54 thoughts on “October 10, 2016: Blue Jays and Rain”

  1. At some point this week, the site will be moving to a new host. Deals have improved since the The WGOM That Was and I can get slightly better performance for 26% less. The move has been ready for several days so I hope to execute it soon.

                1. I disagree. I would love to hear Inskeep moderate one of these debates because he is a VICIOUS interviewer who will fact-check the bs his guests hurl at him and not let them wriggle away.

                  1. I agree with both of you. I appreciate that he's a vicious interviewer. I also get annoyed with him at times; sometimes it feels like he's looking for a fight on non-important stuff.

                    1. Yea. As great an interviewer as Terry Gross is, she would not be successful as a debate moderator. It appears that you have to be tough as nails to maintain control.

                      can I praise Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz here without invoking the FZ? Incredibly tough job, but I thought they did remarkably well.

                    2. I have never understood the praise for Terry Gross' interviews. The signature Terry Gross interview in my mind is some version of the following: several painfully obvious statements, wooden questions that occasionally suggest a book jacket level of familiarity with whatever book/issue the interviewee is there to discuss, followed by "What was it like/what did you feel when [X personal tragedy/trauma happened]?"

                      Perhaps I'm missing something, but I just don't get the appeal.

                    3. Her interview with Jay-Z was great, if for nothing else than to hear her quote his lyrics.

        2. when you do, please clarify what the processing costs are for donations to (Paypal or whatever the vehicle is). We want donors to understand how much of their money is going to our operations (and if there are lower-cost ways to get the funds to youse guys).

          1. If you use PayPal and send as a gift, you will eat their expense, not WGOM. Send as payment for service, and WGOM eats the PayPal expense.

            Hit me up soon after Friday, guys, and maybe the post-surgery meds will cause me to over-donate 😉

            2. thanks, Rhu. Good to know about the gift vs service. Also, I have some swamp land in Florida and will be contacting you saturday....

      1. From Linode's Dallas datacenter to Ramnode's New York datacenter. Someone that I trust very much on security issues said to avoid the current host and move off them.

        1. Interesting. I've moved all the stuff I'm responsible for (my neglected site, the literary journal I help edit, my neighborhood board's webpage) to Squarespace. I got tired of fooling around with WordPress. You do an awesome job keeping the lights on here, sean.

          1. I've never looked at Squarespace. I've always felt WordPress is pretty simple, though the free version is limiting as far as what you can do. What have you found easier to manage with Squarespace?

  2. Back from vacation. I had very little available data out there, so I stayed off the internet almost entirely. What did I miss?

    Coming back from seven no-stress days at a beautiful lake house isn't much fun. I'm off today, but not looking forward to work tomorrow. At least I have three ballgames to look forward to today.

  3. My Grandpa Novak passed away yesterday at the age of 91. He was on hospice for a few months, and just about everyone had an opportunity to say goodbye, including some of his grandkids from out of state. Surrounded by friends and family, and ready in his faith, you couldn't ask for more. He had 9 kids, 50 grandchildren, and is currently at 80 great grandchildren, with several more on the way. Asked for one word to describe him, I chose "Abraham."

    1. May his memory be eternal. With so many relatives who will miss him he has a better chance than most. Glad you had the chance to say goodbye, but still sorry to see this news.

  4. Had a great time making burnt ends on the smoker last time in Scandia, so am thinking of getting some smoker-action out here in H'istan.

    I have a stove-top smoker which is great for a couple of pieces of salmon, but need to get something that can tackle something large-esh like brisket. I just started looking at some electric ones on-line, and a buddy said that pellets are the way to go (he borrows his buddy's Traeger).

    Any thoughts?

    1. I have done a whole brisket on a standard Weber, but it is a challenge. And, of course, the charcoal snake method works wonders with ribs and pork butt on the Weber.

