Saturday Night

I opened the other day a can of worms in the bathroom. I wanted to touch paint the wall on top of the liner and i saw the silicon i put in there years ago had mold under. Why did i put it? Because it was cracked. Why didn't i call them? Because was part of dozens if not hundreds of problems. There should have been a handyman in here every day to fix something. Didn't do a good job or it's mission impossible. The joint between wall and liner. Every time you step in the tub the the liner moves a bit because it's fiberglass.

There is not much water flowing on top of the liner. Just tiny droplets that jump from your skin or off the main jet of the shower head. But that was enough to make the drywall wet and stinky and moldy. I removed all the silicon including the wet soft drywall and put some joint compound. However the smell that got released together with bad bacteria triggered an episode of nausea followed by diarrhea. Tried to air, but the air quality outside suddenly went bad. With no explanations in the media. So tonight i just took off to Spirit Mountain. Two hours of driving, several hours in there, breathing clean air. Cause after we cleared the neighborhood, there was no more smoke including at the casino.

It will not last. Maybe it will at bit more if i add some silicon at the joint before i paint over.

When i got back, air quality was better and i could air a bit. But all of a sudden that changed to a perceived @100 and had to close doors and windows. Went outside and measured with the monitor and in that moment the air cleared back again to 25 or something. So it's something very... local, so to say. But it smelled like wildfire. Opened the door and windows back again. Tonight was the first night i wasn't nauseated in a long time.

Before i left i tried and moved the handle in the picture and it moved. No, i don't think significant amounts of water is flowing by that  handle though it's not sealed. I thought behind that wall is the a space common with the other sides of it and tossed some baking soda though that hole before i left.     

Had this idea and stuck the endoscope camera through the hole of the handle. First thing i saw. This is no liner. There is no drywall panel behind it. It's a fiberglass shower wall that is one with the tub. It's the original construction. My tiny 6 mm camera though i left it ok (after i resoldered some of the wires) now it's got a scratch on it. Everything breaks in here, mostly by themselves). So all the stink i guess came from the joint between the fiberglass shower wall and the drywall that was not so dry anymore. Calcium sulfate getting wet and decomposing to sulfur or something. I believe this was one major source of me getting sick. I said it 1000 times. Normally it's not big deal and it goes out through the tiny continuous fan i put on top of the regular fan in the bathroom. But if the exhaust pipe has a leak, then it would go inside floor upstairs, which it happened. By the smell coming when stepping on it. From there and from the "direct source" in the bathroom it can be released inside "on demand",  that is like gassing someone a little bit, when necessary either by vibration with modified or broken exhausts or by walking hard on the "light" floor. Like when not behaving, posting all kidna s... etc., most efficient when eating.

 

One more thing about Spirit Mountain. I know it's all simulated like everything here, but from all the three casinos in the area, it's the only one we lose no matter what. Angela didn't want to go in there, i didn't want to go to Ilani. At Ilani she always recovers at the end. At Chinook Winds, from time to time she wins, though mostly looses. But to me Ilani is the ugliest place i've ever seen and Chinook Winds is 27 extra miles from Spirit Mountain.

Ilani looks like a humongous rectangular industrial facility and half of the people are Asian and the other half Hungarian actors. But i think at Spirit Mountain they can't bring the celebrities for shows as easy as at Lincoln City or Ilani. Ilani is at half hour of drive on I5 from Portland. Spirit Mountain is one hour. Maybe too many real people, like i thought they were tonight.

Anyways, the're trying to discourage us from getting there, for some reason. But my point is, and i know it for sure, they have control over the machines. If i look up in every casino i've been to, i see at any time 5-10 cameras. I presume if i see those they can see me. For what? I've never seen one single security problem in one of those going hundreds of times, for years.

Every time i hit the button and i don't pay attention or not ready to hit it again to stop the reels, they fill the screen with passing wilds, other winning combinations. When i pay attention and look at the screen and ready to stop them, nothing. This could happen only if they have some software and analyze your mood and reactions. How can this be called gambling?

And a piece of advice to casino goers. Don't go these days after the stimulus bill has been approved. Cause they know people are more likely to loose because they have or about to have those extra money.

If somebody should look into this type of AI enticing robbery called slots. Yes they should, but who? Nobody cares for the social category of people who need to go to casinos for a number of reasons, mainly for being old and lonely, if they get plainly robbed.

Maybe they should limit the number of cameras. Maybe they should have none pointing at you while you play. But still the machines can analyze your mood and disposition to lose only by the way you push the button to stop the reels. Maybe they shouldn't have those games at all. Push the button once and wait for them to stop. Pushing twice, or start and stop also reduces the time between hands and brings more money faster etc..Took a picture with the phone's camera Sunday evening.

The Perfect Fries

20 minutes hands on time, 40 minutes total elapsed time.

Five pounds of potatoes at Winco cost around 2 dollars. The cheapest. Could make 4 times if they were all medium size and healthy which sometimes are. Choose 6-8 medium size potatoes. Wash thoroughly rubbing with your hands, emptying the tub several times. Peel. I use my wonder peeler i bought in Vegas for about 2 dollars. Wash again. Could buy the pink potatoes and don't have to peel them, only wash. Fire the oven.

