too nervous, even for someone as nervous as they naturally are. And every so often, he observes his subordinate vanish for a bit and return with a scruffy uniform. He chooses to follow them surreptitiously at the end of the seventh absence, even leaving his Power Armor at his quarters so as not to betray himself. He is taken aback by what he discovers. Sole holds a baby deathclaw captive beneath the bridge, concealed behind containers. He cannot overlook this blunder.

"Knight! What are you thinking? Please explain yourself as soon as possible before I report you!"

Sole turns as pale as a sheet, keeping themself in front of the little creature, who appears to be oblivious to what is going on, busy grinding her teeth on a piece of leather armor.

"It's not what you think! Ok, it's exactly what you're thinking, but Danse! I implore you—

"Paladin Danse! Know, soldier, that this kind of...initiative is strictly prohibited in our ranks, and that this thing must be handed over to the authorities immediately in order to put an end to its existence—

"Not Ernest!  Please, no!"

"Ernest?"

The little lizard raises its head and fixes its scaly glare on the paladin, seemingly aware of its presence. He approaches him awkwardly on his hind legs, and before Danse is able to react, he licks his hand and gives him a puppy-like look. The officer attempts to ignore how moved he is by the entire event, and he withdraws his hand vigorously, straightening himself in dignity.

"I… I'll give you two hours to remove this from the ship. Find her another place to live. And please keep in mind that we are not a zoo."

"In some cases," mumbles Sole between his teeth. He immediately recovered after that. "Many thanks, Danse—

"Paladin Danse."

"Thank you so much, Paladin Danse. You will never be sorry for this act of kindness. You will see; you will one day realize how much lack of compassion is exactly where the Brotherhoods were wrong, and perhaps one day you will be grateful that I am not of this kind!"

"Sole," Danse exclaimed ultimately, "get out with your lizard."

Danse no longer had to complain about his subordinate's actions because they were swift and discrete. But after a few days, when they're both on a quest to clear a hole full of synth, Danse can't keep quiet anymore.

"How is Ernest?"

Deacon : "Look at the lovely hat I found for Ern!"

Deacon returns to HQ and immediately goes on to the shooting range area where Sole has set up Ernest. Desdemona throws her spy an angry stare as he walks past without noticing her.

"I maintain that your authority has been abused on this one."

"Shut up, Carrington."

"You've got a problem with Ernest?" Glory inquired, threateningly.

"Not at all," the doctor said quickly, telling himself that at the next routine check-up, the little deathclaw would have an unforeseen response to a common product, resulting in early death.

Dogmeat : Scent the thing who follows Sole about like... him? The monster sniffs him back, and they swirl around for a few moments before the creature rolls on the ground and emits a series of squeaks. Dogmeat flicks out, glad to have a companion. However, the friend grows swiftly. When Dogmeat and Sole return to the Red Rocket where the friend was installed, Dogmeat cannot hide his canine fear upon seeing that the friend has grown to the size of a human. However, when the friend comes around Dogmeat at night, the dog licks his face and presses his nose against his, clearly pleased. After all, Sole's other green companion is much larger than the others, but he still frequently feeds Dogmeat mouth-watering chunks of meat.

Elder Maxson : Shoot on sight. 

"It was one of those horrible monsters who disfigured me, and you dare to bring one under my nose!"

He doesn't even pay attention to Sole's protests and ridiculous accusations.

Maxson gives a final warning when Sole begins to threaten him with tears in their eyes while gripping the monster in their arms. Sole is utterly deaf to whatever their high commander says. They make frightening threats as they leave the Prydwen, carrying the baby's body with them. The Elder initially believes they will return to their senses and is already planning the disciplinary measures that will be administered on them. But Sole does not return. Sole never returns.

Then, one day, like this, the Prydwen explodes.

Hancock (romanced) : "I think he has your eyes."

"Don't be a jerk. And don't let this thing come anywhere near me. I ain't no chew toy."

Sole laughs, tickling the thing's tummy. Hancock is not at all at ease. He has always prided himself on being open-minded and inclusive, but Sole pushes him to his breaking point. When his companion arrived at the Old State House with a deathclaw baby, Hancock needed an hour and a lot of Fahrenheit arguing to realize he wasn't hallucinating. Since then, he has tried to compensate for his nervous breakdown by inhaling Jet on Jet. He doesn't want to be a tyrant over Sole, but a deathclaw? No way under his roof.

"It will get bigger and have you for lunch."

"He will be domesticated and an incredible ally for Goodneighbor."

Hancock's eyes brighten up when something hits him.

"Hold up! I just had a dope idea! If we do this right, it could be something of a homie for Goodneighbor!"

Sole rolls their eyes and smiles indulgently.

"Yes, Hancock, that's a brilliant idea."

