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Originally posted by Greven53:
I am going to be in Scranton PA for a few days here, anyone know of anything to do around there? I assume the only logical move would be to just go to NYC, but bleh.

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Wait a few months, go watch the Yanks AAA team play! Whatever you do, don't take 81 and head North. Trust me, it's a bad idea.

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Originally posted by JoshSherman:
Visit Dunder-Mifflin?

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DANGIT THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY

~MM

__________________
I am MeddlingMage...YOUR Motl Survivor 11 Champion and 2007 Captain N award winner.

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Originally posted by jshields:
Is the gravy gluten free??? I am totally groovy on the gravy train if that is the case and am actually an avid cook that could give you some nice gravy recipes!! (Sorry, but people like me with Celiac disease get violently ill when exposed to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. www.celiac.org --- I actually like this organization and am a big supporter!) well, enough of the smallest violin in the world - I will say i am groovy with the gravy

~~~~edit: is this the post for stuff? actually, i am looking all over for jace belerens, sensei's divining tops, and urborg tomb of yawgmoths, but can't seem to find anyone with enough of these for sale on the t/a forum to buy

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Yes, this is the post for stuff (PFS). And you should talk to ogre. He can't have gluten either.

Thanks,
Jazaray

__________________
A Plastered Dragon Original Limerick:
There was a nice lassie named Jaz
Many wished to have what she has,
A delicate face,
A soft warm embrace,
And a whole lot of bedroom pizzazz.

I did my body assessment and I muscle stayed the same, water weight stayed the same, fat weight, ^6 lbs. Ouch

__________________
"I intend to Live forever, so far so good"

"I wish my first word was 'quote', so when I die I could say 'un-quote'."

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Originally posted by Myy:
I'm losing all 6 lbs of fat I gained during winter break. i feel so Happy.!!!

I did my body assessment and I muscle stayed the same, water weight stayed the same, fat weight, ^6 lbs. Ouch

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Originally posted by jshields:
Is the gravy gluten free??? I am totally groovy on the gravy train if that is the case and am actually an avid cook that could give you some nice gravy recipes!! (Sorry, but people like me with Celiac disease get violently ill when exposed to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. www.celiac.org --- I actually like this organization and am a big supporter!) well, enough of the smallest violin in the world - I will say i am groovy with the gravy

~~~~edit: is this the post for stuff? actually, i am looking all over for jace belerens, sensei's divining tops, and urborg tomb of yawgmoths, but can't seem to find anyone with enough of these for sale on the t/a forum to buy

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Gluten Free gravy:

1 quart stock(swansons, etc)
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup cold water

Bring the stock to a boil. In a mixing bowl disolve the cornstarch and cold water to form a slurry. Add the slurry slowly and bring the entire thing back to a boil until it's thickened up. Add more slurry or stock to get it to the thickness you like. Salt and pepper to taste. This is a basic gravy that you can add whatever you want to it in, sauteed mushrooms, onions, pieces of meat, etc.

Gluten Free sausage gravy

1 pound bulk/chopped up links/patties/ whatever you like best
1/2 onion chopped up
1 quart half and half
Same slurry recipe as above

Cook the sausage oven low heat until most of the fat is rendered out and onion is translucent. Keep the fat in the pan. Add the half and half and bring to a boil taking care not to let boil over as anything cream or milk based loves so much to do. Add the slurry just like other recipe.

They're both pretty basic, but a rule of thumb is that any time a roux is needed in a recipe, substitute for a cornstarch slurry at the end. It doesn't taste the same and isn't quite as rich, but is still pretty good in it's own way. Plus you can't eat roux based gravies, so this one is just infy better for you.

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Originally posted by dakrum:
I usually do gain a little weight during the worst times in the winter and summer. Right now, I'm 5'3" and over 130 and I think I'm fat because I have skinny arms. I'm looking to do some weights to get to 130, not get it from fat.

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I'm 6'1" and 175lbs. I'm lean right now, but if you saw a picture of me when I was in high school, you wouldn't believe it was me. people tell me I looked older back then than what I look like today.

I always recommend my friends have a body assessment because that way you know how much of what is in your system.

__________________
"I intend to Live forever, so far so good"

"I wish my first word was 'quote', so when I die I could say 'un-quote'."

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Originally posted by MoxMonkey:
whats going on in here? I see lots of new people.

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You do? WHERE! Let's ask them how they joined and pass the secret on!

On another note, I'm making tea in my BRAND NEW Tea Kettle!!! And it only took like.. 2 mins for the water to heat up! Instead of it taking 8 or so when I used a regular old pot! Jaz is soooooo happy!!! YUMMM!!

Thanks,
Jazaray

__________________
A Plastered Dragon Original Limerick:
There was a nice lassie named Jaz
Many wished to have what she has,
A delicate face,
A soft warm embrace,
And a whole lot of bedroom pizzazz.

Verizon sucks so bad. Over the last month and a half or so, my internet has been connected at any one time for no more than 7 consecutive days without going down. It has now been down for 6 days in a row, and I only just got it fixed today. I've had a technician out here twice, been on the phone with more Indian people than you can shake a damned stick at, and had to sift through almost a hundred new e-mails today when I finally got back online.

