Saturday open thread
I’m going to Winchester, VA this morning to get some IHOP pork products (because the Denny’s, which are closer, don’t allow me to carry a gun), so I thought I’d give you some place to talk to each other. Drop off links, exchange recipes, talk about me behind my back, or whatever strikes you. I’ll be back in a few hours.
Category: Pointless blather
@34That guy, 40Smitty “I walked in with no prep courses my first time and scored a 173….I’d advise the same thing.” That is horrendously bad advice. Please ignore it for your own well being. (Among other reasons, law schools, at least in tiers I and II, take all your tests into account). “Do any of you know the best course of study for the LSAT?” Without knowing more, it’s hard to say what’s best. Give me specifics, and I can be more helpful. Still, a of basic things: 1. There are three types of review: books, programs, tutors. And the latter are available in a variety of forms: in person, on-line, self-paced. Even among similar programs, apart from actual substance are other factors that might make a difference (e.g., weekend vs. weekday courses). This is a good rundown: [ http://www.admissionsdean.com/lsat/lsat-prep ] Also, be dubious of what’s your see by Googling, e.g., “Best LSAT prep courses”: there’s lots of shilling. 2. Re books (especially) and courses, the materials need to contain actual LSAT questions: Real LSAT questions are written by philosophy professors, fake ones are not, and there’s a difference (especial re logic games). Some books, last I checked, that don’t use real questions: Barron’s and Kaplan. There’s a pretty strong correlation between the number of actual test questions answered and LSAT score.* 3. It’s hard to say who’s “best” without knowing more (and quality can vary by individual location) because commercial programs teach test strategy as much as anything else (e.g., how to max your chance of a particular score), so your mileage may vary. One the one hand, shooting for the moon isn’t useful for most people; on the other, training for a 160 could be counterproductive for getting a 170+. (Incidentally, I believe Testmasters and Powerscore are “training for the low-to-mid-160’s”-type programs.) Think of it like training for a marathon: Training, planning, and racing strategy differ based on where you’re at and whether you’re shooting for 2:20, 3:00, 3:30, etc.: overreach, and you might fall flat; sell yourself short, and you’ve wasted an opportunity. 4. Let’s be honest:… Read more »
Smitty.GNS@gmail.com is the best one to get ahold of me. ill tell ya anything ya want to know about the LSAT, but im not sure what answers i can give ya about law school though. i took the test and had a full ride to George Washington and got in a motorcycle wreck a week before i was supposed to leave. ive been building my savings account back up since so i dont have to work while im there.
im guessing JohnC would be a better person to listen to than me. im guessing he got past the bachelors and LSAT and did the actual law school part. i havent gotten there yet, but i am trudging along working towards that goal
Teriyaki steak tips, marinated asparagus, loaded baked potato salad.
Me gonna ‘splode.
Too bad I have to work tomorrow. But it’s double time, so I guess I can put on my big girl panties and suck it up.
@54
Left over BBQ and Bama vs. Ole Miss with a cold Pacifico….
“im guessing he got past the bachelors and LSAT and did the actual law school part.”
And taught at one, too!
Also: Bison Tenderloin with Coffee Rub
2lbs grass-fed bison tenderloin
10 cloves peeled garlic, left whole
EVOO
Coffee rub (whisk until well-combined:2 tbsp *finely* ground coffee beans, 2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper, 1 tbsp cumin, 1½ tsp sea salt, ½ tsp garlic powder, pinch of cayenne pepper)
Heat oven to 400. Coat a roasting pan with olive oil.
Bring meat to room temperature at least 1 hour before cooking.
Remove any visible fat from meat.
Make several slits in the meat and insert the cloves of garlic.
Massage the meat with the coffee rub thoroughly and evenly, hitting every crevice and using all of the rub.
If the tenderloin has a thinner end, tuck it under for even cooking.
Place meat in roasting pan & roast in oven for about 40 minutes. It’s hard to screw-up unless you over-cook.
Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing into thin strips.
@34
I went to the law school book store and bought past copies of the LSAT. I took them and timed myself. Almost aced the real thing. If you’re a vet, law school is no big deal unless you want to graduate in the top 10% and want to work for one of those souless firms that want you to bill 80 houres a week.
Chicken and veggie rice stir-fry with ginger-orange sauce;
Make a coating for the chicken of 3/4 cup of cornstarch, onion powder, garlice powder, chili powder, Mrs. Dash original, pepper and salt. Cut the chicken into nugget-sized pieces and coat thoroughly in the coating.
Heat EVOO in a big skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter (for flavor), then add the chicken and cook thoroughly.
Cook enough rice to feed the number of people present. I used 1 cup of rice, which cooks up to 3 cups, so I have leftovers. 🙂 Drain and add to the chicken.
Add a frozen veggie stir-fry mix that you’ve thawed in a sieve under running water. I used a sugar snap pea stirfry mix. If you’re serving more than one, use the entire bag, as I did, but I was making enough for leftovers.
