rorystarr

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@taco In the 2000s, a minimally regulated housing market built low grade homes on cheap Arizona land for no other reason than to have mortgages--seen as a safe bet--to back securities on wall street. They tricked people into these shit houses with unsustainably cheap mortgages that hiked into unaffordable rates after some time and were effectively unsellable but impossible for them to pay. This led to the absolute collapse of the entire global banking system.

So, yeah, deregulation is sus.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@taco And maybe more to the point: the market doesn't make housing to house people. It makes housing to fill portfolios of investors looking to stabilize chunks of capital. The assumption they will do anything we need with housing when left to their own devices is verifiably false.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@taco I do think the idea that they have a legal obligation to investors gets a bit warped. They don't have an obligation to make investors the most money in the shortest amount of time. They have an obligation to make decisions that bring profit to investors, but they can choose to do so in longer more stable returns models and not be in violation of the law. It's just that the investor classes wants as much money as possible right now so they can liquidate and chase trends.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@taco that's what they say, but I've read some interesting takes from corporate lawyers--including a discussion with a corporate lawyer--that say that is merely an interpretation they use to justify publicly unpopular decisions. It's much more nuanced otherwise they would be obligated to sell to corporate raiders, and they aren't.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@taco all law is interpretation. But it is because if a president says, "if we take this deal, you can cash out at this profit this quarter. But I think more money can be made if we invest this quarter and extend that pay out over two years" that's a valid take on "maximizing profit" even though it does mean less money this quarter.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@taco well, it was a piece of an incomplete point. Exactly how the economics work out for each housing project is debatable, but the law of maximizing profit won't--in my view--be the deciding factor. Instead, most of what drives this unsustainable early and fast profit strategy is just corporate politics. Investors might sue, and often do, but even if that fails they just conspire to vote out the executive team and put one in that serves their short-sighted goals. They don't even need a law.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@taco IOW, even if you made some case that a 20 year housing project might make more money, wall street types are largely degenerate gamblers that don't think that far ahead.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@taco I was more saying that even if you change the fiduciary obligation laws, it wouldn't matter. It's not respect for the law that drives most big corporate behaviour. Whether a housing project makes more money over its lifetime is a moot point, imo. These are short-sighted gamblers with a degree in backstabbing corporate politics and that, more than anything, drives company executive behaviour.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

Tonight's stories will feature translations by:

@juergen_hubert

His Patreon is here: https://www.patreon.com/sunkencastles/​​

Please consider supporting the work of translators! You get great stories every month for a couple of bucks.

Storytellers like me really depend on translators, so if you like what I do, that's a major part of the infrastructure I need to do it!

rorystarr, 3 months ago

If you want to play this #ttrpg #game yourself you can purchase it here:
https://sparkotter.itch.io/preciousthings

[Also, since it is sometimes unclear--I just play the games. This is not my game nor do I have any relationship to the creators.]

rorystarr, 3 months ago

Tonight's stories will feature translations by:

@juergen_hubert

His Patreon is here: https://www.patreon.com/sunkencastles/​​

Please consider supporting the work of translators! You get great stories every month for a couple of bucks.

Storytellers like me really depend on translators, so if you like what I do, that's a major part of the infrastructure I need to do it!

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@usluck

rorystarr, 3 months ago

This one was a bit out of carrot-ter for me (eh? eh? Be here all week). I don't generally like soup, though I struggle to see this as a soup. It's more a stew to me but the world recoils from me defining this as such, so I shall relent to the tyranny of the majority. I served it with Bob's Red Mill GF Cornbread mix, which add some heft to a pretty light meal.

#celiac #glutenfree #food

A picture of the recipe for the soup from Cannelle et Vanille. Unfortunately, too many words for a description.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

This is not healthy. I should say that upfront. But it's not the worst. It's deep fried chicken thighs bathed in honey & garlic on rice with roasted broccoli, AKA good.

It is deep fried. I know that scares some. Deep frying has risks, but good practice (e.g., don't drop ice into it) & a fire extinguisher (which your kitchen should have anyways--though barring that a large box of baking soda at hand) will keep you safe.

Recipe https://www.dessertfortwo.com/honey-garlic-chicken-thighs/

#celiac #glutenfree #food #dinner

rorystarr, 3 months ago

Porridge often causes a slight bit of gagging in me. It has texture in all the wrong places, and none in the rest. It's bland and cloying.

However, quinoa holds up better than rolled oats (and is generally easier to find than actually gluten free oats).

That said, it's not life changing. I just like it more than the porridge I hate. I do find myself hungrier than usual on days I eat it and that certainly isn't for lack of calories in it. Probably the sugar.

#celiac #gltuenfree #food

Recipe for breakfast quinoa. Too much text for descriptions, unfortunately.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

Mujadara is a dish I loved long before the #celiac diagnosis. The key here is you must caramelize those onions.

Listen, looks directly in your eyes don't be a coward--don't just brown those bitches, CARAMELIZE them. You're nodding, but do you have the moral fortitude to stir onions for 45 minutes? Or will fear lead you away from flavour?

The recipe says 20 minutes and it's wrong. Commit.

Roast Chicken is the recipe above.

Mujadara Recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/lebanese-lentils-rice-and-caramelized-onions-mujadara-recipe-1925439

#food #glutenfree

rorystarr, 3 months ago

I question raw kale in a salad. I like kale--like most bitter greens--but it's tough as shoe leather when raw. This recipe has you "massage the kale", which is a line I never thought I'd read. It did help, though. Overall, the salad worked.

Also, because kale is a brick shithouse, it held up overnight in the fridge.

The sandwich is Duinkerken GF bread wrapped about sliced ham & good ole Kraft singles then grilled with butter.

Recipe: https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/280172/kale-avocado-salad-with-blueberries-edamame/

#celiac #glutenfree #food

A picture of a grilled ham & cheese.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

I am skeptical of people that hate tofu.

It's not that I deny the subjectivity of taste, it's just I don't trust most folks have had good preparations of almost anything. Anyways, the fellow who put this recipe together (Lucas Sin) has a must watch video guiding you through tofu (link with the recipe). It's excellent. Don't skip a step and this will blow your mind. I'm partial to the silken tofu rendition, but both are good.

Recipe: https://food52.com/recipes/87911-best-pan-fried-tofu-recipe

#celiac #glutenfree #food

rorystarr, 3 months ago

Oh, side note, you obviously have to swap the soya with either GF soya sauce--or in my case--tamari. The tricky part is the abalone sauce (which is just fancy oyster sauce). There is GF oyster sauce out there, but I can't source it, so I swapped in GF hoisin--which does not replicate the flavour but has enough in common with oyster sauce to fill the gaps left on the palate. Be mindful of rice wines. GF ones exist, but so do ones processed with wheat.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

I had to make my own garlic and onion powder. Let me explain why.

The "shit that has gluten?" discovery of THIS week was ground spices. Most don't list wheat as a possibility, but I discovered via cinnamon that it was in even unlabeled spices.

The real trouble, besides shabby labeling, is the price on certified GF spices. Mother of god, they can be 400% or more in some cases. Anyways, I have a dehydrator. Ta da.

#celiac #food #glutenfree

a locking sealed jar about a quarter filled with homemade garlic powder.
a short canning jar a quarter filled with onion powder.

rorystarr, 3 months ago

@aarontempler I have not tried it as a porridge but I have had it as a flour and I found it pleasantly sweet. Thanks for the recommendation, I will try it out.