Osu

[Kishi]

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 5:31 PM, Mistr said:

Yay for getting the new apartment!

 

 

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 5:31 PM, Mistr said:

I hope the government BS does not mess up your life too much. Good that you were able to get in overtime last week.

 

Well, so far, we're considered valuable enough that they aren't going to shut us down. Although, it'd be my luck if after having got this job that things melt down to such a point that social services collapse and I'm back out looking for a job again. We've had half-joking talks about how to explain on your resume that you lost your job because the government collapsed.

 

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 5:31 PM, Mistr said:

The new gym sounds promising. Give yourself some slack as you uproot your life. I'm sure you will be back to your normal insane workout schedule by next week.

 

Oh, of course! I'm already taking the day off tomorrow to get things done, but being able to do so will allow me to take my time and just kind of relax into this. It's just that the gym is relaxing to me. Very peaceful, you know?

 

But, I'm probably going to deload for this week, just for the sake of being able to display effortless strength on Saturday. So, you know. Slack.

 

#

 

So, Sunday training was great. I've finally cracked a set of 5 dips on that cluster, and I lifted ~13,800 lbs in DL. No back pain or anything. Weather was nice enough to permit sprinting, but when I got out there I found that a lot of the path I was using for sprints was covered in snow still. I found a shorter section that wasn't and made up for it by doing more sprints. It felt pretty good, but by the 8th I found myself asking myself if I was "going to the well," as the endurance folk say. I didn't think I was, but out of nowhere this whole host of objections rose up in my mind. I figured that was my body telling me something, so I called it a day. Was proud of myself for that.

 

Monday was a rest day. I did my stretches and, as DM-san was not there, decided to skip out on the game.

 

Tuesday I debated between doing S&S and push ups, but push ups won out when the gym parking lot was BS again. That's probably going to switch again come next week - I'll be in the apartment by then, and the ceilings are actually high enough to let me do TGUs. So I'll be able to get the spacing back that I want for various modes of training.

 

Anyway, hit high reps of incline push ups and then went to Karate. We spent the whole class sparring. It was awesome. K-Sensei believes we've hit a point where we need to figure out what drills have gotten into our games and what that's done to us so that we can figure out where to go from there. I don't know if that means we'll be going hard for the next month or so or what, but frankly I'm happy to keep going.

 

Wednesday, I ended up skipping Judo because I had some logistical stuff I wanted to take care of for the apartment. I used up the gift cards I got for Christmas and got an Instant Pot because I need speed in my cooking but also need to be able to buy the ingredients rather than go to Chipotle all the time. That turned out to be kind of a quest - the things are apparently insanely popular, and I had trouble finding a store that had one. But I did, eventually, and purchased, and I'm already looking up ways to do the things I do already. This looks like it will be good.

 

Today's Thursday, and as I alluded to, I'm going to take a deload to make Saturday easier. One other thing I'm going to do is I'm going to go back to GB's progressions for pull ups. Why? Because pull ups didn't respond to cluster training like all the other moves did, the progressions can be done once a week, they revolve around the use of rings which my elbows like, and they ultimately build toward the feat I want to accomplish anyway.

 

I don't think it's a matter of being indecisive so much as it's trying to avoid the sunk cost fallacy as it applies to training. Also, as I said, my elbows. So not a change so much as an adjustment given the feedback I'm getting.

 

I kind of feel bad that I'm mixing and matching things like I always do, but I really feel like this is a good mix at this point. It's getting me both strength and endurance, and the training dosages not only fit around the mat time, but also seem to be a good fit as far as letting me put out a good solid effort everywhere I go and still be able to recover. Shoot, I'm even able to work in rehab for my pectus issues and it's not hurting anything in terms of time or effort. It's making my chest look better, and I know that's a vain thing, but screw it. It makes me happy.

 

Of course, if y'all know me at all, you know that any time I say "All's well," it's a prelude to me changing something. I guess the change I should make is to not change this thing that is working.

[Kishi]

TL;DR I've moved into the apartment and it's awesome!