Don't mind the dimples, try to get rid of the mold stains. Cut in two, four, eight.

Spice. My favorite is dill, but i'm out of it. A bit of olive oil.

Mix by raising the spoon from bottom up. 10-15 times. Grease the pan (cookie sheet) thoroughly. I use a bit of coconut oil. This way you will be able to remove them from the pan. Arrange them.

Put in the oven at medium for 20 minutes. Check with a fork. Serve with yogurt, garlic sauce, V8 or as side for burgers.

Pandemic Cooking. 12" Angry Dough Pizza for About 2 Dollars

From scratch. Some, limited nutrition. 30 minutes hands on time. Elapsed time, about one and a half hours. Feeds 2-4 people.

Flour. One 5 pound (2.5 kg) bag for around 2 bucks at WinCo is enough to make 12 of 12" pizzas. Unbleached all purpose seem to be the norm and trend.

3 (240 ml) cups of flour (400+ gr) and one 300 ml cup of water. One+ topped tablespoon of dry yeast (dip the spoon in the yeast and pull, i keep my yeast indefinitely in a sealed jar in the fridge after opening the pack). A bit of salt. Keep some extra flour in the measuring 3 cup glass mug. First mix flour and yeast then salt then water. Mix for about 2 minutes with the spoon.

It's always hard to figure the flour/water ratio. Add a bit of water or flour while you mix until homogeneous (not like in the first picture below, only partially done). The goal is to make it as soft as possible to handle, later. Think ice cream consistency. Let it raise for about half hour. Indoor temperature is critical. Don't even think below 70 (20 C). If too cold, start the oven and let raise on top in a not too hot area. You will needed it later anyways. I call it angry dough because after raising, the face of an angry guy showed in the dough on the right.

Put some flour on the knitting board. Pour. Rain a bit of flour on top and knit for about 2 minutes. If too soft, add flour, keep knitting. Cut in two. Half will be used to make a pan bread. Or a second pizza, if  you have another pan which i don't.

I use a big jar to flatten one of the halves. A fingertip of coconut oil to grease the pan using your fingers. Essential if you want to ever remove the pizza from the pan after done. Transfer in the pan, add more flour on top and continue to flatten until it fills the pan uniformly.

Mix in a cup some V8, tomato sauce, pizza/pasta sauce, whatever you got with a bit of olive oil and a bit of hot sauce. Spread on the dough. Cut some thin tomato slices. Put on top. Aim to fill the whole pizza.

Grate some cheese on top (Second most expensive ingredient, about 50 cents/pizza). Add the pepperoni or other signature ingredients. Most expensive ingredient. For about 3 dollars you can get pepperoni for about 3 pizzas.

Thin slice a quarter of a pepper, onion. Ornate the pizza. These two give extra flavor, nutrition and help protect the pepperoni getting burned by the heat of the oven.

Let raise on top of the oven for about 20 more minutes. Bak at max oven temperature (500+) for 6-8 minutes or until done. I turned the other half of the dough into a pan fried bread, about 7 minutes on each side, at 4 (medium).

Best way to check if done is to open the oven door, wait a few seconds for the heat to pass, raise it a bit on a side with a stake knife an look under.

Can use your imagination to add or switch topping ingredients as you feel.

Pandemic Cooking. Quarter Pounder Under One Dollar

In about 20 minutes time.

(Can find a coupon for the 9 dollars/3 pound ground beef from Safeway. Sometimes they have the one pound same squeeze/"sausage" type pack for around 3 dollars).

Spice, mix energetically like knitting dough and turn into 4 equal bolls. Smash and form, about 5 mm or 1/4 inch thick.

Transfer. Fire up the electric pan at medium. No need for extra oil. Can be done on stove top in a regular pan. Crack your window. At this point all the kids in the building will gather under your window and that is the reason i write this recipe. It can be done by a 12 years or older. 5 minutes or until done on each side. They will shrink and thicken dramatically.

Did you know you can cut frozen buns and put them in toaster while still frozen?

I do use lots of foil wrap. I wash and cut the onions in two and keep them in the fridge, like peppers, cheese and other. (Don't have tomatoes right now to show how to cut in thin slices for the sandwich). Clean the pan immediately or it will stink. 

Grate some cheese while still hot. (I cut the big cheap coupon bought cheese bricks and wrap them in foil). Can wrap burgers for later microwave. Can serve them with a glass of V8 (or cheaper store brand vegetable juice, same ingredients) so much better than ketchup and soda. Next, the perfect fries and our favorite, baked peppers.

Actually baked peppers are ridiculously easy to make. Wash them, peel the label and put them vertically top or bottom first depending how they want to sit on a rack in the oven at medium for half our or until soft. On a lower rack put some preferably glass pans with water so it will catch the drips (otherwise the oven will stink big time). The only difficult part is to peel the thin peels after they're done using very clean hands. Try to save the juice inside, add a few drops of cider vinegar to make a sauce, cut to slices and add some thin cut onion like above. Serve with sliced tomatoes.

