Congrats to the OSIRIS-REx team on a (seemingly) successful touchdown! Don't forget though, Hayabusa2 should be home in a couple months.
48 thoughts on “October 21, 2020: Boop!”
I haven't watched any baseball since the Twins were eliminated. I was incredibly confused when I tuned in last night.
"That's definitely not Dodger Stadium, so WTF did they do to the Trop?"
Then they panned around and there was a Rangers logo and it clicked.
Hey did you ever finish out stocking your WGOM baseball team? I don't remember any posts after the original.
Oh, right, that.
I completely spaced it.
Last night I pulled together a darn solid dinner. Had some Pork Tenderloin Tips in the freezer. Thawed and marinated with Chili Paste, Lime Wine (see below), and soy sauce. Made some Korean potatoes that were braised with more chili paste, lime wine, soy sauce, honey and the liquid drained from some Kimchi. I seared the tenderloin tips then finished them on top of the potatoes in the oven. After draining the kimchi I stir fried it with Habanero Garlic Olive Oil (thanks again Nibbish!) The result was a crazy good Korean Pork dish. The braising liquid finished incredibly well and I am craving more right now.
The Lime Wine was a creative substitute for Sake, as I did not have any. I had never heard of Lime Wine before, but last Sunday we stopped by a new local winery near Miltona called 68th and Vine. They had a lime wine on their tasting menu. The couple have family in southern California and ship fresh limes back to Minnesota. It is unique and quite tasty. I bought a few bottles. I can only drink one glass in a sitting, but I think it will be a great cooking wine for Asian style dishes.
Sounds amazing.
This reminds me - any chance you've had an opportunity to check out Rolling Forks Vineyard? I've finally had a chance to try some of their wine, and I liked what I had, though I'm not exactly knowledgeable about the stuff.
Yes! It is a super cool place to visit and the wine is already better than average for a Minnesota winery. We had a fun visit a few weeks back!
I'm currently in a virtual work town hall asking about how employees are dealing with WFH and how they would like things to go in the future. Everyone so far says they absolutely love it, feel less stress, and (mostly) never want to back into the office again.
Do these people not have children?
Heh, I don't think the majority did, or at least no longer in the home.
Part of this was to discuss what work should look like after all this is over, whenever that is. Work before was very anti-flexibility. Everyone in the office from this hour to this hour, no exceptions. I'm reallllly hoping that's going to change after this.
There are a number of changes that were made by accident that I hope continue like not having to wear a tie to meetings.
Understood. I am with you on hoping the increased flexibility sticks. Yesterday it was glorious to watch the snow falling and have zero worries about how f***ed my commute home was going to be.
I was very anti-WFH because I had managers who were not actually managing staff who were given that privilege before I arrived. Paying people full-time who are working half-time or less is not good for team productivity or morale.
Most of those problems are gone. But the management problem of holding people accountable when the work is not widget-based is hard.
But the management problem of holding people accountable when the work is not widget-based is hard.
Preach!
oh, I do.
and, truth be told, I'm a pretty slack task master. I expect people to act like adults and give me solutions, not problems. It ... doesn't always go well.
Or do but have a stay-at-home partner. Speaking for a friend of course.
Yeah, we sent Rick back to day care awhile ago. It wasn't a good environment for him or for us to have him in the house all day while we were trying to work, especially at such an important age for socialization. Since we're both WFH, we can trade off responsibilities with Pete to the point that it's not too unmanageable. With hybrid just starting this week, hopefully that will take a little more of the edge off.
There's naturally going to be a bias for public feedback to be positive because no one wants to be "that person" complaining about how they are having a hard time getting things done.
Also, for as much as it is stressful having to WFH and deal with kids, it would be even worse if I was still expected to go into the office since I'd have to solve a nearly impossible child care problem.
Nobody's going to take the "Yeah, I've been sucking at my job for 6 months" angle? Just me?
I have had some struggles since I started working from home, but there are two reasons for that. One is that I was doing the work of about three people back in April because we were badly understaffed
(and no one got raises this year. Weeeeeeeeeeeeee capitlaism.)
.
And two, my boss has taken WFH to mean "I should micromanage the crap out of you", and I do not respond well to that.