 

So, Friday, plan was to get some of my ish over to the apartment and then go to Kali. What happened was, the Lady Friends whom I have helped with, like, every move that they've had since I've known them, needed a "strapping lad" to help them lift some heavy things. It was given as a general request on FB, and when I answered they were like "(ʘᗩʘ’) KISHI, NO. We can't make you do this again!" and I was all like "You're not making me anything. I volunteered! (ノ°▽°)ノ︵┻━┻"  I'll admit, though, that there was a practical element to it, as I did want to exert a little social pressure. One of the ladies had volunteered to help. I figured the other one would, but I wanted to press just a little to make sure. Besides, hanging out with them is fun. I don't get tired.

 

It did mean missing Kali and eating junk food, but life comes first after all. I told Manong that women were using me for my body. He approved.

 

Saturday was the day of the move! There was some attrition - one person couldn't make it due to tweaking his back, and the other peaced out at the last second. The Ladies, however, were the first to arrive. They got the chance to meet the folks. Good times all around. A third arrived, and between the three of us we were able to get all of the furniture I wanted moved loaded into my dad's pick up. So instead of it being some long logistical problem, we got the whole thing done in one shot.

 

Afterward, I was helped out with some home décor and also received cleaning supplies as a housewarming gift, which I thought was really sweet of the Ladies to do for me. Afterward, I treated everyone to lunch, because being able to be generous with people makes me happy. All in all, it was probably the shortest, easiest move we'd all ever been a part of, and it was awesome.

 

Sunday I got more stuff moved into the apartment from the storage unit my folks keep. After close review, I'm going to take the table that we have in storage there as well. It's small enough that it's not really going to interfere with my desire for space and the ways in which I mean to decorate this, but since I mean to decorate w/ floor cushions and an emphasis on movement and mobility, the table and chairs will represent a way to be hospitable toward friends and relations who do not share my sensibilities. Also, it'll be useful to have some place to eat where I don't have to worry about spilling on the floor.

 

I went to get my membership done at the new gym and even proceeded with a deloaded workout, but after careful consideration I think I'll stick with a close by branch of the original gym for that. Reason being that the new gym (O2) only has a couple of power racks which were both in use the entire time I was there; as opposed to the old gym (Lifetime) which has 6 racks. I was also surprised to find that they didn't have a set up for me to practice my full contact twists, as there weren't any spare barbells or extra plates. Since I practice twisting on my 'Skill Days' to help with punching, I think I'm probably going to have to shelve them in favor of Side Lever work, which means going back to GB for that as well.

 

To be clear, this is an adaptation to circumstances rather than a programming choice, but I have to admit, even that small tweak definitely made me feel the Pull of the Dark Side, as I began to re-evaluate whether or not what I feel like what I'm doing is ultimately working.

 

I resisted, somewhat (#GrayJediForLife). I'm still going to keep doing my push up progressions because I have an endurance goal rather than a feat goal. But that being said, GB's progressions include a straddle planche as the end result of planking, and a front lever as the end result of hanging leg work. So those will probably take over for the random core work I've been doing instead. I can even see my way to getting back into Manna training as well, which I kind of want to do anyway on account of Jefferson Curls, which are amazing.

 

Because ultimately, the decisions are mine, and I don't have to be a gymnast in order to take some benefit from gymnastic work. Besides, past experimentation shows that I can split that ish up just fine without any negative effects.

 

So, just for the sake of my clarity of mind, it will probably look like:

 

Monday: Rest/Stretch

 

Tuesday: S&S/sPL and Karate

 

Wednesday: Judo and Push Ups

 

Thursday: Essential Strength (my name for this): Front Squats, RC, FL and Karate

 

Friday: Kali and S&S

 

Saturday: Skill Day (HSPU work, SL, general martial foolery)

 

Sunday: Essential Strength: Dips, DL, Sprints, MN

 

Yes. Yeeees. Something feels like it clicked in this program.

 

Anyway, I'm fasting today on account of having eaten lots of junk food in the past few days. A 20-hour fast seems like a good way to rebalance these things. Or at least, it felt good last week when this happened, and it feels good now. Also, pleased to report that I've been tracking my data long enough to know exactly when I mean to go back on cut. This degree of control... it feels good.

[Urgan]

[Kishi]

23 hours ago, Urgan said:

 

 

*

 

Monday was quiet. I went off to game, but DM-san had just been released from the hospital for pneumonia, and most of the players were in-between characters. So it wound up being the kind of night that I didn't really need to attend. But whatevs. It's not like I'd planned to go to Judo or anything.