Welcome Back my Friends

To the show that never ends...

Astăzi căutam deci pe cineva, și am dat peste coperta unei cărți reprezentând ceva care amintea de coloana lui Brâncuși, dar din lemn. (Apropo ați știut că acea coloană este formată de fapt din 32 de piramide puse cu bazele mari față în față, au existat modele mai vechi făcute de Brâncuși din lemn, etc.)

Am scris acum câteva zile o postare de blog despre didgeridoo, și am amintit pe fb lângă postare cred de bădița Mihai Lăcătâș, etc.. Într-o duminică, în jur de 1972, în Câmpulung, "Profesorul de cineclub", Ferdinand Michitovici, de la Casa Pionierilor (Contabil la FCL, Fabrica de Conserve Lactate "Lapte Praf Rarăul", fotoreporter la ziarul Zori Noi din Suceava), a venit, după ce mama la cererea lui m-a îmbrăcat în "costum național" local, cu boandă din blană de dihori, împrumutat de undeva din vecini și m-a dus "la o filmare" cum spunea el, pe un deal de prin zona Izvorul Alb, nu departe de casa lui bădița, care avea o tutungerie în centru (nu știu, era gestiontar, ceva) unde lucra fiică-sa, și făcea tulnice din lemn ca hobby (nu știu, nu am mai văzut niciodată în zonă, am văzut doar din metal la înmormântări). Dar dacă așa spunea profesorul Michitovici, așa trebuie să fi fost. Filmarea aia care includea găsirea și tăierea unui brad "de rezonanță" a devenit un filmuleț color gen documentar-artistic pe 16 mm (care era destul de profesional pe vremea aia) de vreo 5 minute probabil, care vroia să arate "transmiterea meseriei" sau a artei whatever dintr-o generație în alta. Totul fake. M-am întâlnit ani de zile după cu domnul Michitovici și mi-a spus că filmul a ajuns la un festival în Australia. Australia? Am întrebat eu mirat. Poate Austria? Nu, Australia a insistat el. Nu știu în ce an a fost făcută poza asta.

Până acum câțiva ani, poate vreo zece, nu știam cum arată Polanski. Dar când l-am văzut prima dată, am zis că trebuie să fi fost el, adică semăna foarte bine. Michitovici a locuit într-o vilă în Câmpulung împreună cu soția, care la rândul ei semăna cu Sharon Tate și a fost învățătoare la o altă clasă la școala Nr.1 unde director a fost un tip Teodor Darie, proful de istorie, care și el semăna cu actorul acela din filmul Sissi, în timp ce nevasta lui semăna chiar cu Romy Schneider. (Bine, diriginta și profa de mate și desen era Elisabeth Taylor, care în perioada aceea, 72-74 "a stat prin Italia"). El (Michitovici) a avut o fiică ce s-a mutat în Constanța care a avut un fiu care a dispărut într-un accident de avion în Florida, la o zi după ce cred că l-am văzut ultima oară în Lake Oswego unde cred că locuia în aceeași clădire cu mine împreună cu o tipă care semăna cu cântăreața aia de blues am uitat cum o cheamă, e singura de fapt de vârsta ei. Samantha Fox.

În Lake Oswego m-am întâlnit de mai multe ori cu un tip cu o cameră cu un obiectiv foarte scump, pe care o ținea pe burtă (stilul lui Michitovici), jos în parc lângă furnal, și chiar am vorbit de câteva ori cu el. Parcă mi-a bătut apropo-ul că ar trebui să mă mut de acolo. Dar eu habar nu aveam ce era cu mine, eram high tot timpul de la fumul ce venea din pereți și de la paraziți de pisică. Totul a fost ca un vis în ceață care s-a transformat treptat într-un coșmar.

Deci văzând coloana de mai sus am avut un impuls de curiozitate și am căutat pe numele autorului (autoarei) și am dat de o față care semăna cu a lui. Bădița.

Un sculptor în lemn maghiar din România care semăna cu el. Dar el este născut în 1937 (dacă asta este identitatea lui reală). Bădița Mihai Lăcătâș era cred cel puțin cu zece ani mai în vârstă.

În orice caz toată faza m-a dus la descoperirea unor poze de-ale lui Michitovici pe care nu le știam. Nu știu de unde a învățat el fotografie în Câmpulung (de fapt povestea spunea că era din familie de refugiați din Polonia) dar acum pot să spun că se descurca destul de bine. La compoziție nu l-am ajuns cred. Bine, trebuie să ai și o anume personalitate dar și autoritate, pentru a conduce scena. Cu fotografia color era foarte dificil pe vremea aceea. Trebuia să trimiți filmul la București. Filmele color pe 16 mm se developau totuși în laborator la Casa Pionierilor, pe întuneric beznă, timp de vreo 2 ore și includeau multe faze, din care una transferul de pe partea negativă pe cea pozitivă a aceluiași film (solarizarea).