Even though I have a litter at home while working, I've found WFH to be much better than I would have expected.
The kids do interrupt every once in a while, but with time they have come to learn that when I have my headphones on, it means I'm on a call and I can't talk (even my oldest had trouble learning that one). But overall, me working from home has been very beneficial for my wife who's been able to do more projects around the house, able to run errands without taking little ones with her, and she was even able to work for a good amount of time - enough to earn some extra dough to pay off the house.
I'm now to the point where even though the office is allowing people to voluntarily come back to the office, I'm thinking I'll stay at home as long as they let me. The advantages have been enough that I'd stick with it.
Over 17 years and I concur. That said, I do miss my couple days here and there mingling with the gang at The Mothership.
In some ways, I like working from home, but I find that I'm more easily distracted and that I'm not quite as efficient. Plus, there's no real cutoff to the workday. I kind of prefer just going to work.
WFH was going well for both of us pre-The Second Child.
My wife starts back from maternity leave on Wednesday. We'll see how it goes.
My team has always had 2 remote employees, and since the pandemic WFH started one of our team members actually moved (only to Worthington, so not too far but still)
We've been pipe-dreaming about moving abroad since we got married, and jobs were always the first big sticking point. But with all this WFH lately, we think it may actually have shown that it's a viable option and maybe that hurdle is a little lower should we want to pursue it.
Are you sneaking hints into your comments again?!?
Nope.
Just that the idea has gone from 90% implausible to maybe 70%?
But that I can point and say "1 & 2 have always been remote, and you just let 3 move. Why can't I move too? My numbers are just as good, or better."
And I fully expect "Worthington is at least in the same time zone, much less the same continent" as a rebuttal.
To which (in my day dreams) I counter with "now we have a new overnight shift without you having to pay someone extra to be the overnight shift"
6.5/10. I’m just sincerely wishing I had yesterday’s sandwich for today’s lunch.
Basically a 3 egg quiche with creme fraiche and 4 tablespoons of mustard with match stick’d leeks and carrots. (You’re supposed to steam the veg with rosemary.... why you wouldn’t sauté them with butter is beyond me...)
The end result was not worth the effort. Something about the matchstick shape of the veg, and the texture of the custard(?) was just off.
Enter our brainchild. We used the mandolin on the thinnest setting to slice a leek into paper thin rounds, and did the same for two carrots. Upped the thickness and sliced a bunch of potato rounds. Steamed the potatoes with rosemary, and sautéed the veg in butter and more rosemary. I whipped 3 eggs, a tbs of Dijon, and a tbs of creme fraiche together. I par baked a Pillsbury pie crust, used a layer of leeks and carrots, a bit of cheese (goat cheese would have been better but I had cheddar), layer of potatoes, layer of leek n carrots, and a final layer of potatoes. I dumped the egg mix over the whole shooting match, sprinkled a bit more cheez on top. and baked it at 425 until it was set. Very, very tasty. Homemade pie crust would have made it that much better.
Oooh.
Everything is bigger in Texas including the $27.50 Boomstick, which is a 2-foot all-beef hot dog, smothered in chili, nacho cheese, jalapenos and caramelized onion. It weighs three pounds. #WorldSeries#Dodgerspic.twitter.com/KIVHtHOSnh
I had reasonable success with baked apple french toast this morning. My one complaint is that the 15-minute prep time is absurdly off base. I probably got the base layer completed in 15 minutes, but peeling and slicing the apples for the top layer probably took a good 25 minutes all on its own. Grrr.
That's the exact one we have (Pampered Chef) -- I call it our Apple Peeler/Corer/Dicer/Slicer/Picker/Eater. Warning: they do not like soft apples very well.
Works best with a fairly symmetric apple.
Ha--that's fantastic!
With all the food talk, I'm just putting it out there that I'm very much looking forward to the sauerkraut and dumplings (with sausage) I'm making tonight.
Knödel or Spätzle?
Mom likes to a German-style sauerbraten dinner for the fam...guessing we won't see that this year. Negotiating holidays is going to be challenging enough...
Knodel style.
Happy anniversary to "The Josh Freeman Game", one of the most miserable 3 hours of football the Vikings franchise has ever put on.
I watched this game at a destination wedding in Jamaica. All inclusive ... wasn't inclusive enough.