Gage : He was aware that the Overboss had been carrying a backpack with them during their voyage through the Gauntlet. He saw them carefully place the bag in the locker room before confronting Colter. He'd seen them rush to collect it as soon as the fight was finished, and he'd seen how they seemed to take a thousand care to keep it safe while Porter made them do the grand tour of the square. When they arrive at the Fizztop Grille and Sole places the bag on the bed, a deathclaw baby emerges. Porter is completely taken aback. He imagined many things, but not that.

"Do you realize you have a deathclaw in your bag?"

"Yes, it’s Ernest. He's really cute, isn't he?"

Porter simply shrugs. As long as the job is done. After all, having a pet deathclaw will give the new Overboss a fucked up reputation. Nisha will not dare to challenge their authority.

MacCready (romanced) : "He's just a baby!"

"The emergence of a horrible monstrosity that will reduce us to sharpies!"

"Come on, stop your antics and get down right now!"

"NEVER! Not with that beast around!"

Sole sighs impatiently, attempting to persuade the mercenary that he has nothing to fear from Ernest. But Mac doesn't falls on this path and doesn't leave his safety, which he found at the top of the tree when his sight crossed that of the deathclaw.

"This thing is my baby, and you'll have to get used to it."

"No, your baby is in the hands of the boogymen, and this... this thing cannot replace it!"

Perhaps that was a touch too harsh. When Mac notices the tears in Sole's eyes, he quickly regrets his outburst. But not quite so far down.

"Look, I never thought I'd have to say this one day, but it's simple; it's him or me!"

Could he perhaps stop shattering Sole's heart for a moment? He's trying, but this thing is truly stolen out the best in him. When he sees the reptile's hideous teeth along his half-open lips, he can't think straight. He doesn't see a child. He sees a danger—a monster that will slit their throats while they sleep in order to gorge on their entrails.

"So, that's how you take it?"

"Y…yes. Sorry, but there is nothing to talk about. It's either him or me!"

Sole turns regretfully, grabbing their new friend's clawed paw in their hands and leading him on the road with them.

"If you ever remember that I love you, you will come and join me at Sanctuary."

"If you ever remember you love me, you will return that thing to where you took it from!"

But Sole does not pause; they do not surrender. They kept going without looking back. When they are no longer visible on the horizon, MacCready descends from his perch and heads in the direction of Goodneighbor. It will not be said that he will be the one to bow in his relationship, especially on such things as this.

Nick Valentine (romanced) : "Ellie, where's the Garfield file?"

Nick enters the room and settles into his chair, his nose buried in another folder. A cough alerts him to the fact that his partner has returned.

"I'm glad you've showed up, Sole. We have a whole business."

His sight was taken to what Sole was holding in their arms as he turned to address the newcomer. The detective glances up at Sole, whose eyes plead him, then down at the creature they are holding.

"No," he says flatly. The tone is categorical. To Sole, it's immediately obvious that arguing is useless.

Piper : Piper tries again with her old press, but Nat is right: no miracle will revive it this time. Unless she can snag Sturges. Piper believes the Sanctuary mechanic can accomplish anything with a little wire and duct tape. She walks across the market to the Home Plate to see if Sole can help her persuade the mechanic.

"Come in quietly, and don't scream out of fear, or you'll scare him."

Piper becomes perplexed for a little while. That's an unusual approach to greet guests, but it's OK. She shrugs and pulls the door open... before bursting into a horrified shriek... followed by a terrified groan.

Sole rushes into the living room, plainly annoyed, and dives on the little deathclaw, who is flashing teeth and splitting the air with his claws, to calm him down.

"Auntie Piper did not intend to frighten you, Ernest. Be nice and quiet."

Piper halted, fell silent, and looked about, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"It's a... deathclaw?"

"It's a baby deathclaw. Is name is Ernest."

"Hello Ernest," Piper says with a smile. "Would you like to have an interview with Auntie Piper?"

"He can't talk; he's still a baby."

"Then you will answer my questions!"

Preston : He's seen a lot of strange things since Sole came into his life. All colors, especially those he didn't believe could exist. This is why, when Sole returns to Sanctuary with a baby Deathclaw, he sighs heavily, shrugs his shoulders, and opens the gates. Ernest, ironically, rapidly became a mascot in the place. Because Quincy survivors recall how their lives changed the day Sole fought a deathclaw to help them escape from Concord, having a deathclaw baby as a mascot makes sense. As he got older, Ernest uncovered his tremendous intelligence and learned like a dog. It brings delight to the inhabitants, and its reputation spreads fast throughout the Commonwealth, making the settlement safer than ever... Because who would go against settlers who were protected by a deathclaw?

Strong : "Good doggy."

"It's not a dog, it's a deadclaw."

"Good meal."

Sole gently pulls back, Ernest in their arms, and flees the super-mutant with the baby. They don't even want to talk about it. While they argued, Strong might eat Ernest.