 

I ended up getting out early enough to test out this new kitchen. The new kitchen, in case you don't know, is standing-room only for one. Imagine a kitchen without the counter space and missing a dishwasher. That's my kitchen.

 

TBH, though, it really wasn't that bad. The oven's an older range type where it has the heating elements out as opposed to the newer models. Heats things up fast. However, it's still not faster than what the IP is reputed to be, so I'm going to have to give that a shot. Also, clean up is kind of awkward. I do have a drying rack, but the sink isn't big enough for a lot of big pieces like what I'd tend to use, and it's more trouble than I'd like to go through late at night.

 

That being said, using the IP is going to be a little hairy since all the outlets are taken up by one thing or another. I use an electric kettle for my coffee when I have time to fix that, and I think that I might be able to just unplug that, move the microwave back, and use that space for the IP. The alternative, otherwise, is to do my cooking out in the living room somewhere, or else to find a way to unplug the oven itself. Both of which present some logistical problems that I'd really not like to tackle if I don't have to.

 

Anyway. Given that I need to test that out and that the folks are stopping by with the table tonight and that they can't stop by sooner than 1700, it seems reasonable to take tonight off of Karate to get this stuff ironed out and sorted. I honestly feel bad about it, as I think we're slated for sparring again tonight and having only two partners to do it is a little rough on both of them. But. I have to take care of myself too, you know?

 

Also, I need to get another wastebasket that I can put under the sink, because the present set up has a wastebasket out in the living room and it stinks the place up if I try to dispose of food in there. No good, that. My mom said that I should try to keep this place in the shape I'd want it to be if someone was coming to visit; bad smells are not up to my standard, so I must address it.

[Kishi]

Tuesday, it wound up being good that I skipped out on Karate. The folks decided not only to bring me a table and chairs but also just about all the things that I had in our storage unit. So now my home is littered in boxes. Fantastic.

 

Given this, I elected to focus on home improvement rather than training, since I was already taking a deload week anyway to deal with all this. But I think it was the right call. I wound up picking up a lightbulb for the one lamp I have now, and just that one simple change is enough to light up the whole apartment. It actually makes the place feel like home, even boxes and everything.

 

I also figured out my Instant Pot! Sort of! It took me a while to figure out the difference between venting and sealing, but once I did, it all kind of clicked. I even found a way to cook meat and rice from dry together. Rice came out kind of al dente, which I don't care for, but that was my fault on account of not accounting for water and such properly.

 

Jury's still out on whether this is good or not. I think that it's probably going to wind up taking about the same amount of time as it would to cook all this stuff in separate pans, because what nobody tells you is that you have to account for the preheat and also for the pressure to build up. That being said, I have a feeling that where this will shine will be in terms of being able to cook everything in one dish, and only having one dish to clean on top of utensils and everything else. Being able to do more with less is freaking vital in my present set up, and given how close I am to everything now I'm willing to believe that the time will work out to being something of a wash.

 

Also, one thing that I'm sure is going to drive future guests crazy is that the outlets are situated such that I had to use an extension cord to power the IP, and in order to make sure that it didn't trip anyone, I had to duct tape it over the door and run it along a wall. It's Not Aesthetic. But right now, Aesthetic is not the goal. It's an aspiration.

 

The other big thing I need to figure out right now is how to heat this place. It looks like there are two controls, but the controls in my part don't work, and I don't like how the controls are set on the other. Unfortunately, if there's only one control for both apartments, then me changing it would make me a poor neighbor as these things go, as I assume that the others are comfortable with the settings as they are. Fortunately, space heaters are a thing, and I can buy one of those if I have to.

 

Beyond that, judo is on the docket for tonight. Push ups afterward shouldn't take long. I'll go another round with the IP to see if I can get that sorted. Everything should be good.

[Urgan]

4 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Given this, I elected to focus on home improvement rather than training, since I was already taking a deload week anyway to deal with all this. But I think it was the right call. I wound up picking up a lightbulb for the one lamp I have now, and just that one simple change is enough to light up the whole apartment. It actually makes the place feel like home, even boxes and everything.

 

Plenty of seating now!