Just learned that Sheenie's best friend's father perished in a private plane crash this afternoon. I'm so sick of 2020.
I haven't watched any baseball since the Twins were eliminated. I was incredibly confused when I tuned in last night.
"That's definitely not Dodger Stadium, so WTF did they do to the Trop?"
Then they panned around and there was a Rangers logo and it clicked.
Hey did you ever finish out stocking your WGOM baseball team? I don't remember any posts after the original.
Oh, right, that.
I completely spaced it.
Last night I pulled together a darn solid dinner. Had some Pork Tenderloin Tips in the freezer. Thawed and marinated with Chili Paste, Lime Wine (see below), and soy sauce. Made some Korean potatoes that were braised with more chili paste, lime wine, soy sauce, honey and the liquid drained from some Kimchi. I seared the tenderloin tips then finished them on top of the potatoes in the oven. After draining the kimchi I stir fried it with Habanero Garlic Olive Oil (thanks again Nibbish!) The result was a crazy good Korean Pork dish. The braising liquid finished incredibly well and I am craving more right now.
The Lime Wine was a creative substitute for Sake, as I did not have any. I had never heard of Lime Wine before, but last Sunday we stopped by a new local winery near Miltona called 68th and Vine. They had a lime wine on their tasting menu. The couple have family in southern California and ship fresh limes back to Minnesota. It is unique and quite tasty. I bought a few bottles. I can only drink one glass in a sitting, but I think it will be a great cooking wine for Asian style dishes.
Sounds amazing.
This reminds me - any chance you've had an opportunity to check out Rolling Forks Vineyard? I've finally had a chance to try some of their wine, and I liked what I had, though I'm not exactly knowledgeable about the stuff.
Yes! It is a super cool place to visit and the wine is already better than average for a Minnesota winery. We had a fun visit a few weeks back!
I'm currently in a virtual work town hall asking about how employees are dealing with WFH and how they would like things to go in the future. Everyone so far says they absolutely love it, feel less stress, and (mostly) never want to back into the office again.
Do these people not have children?
Heh, I don't think the majority did, or at least no longer in the home.
Part of this was to discuss what work should look like after all this is over, whenever that is. Work before was very anti-flexibility. Everyone in the office from this hour to this hour, no exceptions. I'm reallllly hoping that's going to change after this.
There are a number of changes that were made by accident that I hope continue like not having to wear a tie to meetings.
Understood. I am with you on hoping the increased flexibility sticks. Yesterday it was glorious to watch the snow falling and have zero worries about how f***ed my commute home was going to be.
I was very anti-WFH because I had managers who were not actually managing staff who were given that privilege before I arrived. Paying people full-time who are working half-time or less is not good for team productivity or morale.
Most of those problems are gone. But the management problem of holding people accountable when the work is not widget-based is hard.
But the management problem of holding people accountable when the work is not widget-based is hard.
Preach!
oh, I do.
and, truth be told, I'm a pretty slack task master. I expect people to act like adults and give me solutions, not problems. It ... doesn't always go well.
Or do but have a stay-at-home partner. Speaking for a friend of course.
Yeah, we sent Rick back to day care awhile ago. It wasn't a good environment for him or for us to have him in the house all day while we were trying to work, especially at such an important age for socialization. Since we're both WFH, we can trade off responsibilities with Pete to the point that it's not too unmanageable. With hybrid just starting this week, hopefully that will take a little more of the edge off.
There's naturally going to be a bias for public feedback to be positive because no one wants to be "that person" complaining about how they are having a hard time getting things done.
Also, for as much as it is stressful having to WFH and deal with kids, it would be even worse if I was still expected to go into the office since I'd have to solve a nearly impossible child care problem.
Nobody's going to take the "Yeah, I've been sucking at my job for 6 months" angle? Just me?
I have had some struggles since I started working from home, but there are two reasons for that. One is that I was doing the work of about three people back in April because we were badly understaffed
.
And two, my boss has taken WFH to mean "I should micromanage the crap out of you", and I do not respond well to that.
Even though I have a litter at home while working, I've found WFH to be much better than I would have expected.