      My UCLA buddy recently got a smoker that he loves. It's a pretty conventional-looking offset: firebox for wood/briquets, then an upright,cylindrical, domed unit for the food, with several (adjustable?) trays for water and food items. Seems to work great, and probably much cheaper than the Traeger. But I have heard good things about the Traeger.

        1. That discussion page led me to what I'll probably spring for - a Slow 'N Sear.
          I already have the Weber and was gifted a gas grill for my birthday/father's day this year (grilled a lot more this summer than at any point the past 4-5 years) and was contemplating a smoker purchase anyway. My first attempt at venison jerky and sticks a few years back, I used my buddy's small electric smoker and loved the results (believe I shared the process and pictures at some point ... a-ha, here it is!) He got divorced in '13 and sold that thing, but not to me unfortunately. Been pining after something ever since, but couldn't justify the $200+ price tag for something I knew I wouldn't have time to play with (Kernel was 6 mos. old and I was just getting a career off the ground).

          1. Derp. Looks like I'm going to be buying that instead. I loath the idea of purchasing a stand alone that will only get used once in a while, and this insert solves a number of design issues that the smokeinator had.

            1. what I really need is useful advice on how to get a crispy skin (instead of leather) on my turkey this year on the Weber.

              I have little choice but to do the turkey on the grill, since the oven is otherwise occupied.

              I brine the turkey a day or so in advance. Part of the question is how to get the skin sufficiently dried off before it goes on the grill. Part is how to raise the temp enough in the grill to crisp the skin without burning the bird. I generally try to get a bird on the smaller end of the scale, but it's still a big damned bird. Low-and-slow just seems to always lead to leathery skin, even when I've smeared herb butter underneath.

                1. I have not grilled a turkey outside, but I've had pretty good results using Alton Brown's Good Eats recipe indoors in the oven, and that calls for most of the cooking to be at 350 degrees, after an initial blast at 500 degrees.

                    1. I always did basically that when I was doing the turkey at the in-laws (Because Double Oven) and it worked great.

                  3. That's the same one we've used the last four or so years. The last two, though, we've used an indirect heating grill, and the results are even better. Far more juicy, far more evenly cooked than it even was before (with no flipping required!). And the skin comes out great, too. Just a ridiculously good bird. We'll probably never need another way of doing it.

    2. When I smoked twenty pounds of pork belly last year I did it in my buddy's converted 55-gallon drum smoker. Very basic, but it worked really well and had good capacity. I think we got all the belly, some other cuts, and some almonds in there.

    3. I have a Traeger (the smallest one) and love it, but the couple of brisket attempts haven't been my favorites - the pork chops and short ribs though, oh man those are tasty. I need to try another brisket, made some mistakes with both and they were still good. Just not as tasty as I've had at good BBQ restaurants.

      Definitely a lighter smoke flavor from the pellets (which is a plus for Mrs. Razor) and the small one can have some pretty big temp fluctuations when trying to hold the 250-350 range.

    4. I'm not a fan of pellet smokers as the end product has little to no smoke flavor (YMMV as that's a bonus for the Razor family). As the Doc said, I've done a whole brisket on the Weber, and it is a challenge. After a pile of research, my next investment will likely be the pit barrel cooker .

      1. Cool. That looks like a smaller, but much more refined, version of the barrel smoker I mentioned above.

      2. From what I'm reading, the PBC has some mojo. I couldn't tell from the promo video how/where you read the temps? Is there a temperature gauge or are you poking your own thermometers to tell what's going on? Or parkour smoking?

        1. From what I understand, if you light the grill following their instructions (and have properly adjusted the vent for your altitude...) the internal temp will be a consistent 250 degrees F. I'm a little skeptical, but a good friend owns one and has had some great results.

          1. Ordered the PBC last nite. Reviews will follow...

            Tonight did salmon on The Aussie using mesquite wood chips (no marinade). Worked out great.

            1. Sweet. I like when you drop the Nation Has An Appetite/I Love Pork, You Should Too posts in as LTEs. Keeps me on my toes.

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