 

4 minutes ago, Kishi said:

I also figured out my Instant Pot! Sort of! It took me a while to figure out the difference between venting and sealing, but once I did, it all kind of clicked. I even found a way to cook meat and rice from dry together. Rice came out kind of al dente, which I don't care for, but that was my fault on account of not accounting for water and such properly.

 

Jury's still out on whether this is good or not. I think that it's probably going to wind up taking about the same amount of time as it would to cook all this stuff in separate pans, because what nobody tells you is that you have to account for the preheat and also for the pressure to build up. That being said, I have a feeling that where this will shine will be in terms of being able to cook everything in one dish, and only having one dish to clean on top of utensils and everything else. Being able to do more with less is freaking vital in my present set up, and given how close I am to everything now I'm willing to believe that the time will work out to being something of a wash.

 

One pot dinners would be the only way to go sans dishwasher IMHO. For rice, 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups of water, pinch of salt, pressure cook for 10 minutes. BAM. Fluffy rice is yours. With meat that will change the scheme a bit, but chicken and rice is in fact one of life's best simple pleasures and all you really have to do is throw some onion and chicken base in there. Also don't discount not having to babysit a stovetop in terms of multitasking potential. I for one will often take naps while dinner cooks. 

[Kishi]

6 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Plenty of seating now!

 

I guess I underestimated the potential of these boxes.

 

7 minutes ago, Urgan said:

One pot dinners would be the only way to go sans dishwasher IMHO. For rice, 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups of water, pinch of salt, pressure cook for 10 minutes. BAM. Fluffy rice is yours. With meat that will change the scheme a bit, but chicken and rice is in fact one of life's best simple pleasures and all you really have to do is throw some onion and chicken base in there. Also don't discount not having to babysit a stovetop in terms of multitasking potential. I for one will often take naps while dinner cooks. 

 

Yup. In point of fact, I generally prefer a rice:water ratio of 1:2. Meat didn't change it so much; since I tend to prefer ground meat because of how easily it fits into macros, I can just sauté in the pot and then combine everything to cook after. That water ratio is crucial for building up pressure, tho; otherwise, everything burns and sticks to the pot.

[Urgan]

1 minute ago, Kishi said:

Yup. In point of fact, I generally prefer a rice:water ratio of 1:2. Meat didn't change it so much; since I tend to prefer ground meat because of how easily it fits into macros, I can just sauté in the pot and then combine everything to cook after. That water ratio is crucial for building up pressure, tho; otherwise, everything burns and sticks to the pot.

 

Huh, my pressure cooker tolerates 1:1.5 just fine. Interesting. It's an Elite brand (literally), not an Instant Pot, FWIW. 

[Kishi]

3 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

Huh, my pressure cooker tolerates 1:1.5 just fine. Interesting. It's an Elite brand (literally), not an Instant Pot, FWIW. 

 

Ah, no, I am misstating. I set my initial ratio at 1:1, not 1.5, because I misread the directions. I'm sure the Instant Pot could handle 1.5; 2 is just personal preference for rice texture and handling getting it out of the pot.

[Urgan]

1 minute ago, Kishi said:

 

Ah, no, I am misstating. I set my initial ratio at 1:1, not 1.5, because I misread the directions. I'm sure the Instant Pot could handle 1.5; 2 is just personal preference for rice texture and handling getting it out of the pot.

 

Ah, I see. Yeah, I don't sweat shooting over my ratio, all you gotta do is wait a moment and it steams out, right??

[Kishi]

3 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

Ah, I see. Yeah, I don't sweat shooting over my ratio, all you gotta do is wait a moment and it steams out, right??

 

Indeed, but it's a lesson I seem to keep needing.

[Mistr]

Yay for getting moved! I'm glad to hear that your friends stepped up and helped you. You've built up a lot of moving karma over the last few years. 

 

3 hours ago, Kishi said:

Tuesday, it wound up being good that I skipped out on Karate. The folks decided not only to bring me a table and chairs but also just about all the things that I had in our storage unit. So now my home is littered in boxes. Fantastic.

 

Given this, I elected to focus on home improvement rather than training, since I was already taking a deload week anyway to deal with all this. But I think it was the right call. I wound up picking up a lightbulb for the one lamp I have now, and just that one simple change is enough to light up the whole apartment. It actually makes the place feel like home, even boxes and everything.

 

Ah, you get to experience the full joy of moving. You get to touch each and every item you own.