X6-88 : He'd never confess to being astonished. His appearance stays unchanged; his eyes are obscured by his sunglasses, and he pinches his lips.

"Do you think Shaun will like it?" Sole inquires innocently.

"Are you genuinely considering bringing this creature to the Institute?"

"I can't leave him alone in this evil, hostile world."

X6-88 prefers not to say anything, but in his opinion, this thing would be better off with a bullet in the skull. However, unless proven otherwise, the young monster does not jeopardize their objective, and as he grows older, if he is obedient, he may be able to contribute to Sole's security. Surprisingly, as time passes, X6 assumes greater responsibility regarding the little creature. Ernest found a small spot in his heart, but he would never confess it.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Ah. I see. If I would like to have cheap flour for bread, pasta, and sweets, I'm going to have to make it myself

Do the grocer's *really* think that they can keep price gouging GF flour *on top* of regular flour related price gouging over whether or not I own a food processor and have access to an affordable supply of nuts, lentils, rice, and/or amaranth????

I will happily find an online wholesaler to send me 5lbs of each nut and grain I want each month, and then drag out my food processor. If it means taking a long weekend every month to spend a day make like 30lbs of flour for our meals, I fucking will!!! Stop charging me $15/lb!!!!

[stickthisbig]

I was in a mood about how being a broke kid never actually leaves you and despite the fact I'm almost 40, I still deal with behaviors that stem directly from that, but then it got depressing, so this is my technique for making berries last longer/prepping them for freezing:

Buy them cheap in bulk when they're on sale. Kroger's got them for $7/3 packs right now, which is right about the price point I want them for. These are probably going to be pretty long in the tooth, so plan to prep them right away. You can also do this with stone fruit (peaches, plums, etc).

Wash the berries right away, then cut off any nasty bits. If there is any mold at all, throw the whole berry away, do not try to save it. If it's just that they're bruised or a little withered, those are salvageable. You don't have to look at them and you don't have to feel the slightly unpleasant squish; it'll be cooked. For strawberries, give them a rough chop at this point. If it makes you feel better, rinse them again.

Transfer to a small saucepan. You absolutely do not want to be able to see the bottom of the pan. If they're pretty juicy, you can just let them go, but if they're drier (blueberries), start by adding about 1/4-1/2 cup water. You also need to add sugar at this point. You want regular white sugar. Add 1-2 tablespoons now.

At this point if you want any additions, here they go. Orange flower water can add flavor; you can also use lemon or lime juice (helps preserve color) or citrus zest (remove before packing). With strawberries, I find that a splash of gin really opens up the flavor, but that's optional. Remember that you can always put stuff in later, but you can't take stuff out.

Cook the berries, covered, on the stove over low heat. It takes way longer than you think, so add water if they're not breaking down into a sauce. I usually do 20 minute intervals. Anything in a small saucepan can bubble over really quickly, so don't go out of earshot. If you intend to freeze them for smoothies, cook them for less time; if you want to make a desert sauce, cook them for longer.

Cook them until your heart says that they're done. I cannot make that call for you. Please know that firmer berries just won't break down. If you want a smooth blueberry sauce, it's more steps.

Once the berries are at the consistency you want, it's time for the coating the back of a spoon test. If you've never done this, take a room temperature metal spoon and swirl it around (you should have a lot of liquid at this point). Pull it out, wait a few seconds, then draw a line across the spoon with the pad of your finger. If that line remains there, congrats, you're done. If it's too wet, turn up the heat, push the berries to the sides of the pan to reveal as much of the juice as possible, and add sugar a teaspoon at a time to create a reduction.

Remove the berries from the heat and let them rest until cool. If you want a smooth pureed sauce, drop them into a food processor, with the optional step of straining out the solids afterwards. If you want a fruit preparation that's good for dropping into yogurt, oatmeal, etc, put it in a tupperware and stick it in the fridge. If you want it frozen so you can put it straight into a blender, put it in a, and I cannot stress this enough, cheap tupperware and whack it in the freezer.

Is all this worth it? I'm paying $2.33 for 16 oz of fresh blueberries and a 16 oz bag of frozen blueberries is $4.99, so, unequivocally yes, even if the fresh berries are regular price ($3.29). Once you know this technique, it's maybe 20 minutes to set it up if you have just the worst berries, then it's something you just leave on the stove to do its thing. You also know exactly what's in it, unlike any jarred fruit sauce you're gonna buy. I don't typically mix kinds of berries if I'm starting from fruit I bought for purpose? But I often do if it's just that I looked in my fridge and went "shit, those berries were so expensive and they're gonna go off."

Please use this knowledge for your berry purposes. Couple scoops of frozen berries, couple tablespoons of yogurt, drizzle of honey, splash of milk, a little ice, optional protein powder, blend it up and you've got a treat.