I don't know what knocked out the cable modem, but someone did a little magical checking of things and it's back on. Yay!
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Internet Out!
Internet modem not getting a connection. Looks like it'll be out for 2 days until a tech can get out here.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Uninspired lack of updates gets some motivation
So what happened during the Month of May and June? Well, I gave up trying to figure out which other capacitors in Mom's Magnavox MX 36 inch CRT still need replacing, which in all equalness would likely end up meaning I needed to find another part to replace, something other than a capacitor. As my luck would have it, at the beginning of May, some electric company line workers came to the door to let me know they would be shutting off the power towards my end (and the house in turn) for about 15 minutes while they worked on the transformer on the pole. My only thought was "My Mom's TV won't survive being off for that long..." even though I've been woken up in the middle of the night due to a storm-induced power outage, pleading for the electricity to recover some hit points and come back. Which it did.
This time, I wasn't that lucky. The MX wouldn't turn on long enough to stay on. So like back in February, I got on Craigslist, and unfortunately the other 36 inch CRT TVs I had seen weren't on there anymore. I had to settle for a 32 inch Magnavox TV for a pittance. Let's summarize it this way: I'm not ready for a widescreen LED or LCD or whatever TV just yet, and I'm not in that financial league to afford one anyway.
This TV had been stored away for a while, unused. It's compatible with my current Magnavox remotes, so that was a big plus. It is also 4 years newer than my mother's TV, so it lacked some features I will miss, and some we used for an all too brief time. Picture in Picture was nice. The Over the Air Digital TV Guide stuff was neat, but since the switch to digital TV, is now sorely obsolete, which is a shame. I had finally figured out how to set the ZIP code so it would get the right program info to display.
At least now if I should happen to want a 36 inch TV, my Exploder has enough room for it. And it's best to transport a TV with the picture tube facing towards the back seat and across the width of the vehicle. Otherwise it'll flip over to the face of the tube as soon as you make a left or right turn.
There were several times during the month of June I felt like posting an update, but for some reason I felt it not that important. Maybe there's something to copypasta from my Foosebook postings. Oh well.
The main reason I felt like writing something was discovering how to soft-cook or it could even be called poaching an egg in the microwave.
You need:
1. Egg
1 Tupperware plastic hamburger keeper (sold in sets with the press handle)
1 slightly bigger thingy to put over the keeper
Break the egg into the keeper. Do not stir or scramble. Instead, quickly puncture the yolk. Bonus points if it doesn't begin immediately to leak out. I like some pepper on my egg, so season with pepper as you like.
Carefully place into microwave. Hopefully you have a turntable. Cover with the slightly bigger thingy. You want to keep whatever steam is released during the cooking time in with the egg so it doesn't dry out.
Here's the tricky part. I have no idea what power level the microwave beams its energy into the cooking area, but suffice to say this. I set it to cook the first time for 11 seconds, then lift the cover to see if the white of the egg has begun to coagulate due to the cooking energy. The edges should have cooked first. After inspection, cook for another 11 seconds. More of the white should now be cooked. Then I cook for another 11 seconds.
Now at this point, you could have all the egg white having cooked and turned white and the egg yolk yellow is no longer visible. It could be only slightly jiggly at this point but somewhat hot. IE you have a "cloudy" egg and not Sunny Side Up. If So - You are done! I typically assemble into a sandwich with mayo and cheese on one side, and the egg, carefully pried out of the burger keeper thingy and laid face down on the other slice of bread. The yolk is sufficiently cooked but still a bit liquid. Sometimes I can get it to just creamy but not solid. I've yet to have a problem with getting sick, so take that as you want.
If the egg is still Sunny Side Up and jiggly, cook for about 9 to 10 more seconds for a 4th time. I've tried blasting the egg straight through in one go, but I ended up with a bit of uncooked egg white in the middle somewhere. Doing it in short bursts appears to work best.
So there you have it. My version of poaching an egg in the microwave.
This time, I wasn't that lucky. The MX wouldn't turn on long enough to stay on. So like back in February, I got on Craigslist, and unfortunately the other 36 inch CRT TVs I had seen weren't on there anymore. I had to settle for a 32 inch Magnavox TV for a pittance. Let's summarize it this way: I'm not ready for a widescreen LED or LCD or whatever TV just yet, and I'm not in that financial league to afford one anyway.
This TV had been stored away for a while, unused. It's compatible with my current Magnavox remotes, so that was a big plus. It is also 4 years newer than my mother's TV, so it lacked some features I will miss, and some we used for an all too brief time. Picture in Picture was nice. The Over the Air Digital TV Guide stuff was neat, but since the switch to digital TV, is now sorely obsolete, which is a shame. I had finally figured out how to set the ZIP code so it would get the right program info to display.
At least now if I should happen to want a 36 inch TV, my Exploder has enough room for it. And it's best to transport a TV with the picture tube facing towards the back seat and across the width of the vehicle. Otherwise it'll flip over to the face of the tube as soon as you make a left or right turn.
There were several times during the month of June I felt like posting an update, but for some reason I felt it not that important. Maybe there's something to copypasta from my Foosebook postings. Oh well.
The main reason I felt like writing something was discovering how to soft-cook or it could even be called poaching an egg in the microwave.
You need:
1. Egg
1 Tupperware plastic hamburger keeper (sold in sets with the press handle)
1 slightly bigger thingy to put over the keeper
Break the egg into the keeper. Do not stir or scramble. Instead, quickly puncture the yolk. Bonus points if it doesn't begin immediately to leak out. I like some pepper on my egg, so season with pepper as you like.
Carefully place into microwave. Hopefully you have a turntable. Cover with the slightly bigger thingy. You want to keep whatever steam is released during the cooking time in with the egg so it doesn't dry out.
Here's the tricky part. I have no idea what power level the microwave beams its energy into the cooking area, but suffice to say this. I set it to cook the first time for 11 seconds, then lift the cover to see if the white of the egg has begun to coagulate due to the cooking energy. The edges should have cooked first. After inspection, cook for another 11 seconds. More of the white should now be cooked. Then I cook for another 11 seconds.
Now at this point, you could have all the egg white having cooked and turned white and the egg yolk yellow is no longer visible. It could be only slightly jiggly at this point but somewhat hot. IE you have a "cloudy" egg and not Sunny Side Up. If So - You are done! I typically assemble into a sandwich with mayo and cheese on one side, and the egg, carefully pried out of the burger keeper thingy and laid face down on the other slice of bread. The yolk is sufficiently cooked but still a bit liquid. Sometimes I can get it to just creamy but not solid. I've yet to have a problem with getting sick, so take that as you want.
If the egg is still Sunny Side Up and jiggly, cook for about 9 to 10 more seconds for a 4th time. I've tried blasting the egg straight through in one go, but I ended up with a bit of uncooked egg white in the middle somewhere. Doing it in short bursts appears to work best.
So there you have it. My version of poaching an egg in the microwave.