 

3 hours ago, Kishi said:

The other big thing I need to figure out right now is how to heat this place. It looks like there are two controls, but the controls in my part don't work, and I don't like how the controls are set on the other. Unfortunately, if there's only one control for both apartments, then me changing it would make me a poor neighbor as these things go, as I assume that the others are comfortable with the settings as they are. Fortunately, space heaters are a thing, and I can buy one of those if I have to.

 

Talk to your landlord about the heating controls. At one of my old apartments I told my landlord that I thought the thermostat wasn't working right. She looked at me funny and said "you don't have a thermostat in your apartment". "So what is that dial on the wall with the numbers on it?" I asked. "That is leftover from the old system. The working thermostat is in unit 1. I'll tell her to adjust the heat".

 

Who knows what you will find out about your heating system.

 

3 hours ago, Kishi said:

 

I guess I underestimated the potential of these boxes.

 

One of my college friends had box decorating down to a system. His actual furniture consisted of a futon, a chair, and a couple flat pieces of wood. Like you, he had a bunch of cushions and throws. The standard-sized box he used for furniture was a case of beer. This was back when you could get returnable beer bottles 24 to a case. He would start with two cases of beer for the moving party. Stack those and put the wood on top and you have a table. A couch took six cases, several cushions and a throw. His apartment added end tables, seating areas and a coffee table as time passed and more beer was consumed.

 

The real genius of this strategy became apparent when it was time to move again. He would pack up all the cushions and throws and return the beer cases for the deposit ($1.20/case). That gave enough money to buy pizza for the moving party and start off the new collection of beer cases.

 

I've used the tablecloth-over-boxes trick myself to make my apartment look respectable.

 

5 hours ago, Urgan said:

Also don't discount not having to babysit a stovetop in terms of multitasking potential. I for one will often take naps while dinner cooks. 

 

I agree with Urgan. Being able to do other things while you let dinner cook is a huge timesaver.

[Kishi]

16 hours ago, Mistr said:

Yay for getting moved! I'm glad to hear that your friends stepped up and helped you. You've built up a lot of moving karma over the last few years.

 

Yeah, that was damn decent of 'em! It's strange. I shouldn't be surprised when people step up to help me, but every time I've needed help and they have, it does surprise me. Weird.

 

16 hours ago, Mistr said:

Ah, you get to experience the full joy of moving. You get to touch each and every item you own.

 

Yes, and that existential crisis: "How the eff did I come to own so much?"

 

16 hours ago, Mistr said:

Talk to your landlord about the heating controls. At one of my old apartments I told my landlord that I thought the thermostat wasn't working right. She looked at me funny and said "you don't have a thermostat in your apartment". "So what is that dial on the wall with the numbers on it?" I asked. "That is leftover from the old system. The working thermostat is in unit 1. I'll tell her to adjust the heat".

 

Who knows what you will find out about your heating system.

 

Yup. Already on it. I'm emailing him about it because having documentation that communication happened is just my jam. You know. In case something goes wrong.

 

Although, having seen other apartments with a similar set up, it wouldn't surprise me if this was the only choice and I wound up having to space heat. Conceptually, it doesn't bother me to do that, and I can bundle up, no problem. I'd just like to know why the heater is blowing cold air on me in the winter time.

 

16 hours ago, Mistr said:

One of my college friends had box decorating down to a system. His actual furniture consisted of a futon, a chair, and a couple flat pieces of wood. Like you, he had a bunch of cushions and throws. The standard-sized box he used for furniture was a case of beer. This was back when you could get returnable beer bottles 24 to a case. He would start with two cases of beer for the moving party. Stack those and put the wood on top and you have a table. A couch took six cases, several cushions and a throw. His apartment added end tables, seating areas and a coffee table as time passed and more beer was consumed.

 

The real genius of this strategy became apparent when it was time to move again. He would pack up all the cushions and throws and return the beer cases for the deposit ($1.20/case). That gave enough money to buy pizza for the moving party and start off the new collection of beer cases.

 

I've used the tablecloth-over-boxes trick myself to make my apartment look respectable.

 

Well, I don't have the cushions or throws yet. Those'll be the next step. The step I'm on now is, "Clear out enough space for there to be throws and cushions."