I used a commercially made ginger-orange sauce, the entire bottle. It was on sale. Next time, I will make the sauce from scratch. The basic ingredients are orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper, vinegar and corn starch. Corn starch keeps the sauce semiclear. Flour will make it a cream-like sauce.
I am stuffed, and I have enough left for two more meals.
@58.
Sounds good.
I have never particularly had success with Oriental/ Asian dishes, but that sounds delicious.
GT, I found this just now, nosing around on the web, because I love mustard and this one looks good: Alesmith Speedway Stout Mustard, a whole-grain mustard made with beer.
http://store.mustardmuseum.com/product/3253/spirit-mustards
It comes from the Alesmith Craft Brewery in San Diego, CA.
http://alesmith.com/
You can order it from the Mustard Museum in Mt. Horeb, WI. I have to go up there next spring and stock up on this stuff.
Oh, yeah — it WAS delicious. I am stuffed.
@62.
Simmering a giant pot of homemade pasta sauce.
Everything is from the garden.
I usually mass produce a freeze either in the forms of blanched Maters, pasta Sauce, soup or chili.
Makes life easy to pull one out in February after a long day.
I am going to try to come up with 50 versions of mac and cheese.
And in other news, water has been found in the soil of the planet Mars:
http://news.msn.com/science-technology/video?videoid=2071cf71-d00e-438d-27af-c9b5841becbb&ap=true
Any guesses re: how long before colonial outposts and the Daniel Boone types hit the red sands of Mars? I give it 20 years max, because SpaceX is already on schedule to test their Falcon rocket: http://news.msn.com/science-technology/spacex-ready-to-test-fly-new-falcon-rocket
Where there’s a will….
so, who needs a good laugh? I lost it in the first two seconds of this video when the chick was firing her AK. And they want us to believe these ladies are training for Spetsnaz? I bet they were all selected and trained by by John Giduck. http://rt.com/in-motion/russia-female-military-unit-188/
@65.
Damn. Your two for two.
And they are wearing make up.
I just took a Giduck
@67.
Did you use your special shovel to backfill?
Ex-PH2:
I’ve had good success with making my own Oriental sauces as well. Sometimes I’ll buy the premade stuff if time is a problem.
For teryiaki, I use some sliced and diced shallots cooked in a little EVOO, and then add a 1/2 cup (or so) of brown sugar and let it melt down and start to bubble. Add soy sauce to taste and voila! You can add some roasted garlic if you like, but I usually don’t.
Another good Orange sauce is to thaw a can of orange juice concentrate and mix in a bottle of soy sauce. Use more or less soy to taste. You can thicken it with a little cornstarch if you like.
For sweet & sour chicken, I start with some Chinese 5-spice, about a teaspoon’s worth. Place it into your saucepan as it heats up and roast it just for a minute to bring out the aromatics. Next add a couple pats of butter and a diced Vidalia onion. When the onion is translucent, add 1/2 cup brown sugar and let it melt and begin bubbling. Once that’s done, add about 1/3 cup of soy sauce, and some diced chicken (1-2 pounds will do nicely). Once the chicken is cooked, drain (reserving the juice) a can of diced pineapple and add to the mix, one can (drained) of sliced water chestnuts, and stir. Finally, add 1 cup (or more) of your favorite ketchup. Stir it all well and let come to a soft boil. Take out a little of the sauce, whisk in some cornstarch, then add back with the whick to thicken the sauce to the level you like. Taste a bit and adjust the sauce with either some more soy, or a bit of the reserved pineapple juice. Serve with rice and enjoy. I will sometimes garnish the dish with shredded coconut.
V/R
Re Asian food:
Thai Basil Chicken: Welcome to the joy that is Thai Basil and Thai red peppers (a perfect 400,000 on the Scoville scale). An Asian market is your best bet for either.
4 tbsp coconut butter
4 tbsp (from 2 whole) shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 scallions, whites and greens sliced
4 cloves of garlic, passed through a garlic press
4-6 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¼-inch strips
2 Thai red peppers, cut into ribbons
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp sea salt
½ cup chopped fresh Thai basil
2 cups cooked brown rice (or sprouted brown rice)
A handful (about 1/4 a cup) of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
A pinch of red pepper flakes
Heat the coconut butter in a wok at medium-high. Add shallots and scallions and stir-fry for a few minutes until fragrant.
Add the garlic, chicken and red peppers; stir-fry for four or five minutes.
Add fish/oyster sauces and sea salt: stir fry it into the mixture.
Add the basil and rice, and stir-fry until heated through.
Serve hot, garnished with cilantro and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
PDF file from Maximum PC Magazine. 100 Windows tips, and more:
http://dl.maximumpc.com/Archives/MPC%202012%2008-web.pdf
Yall put way to much into getting chow on the table. Lots of bacon, eggs, buttermilk pancakes and I’m good to go. Supper: beef, taters, carrots and onions.