I called the billing department to complain and to try to get some sort of monetary compensation. It is ridiculous to be expected to pay full price for a service you're only receiving roughly 50% of the time. After bouncing through three people, all of whom were SUPPOSED to be from the billing department, and none of whom were, and ALL OF WHOM had accents so thick I had to ask them to repeat every other line, I get connected to the right guy. He credits me $20.00 (a dollar a day), and then proceeds to try to sell me spyware protection for a monthly fee, and a land-line because my "connection is kind of patchy." Incidentally, my cell phone is through Verizon.

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Originally posted by dakrum:
I then hope that the ZC is busy then. MWA HAHAHAHAHAHA!

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I have 56 ZC e-mails to read.

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Originally posted by Gawain:
I have 56 ZC e-mails to read.

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Originally posted by Bugger:
not to mention one hell of a twist in the game itself.

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Aaaaaannnndddd dim sum.

Link: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/only-immortal-animal-on-earth/20087

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Have you ever wondered what would happen if our life cycles were reversed, that is if we were born old and died young? Well, there’s one animal that comes close and has achieved immortality in the process, just to top it off. Meet the Turritopsis nutricula, a small saltwater animal or hydrozoan related to jellyfish and corals.

Like most jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula undergoes two distinct stages in its life cycle: The polypoid or immature stage, when it’s just a small stalk with feeding tentacles; and the medusa or mature stage when the only 1mm-long polyps asexually produce jellyfish.

Turritopsis nutricula in its aptly named medusa form with a bright red stomach:
T'nut
Image via the-amazing

A jellyfish’s lifespan usually ranges from somewhere between a few hours for the smallest species to several months and rarely to a few years for the bigger species. How does the only 4-5 mm long Turritopsis nutricula (let’s call it T’nut) manage to beat the system?

Well, T’nut is able to transform between medusa and polyp stage, thereby reverting back from mature to immature stage and escaping death. The cell process is called transdifferentiation, when non-stem cells either transform into a different type of cell or when an already differentiated or specialised stem cell creates cells outside this specialised path.

The polyp state of Turritopsis rubra, long synonymised with T’nut:
Polyp state
Image via ville-ge

T’nut requires tissue from both the jellyfish bell surface and the circulatory canal system for its transdifferentiation. This switching of cell roles is not unusual and can be seen in many animals and humans, but usually only when parts of an organ regenerate. In T’nut’s case, reverting back to an immature state is part of its regular life cycle.

In its medusa form, Turritopsis nutricula is bell-shaped and about 4-5 mm in diameter. Young specimens will be only 1 mm in diameter and have eight tentacles to start out with but can have between 80 and 90 as adults.

Specimen with a yellow body:
T'nut
Image via bishopmuseum

Turritopsis nutricula most likely originated in the Caribbean but can now be found in the temperate to tropical regions in all of the world’s oceans, spreading further through the ballast water that ships discard in ports. According to Dr. Maria Pia Miglietta from the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute: “We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion.”

A drawing of various Tuatara species; T’nut is No. 18:
Tuatara species
Image via nzetc

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__________________
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me." -T.S. Eliot

RIP Ari

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Originally posted by puregoblinboy47:
Are you roasting them whole, or breaking them down into halves/quarters/8 ways? I'm guessing you are roasting it whole, so here's my suggestion, no lies. Buy 2 pounds of bacon and wrap the entire sucker in it minus the neck cavity. Leave that open or you may have a dry bird. Then roast the entire thing over a bed of mirepoix(celery, carrots, and onion) at a nice and slow temperature, say 275 until the meat comes to a temperature of 155. If you are familiar with working with the entrails(I'm guessing you hunted these guys, so you probably are), make a stock out of them in cold water plus mirepoix, a bay leaf, and some peppercorns. (I'd only use the livers, hearts, and kidneys. Don't forget the neck and ass of that bird minus the skin. It all goes in the stock.) When the bird are done, be sure to rest them for a solid half hour before cutting into them. This gives you time to make the sauce! Put the bird onto a different surface than the roasting pan, scoop out the mirepoix and roughly half the fat that dripped off, and here's the slightly dangerous part. Put the roasting pan on the burner and deglaze with about a half a bottle of red wine. It's going to spit at you a little bit because of all the fat, so take care not to burn yourself. When the wine is mostly cooked out, add maybe a half cup of flour to it and mix with the fat to make a roux. Then transfer the whole shebang to a new pot and hit it with stock you made using the entrails, neck and ass. Make sure the flour's not clumped up and it will thicken to a rich beautiful gravy as it heats. Rice and asparagus should be mightly fine as sides, but this meal's all about the bird, and how I would cook it for my date. If you want recipes and procedures more listed out an easier to understand, just let me know. Have a happy Valentines day.

If it needs to be simpler, just roast them at 350 and season with salt and pepper. It will be bangin either way.

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I have a very serious question. It sounds ridiculous, and it is, but it's also relevant to something I'm working on. The people who watch my facebook (I think Jeff and maybe implode and Josh) will know what it is in a few minutes; I want to get unhindered opinions first.

Okay...

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Originally posted by Gawain:
Whoa dude, that sounds amazing Only thing is, I did not in fact hunt them myself, unless you count the search I had to go on a the grocery store as a hunt :P So, I am not sure that I have entrails available to work with. Is there a viable alternative for the stock?

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