 

16 hours ago, Mistr said:

I agree with Urgan. Being able to do other things while you let dinner cook is a huge timesaver.

 

Um, kind of? Sautéing in the IP doesn't take very long, and when you throw the rice in there on top it only takes like 8 minutes or so. It's hard to get a lot done in 8 minutes, although in fairness, I've been able to take that time to wash my lunch containers and utensil.

 

Now for my next trick, I'm wanting to figure out how to cook my veggies in there at the same time as everything else, given that I buy frozen because cheap and fresh. It probably just means buying frozen and thawing in the fridge before throwing in with the rice and meat. Then I can throw all my fats in on top of that and just get it all done in one go as opposed to having to use more dishes to melt butter and all that.

 

There is potential here. Just gotta be smarter about it than I have been.

 

*

 

So, in a twist, I decided to switch up and do push ups before Judo instead of after. Mostly because I don't want to be stuck out working later than I have to.

 

I'm currently at 3x33 of incline push ups, with the goal being 3x40 at cadence. So far so good. And the rehab I'm doing on my pectus is actually helping my chest to activate more in doing push ups, which I like. At this point, the decision that needs to be made is whether I'll do as Wade says and drop down to knee push ups next, or if I want to follow the latest programming science and just keep doing Incline Push Ups at high reps at lower incline. Personally, I'm leaning toward the latter, as experimentation as taught me that I have a way easier time practicing that whole-body tension at incline as opposed to going on my knees. But that'll be when it's time. Probably be a few more weeks before that's a concern.

 

Judo wound up being really gentle after. J-sensei had the chance to see some of how Manong teaches Kali, specifically assigning numbers to points of contact and movement. He decided to teach the class using those things. I personally think that Manong's method to get there is kind of insane and doesn't hold up logically - he uses Arabic numerals and Latin letters in ways that frankly I don't think anybody did outside of some occultists in the Middle Ages or the New Agers of today - but OTOH there's no denying that it translates well to movement and such like that. So we spent the class in lecture and then studying the feel of it.

 

And truthfully? It was pretty mind-blowing. You hear all the time about the use of levers and things like that and how smaller, lighter fighters can take on heavier ones, but in practice it's pretty rare. But this class was all about that kind of thing, and it was pretty incredible to see. The other incredible thing was that I finally got an explanation on how to get around the strategic stiff-arm that I struggle with. Everyone here fights left-handed; as a right-hander, this sucks. But the trick is, they're using a left-handed grip to disguise right-handed throws, and once that was explained to me, it was like a door opened in my head.

 

To be clear, I'm not sure how to apply it yet. The explanation I was given works really well for the entrance for ippon seoi nage, but that is really not my throw as I'm taller than a lot of the people I practice on, and it also feels weird to wire the brain into gripping with the left. But as I think about the specifics on it, I think it's completely possible to throw any right-handed throw using a left-handed grip to disguise it.

 

I guess there's only one way to find out.

 

During this morning's practice, I was curious about handstands and discovered that I had a regression from those headstands that I hadn't utilized. So I can do that, I think. Back to GB for that too.

 

Another twist: the Deload week is done, but I'm on for helping my parents move on Saturday. I'm leaning toward a kind of compromise - upping my weights, but only doing sets of 5 on my weighted movements. So that way I'm progressing somewhat, but still keeping myself fresh enough to be useful. After all, I'm not trying to out-train a bad diet, and I'm not interested in being gym-strong if it means not being real-world strong when I need to be.

[Urgan]

19 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Now for my next trick, I'm wanting to figure out how to cook my veggies in there at the same time as everything else, given that I buy frozen because cheap and fresh. It probably just means buying frozen and thawing in the fridge before throwing in with the rice and meat. Then I can throw all my fats in on top of that and just get it all done in one go as opposed to having to use more dishes to melt butter and all that.

 

Why? Unless we're talking garlic cloves, based on how quick your cook times are, you can dump them in and pressure cook them for 10-ish minutes and be all good.

[Kishi]

5 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

Why? Unless we're talking garlic cloves, based on how quick your cook times are, you can dump them in and pressure cook them for 10-ish minutes and be all good.

 

Really? So you're telling me that I could dump frozen veggies on top of the rice and meat and get 'em pressure cooked?

 

That would be awesome if so - save me an extra step and some extra clean up.