One more to add to your Asian shopping list – cane vinegar. A splash of it really balances the sweet stuff. And is authentic. Also, now more widely available.
@51. Smitty’s advice is sound. My prep for the lSAT consisted of visiting local libraries and borrowing LSAT texts. I spent about two months taking the practice tests until I was fully aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I then boned up on the weaknesses and my test-taking startegy was to find those areas of strength (linerar problems, as I recall, rather than waste time on those problems where I performed poorly. The result? One test, one application, and one acceptance. I will say this: No prep course or amount of practice can teach someone to think logically and to see perspective variances. You either have that or not. If you do, then LSAT practice tests is costless and effective.
@ Guy. Hondo’s idea is good. TSO, if you can nail him down for a minute, seems to have the ability to NET things out pretty well … If you know what I mean.
BACON, the perfect additive to every dish!! I remember watching some travel show or another when they had a piece about Ted Nugent’s Ranch near Waco, TX where he was accommodating Wounded Vets on his dime and feeding them wild game dishes. The one that stood out to me was venison steak wrapped with wild boar bacon, the though of that makes me drool!
Oh well, my first real day off in nearly three weeks, gotta fix the washing machime, then hopefully get some work done on the ‘ol Jeep. Anyone interested in a 1947 Willys?
It is Sunday Evening, and also Sept. 29th. Will Paul K. Wickre make a showing tonight? Or will he default, vary his normal schedule, and just quietly continue to be the MEGA CLASS PATHETIC LOSER?
Andy – note they said these women are in the FINAL phase of training. Wonder what level they started at….
Amhurst Diner for breakfast, Chowhounds for lunch, and Sweet Carolines for supper. Few cold beverages at Cork Street Tavern.
I’d like to say that I came in 4th in my take a Soldier fishing tourney on Saterday.
@ Twist … clearly you did not enter a spelling bee!
@80.
What were you catching?
@81.
Back off.
Infantry…strong back, weak mind.
GT, it was bass fishing. MCPO my spelling skills suck. Thank goodness I have the spell check that I fail to use way too often.
@84 I’ve been told Real Soldiers can’t spell. 😉
Eye kant spill fore shit eethar!
@ #85: Am hoping that rule also applies to airmen.
@86 As many Real Soldiers as there are on TAH, it’s a wonder anybody can read anything that’s posted here! 🙂
Master Chief, if you have something to say to Twist, you say it to me first. He reports to me.
That is all.
Chill, folks. Chill.
“It’s all good.” (smile)
In light of the conversational topic, I would like everyone from here on out to refer to me as Mr. Green Thumb.
I find GT so derogatory.
Just kidding!
Hondo, just protecting my troops from overbearing E-9ers, that’s all. You want to say something, you go through me first.
@92.
Yeah.
“Get off my grass!!!”.
@92 Ex
Request permission to tell Gay Bill Blake, aka Zippy the Pinhead, aka William Blake of Oklahoma, POSer, pretender, coward, to “Go Get Fucked”.
Standing By…
@94 – OldSargeUSAR, fire at will!
I suppose MCPO NYC’s shorts are now in a wad. I will send him a pinochle deck as consolation.
Here: http://www.games.com/search?q=pinochle
Green Thumb, since you are Army, not Navy, I would refer to you as EllTee Green Thumb.
@95
Roger that, Ex-PH2
Attention William Blake of Oklahoma, POSer, phony, fraud, gay boy:
GO FUCK YOURSELF, asshole.
You’re dismissed.
Bedwetter
@96.
Touche.
OldSargeUSAR, you were far too nice to GayBill. I would turn something like this loose on him:
You putrid, rotting, whoreson whale’s carcass, I’d like to slam you down on all fours like a damn goat and put my left foot straight up your overboard discharge pipe! I swear to God I could rip that tab off your damn arm myself and your arm along with it, you terminal crotch infection!
You’re worse than a waste of body fluids! You onion-eyed hagfish! The best part of you went sliding down your mother’s right leg, you walking shart shooter! You fucking retard, you can’t even get your fictitious rank right! Now I have to apologize to true retards, because even they are nowhere near as retarded as you are, you illegally obscene wad of dicksnot!
You rotting canker-blossom, you never were and never will be anything but what you are – a set of chins with their own zip code! You’re a turd burglar with breath that would melt a submarine hull, you ale-sucking, wart-necked, misbegotten, scurvy, loggerheaded, codpiece clamp!
You’re a flap-mouthed, sheep-biting mold factory with a pair of boobs bigger than Jayne Mansfield’s! The only reason you’re here is a village on Mars is missing its idiot and you’re it, you goat-raping bitch muncher!
See if you can find in that muddy, whore’s-mouth-infested, Jim Beam-soaked memory of yours, any good reason to stifle my need to frag you, you worthless oxygen thief!
@99.
His behavior mimics the typical poser.
Threats of violence, threats of arrest and denial.
Fairly standard.
The novelty to Blake, though, is that he seems less than intelligent. Very low IQ.
Turd.