The kids do interrupt every once in a while, but with time they have come to learn that when I have my headphones on, it means I'm on a call and I can't talk (even my oldest had trouble learning that one). But overall, me working from home has been very beneficial for my wife who's been able to do more projects around the house, able to run errands without taking little ones with her, and she was even able to work for a good amount of time - enough to earn some extra dough to pay off the house.
I'm now to the point where even though the office is allowing people to voluntarily come back to the office, I'm thinking I'll stay at home as long as they let me. The advantages have been enough that I'd stick with it.
Over 17 years and I concur. That said, I do miss my couple days here and there mingling with the gang at The Mothership.
In some ways, I like working from home, but I find that I'm more easily distracted and that I'm not quite as efficient. Plus, there's no real cutoff to the workday. I kind of prefer just going to work.
WFH was going well for both of us pre-The Second Child.
My wife starts back from maternity leave on Wednesday. We'll see how it goes.
My team has always had 2 remote employees, and since the pandemic WFH started one of our team members actually moved (only to Worthington, so not too far but still)
We've been pipe-dreaming about moving abroad since we got married, and jobs were always the first big sticking point. But with all this WFH lately, we think it may actually have shown that it's a viable option and maybe that hurdle is a little lower should we want to pursue it.
Are you sneaking hints into your comments again?!?
Nope.
Just that the idea has gone from 90% implausible to maybe 70%?
But that I can point and say "1 & 2 have always been remote, and you just let 3 move. Why can't I move too? My numbers are just as good, or better."
And I fully expect "Worthington is at least in the same time zone, much less the same continent" as a rebuttal.
To which (in my day dreams) I counter with "now we have a new overnight shift without you having to pay someone extra to be the overnight shift"
6.5/10. I’m just sincerely wishing I had yesterday’s sandwich for today’s lunch.
What the hell is "checken"?
Speaking of culinary success....
Dr. Chop made this mustard tart from the nytimes cooking page.
Basically a 3 egg quiche with creme fraiche and 4 tablespoons of mustard with match stick’d leeks and carrots. (You’re supposed to steam the veg with rosemary.... why you wouldn’t sauté them with butter is beyond me...)
The end result was not worth the effort. Something about the matchstick shape of the veg, and the texture of the custard(?) was just off.
Enter our brainchild. We used the mandolin on the thinnest setting to slice a leek into paper thin rounds, and did the same for two carrots. Upped the thickness and sliced a bunch of potato rounds. Steamed the potatoes with rosemary, and sautéed the veg in butter and more rosemary. I whipped 3 eggs, a tbs of Dijon, and a tbs of creme fraiche together. I par baked a Pillsbury pie crust, used a layer of leeks and carrots, a bit of cheese (goat cheese would have been better but I had cheddar), layer of potatoes, layer of leek n carrots, and a final layer of potatoes. I dumped the egg mix over the whole shooting match, sprinkled a bit more cheez on top. and baked it at 425 until it was set. Very, very tasty. Homemade pie crust would have made it that much better.
Oooh.
No. Just no.
That looks repulsive compared to the Target Field version which is beyond delicious.
I had reasonable success with baked apple french toast this morning. My one complaint is that the 15-minute prep time is absurdly off base. I probably got the base layer completed in 15 minutes, but peeling and slicing the apples for the top layer probably took a good 25 minutes all on its own. Grrr.
That's the exact one we have (Pampered Chef) -- I call it our Apple Peeler/Corer/Dicer/Slicer/Picker/Eater. Warning: they do not like soft apples very well.
Works best with a fairly symmetric apple.
Ha--that's fantastic!
With all the food talk, I'm just putting it out there that I'm very much looking forward to the sauerkraut and dumplings (with sausage) I'm making tonight.
Knödel or Spätzle?
Mom likes to a German-style sauerbraten dinner for the fam...guessing we won't see that this year. Negotiating holidays is going to be challenging enough...
Knodel style.
Happy anniversary to "The Josh Freeman Game", one of the most miserable 3 hours of football the Vikings franchise has ever put on.
I watched this game at a destination wedding in Jamaica. All inclusive ... wasn't inclusive enough.
Just learned that Sheenie's best friend's father perished in a private plane crash this afternoon. I'm so sick of 2020.
at the Slidell airport?
That's the one
bah Sorry Will that sucks.