[Urgan]

9 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

Really? So you're telling me that I could dump frozen veggies on top of the rice and meat and get 'em pressure cooked?

 

That would be awesome if so - save me an extra step and some extra clean up.

 

Times will vary, but things like small-cut root veggies, broccoli/cauliflower, spinach/kale, and peas will survive 20-30 minutes of pressure cooking with other food items. Think stews and soups. You can get them cooked and edible in less time, I'm just saying they won't disintegrate on you. 

[Kishi]

1 hour ago, Urgan said:

 

Times will vary, but things like small-cut root veggies, broccoli/cauliflower, spinach/kale, and peas will survive 20-30 minutes of pressure cooking with other food items. Think stews and soups. You can get them cooked and edible in less time, I'm just saying they won't disintegrate on you. 

 

Well, I'm not worried about disintegration so much as actually thawing enough to eat. But it's heat and pressure; two forces as opposed to one, and thrown on top of something that's already hot. And I've eaten fresh out of the pot and it's about as heat hot as you could hope for. So... you know?

[Urgan]

4 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

Well, I'm not worried about disintegration so much as actually thawing enough to eat. But it's heat and pressure; two forces as opposed to one, and thrown on top of something that's already hot. And I've eaten fresh out of the pot and it's about as heat hot as you could hope for. So... you know?

 

Oh heck yes, you can burn your face off if you eat chili right out of the pot immediately upon depressurizing. You have nothing to worry about.

[sarakingdom]

Frozen vegetables cook to steaming hot in four minutes. (Possibly less, but I don't find meat always cooks reliably under that, so I rarely do a one pot meal under four minutes.) You can put everything in at once.

 

It might take longer to come up to pressure if the frozen things are on the bottom of the pot, because the water will take longer to boil, but I layer them on top, and I don't see a longer time to pressurize.

[Kishi]

21 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Frozen vegetables cook to steaming hot in four minutes. (Possibly less, but I don't find meat always cooks reliably under that, so I rarely do a one pot meal under four minutes.) You can put everything in at once.

 

It might take longer to come up to pressure if the frozen things are on the bottom of the pot, because the water will take longer to boil, but I layer them on top, and I don't see a longer time to pressurize.

 

Wow. That's just incredible to me, given how much time I've invested in cooking in the past. Just. Wow.

 

*

 

So, Thursday turned out pretty great. Went to the gym and added a little weight on to the bar. Kept it to sets of 5 and managed a small uptick in volume over last session. Not so epic as I'd like, but enough to satisfy me and leave me strong enough for my labors on Saturday.

 

RCPE1.2 (second step of first progression) went well. Elbow was initially okay with it, but I had some pain there afterward. Nothing bad, but enough to make me think that I need to hold here for a while. Since my training seems to have clicked into a month long cycle, it seems like the most intuitive thing to do is to keep at this level for the next month or so (because this is rehab on top of strength training). Get that tendon used to working again. It's probably going to drive me nuts, but I don't want to have an ego about this and everything else that I do is likely to exacerbate something in there if I don't do this now. So, best get comfortable with 5x3 of High Inverted Rows. Yaaaaaaay.

 

Pectus rehab went well, core work went well. Finished up with enough time to take a walk on the treadmill for a bit.

 

Karate afterward was good. K-sensei pointed out that I was linking together longer combinations and reducing the seams, and I was able to execute that stuff again. Managed to slip a backfist past guard from jab range, but snapped it a little harder than I meant to. He was okay with it, but it's one of those things that I have to watch.

 

But yeah, lotta good stuff last night.

 

IP cooking was fast, but the problem was that class lets out late enough and I want to get to bed early enough that it just wasn't fast enough for my purposes. Then again, though, if I'd bought the groceries ahead of time instead of my usual practice of going out that night, it probably wouldn't have been a problem. I think my habit of picking up food 'the day of' is something I developed when I was driving rideshare and couldn't really afford to ever drop a lump sum for a week's worth of groceries. I suspect if that time hadn't played into it, I probably would have been okay.

 

So, just a thing to experiment with in the next week or so. After all, getting the food takes time.

 

I talked to my landlord about the heat, and when he came out to check he said that somehow the thermostat had been reset to 62. He bumped it up to 72, and when I came home, the place was warm, which felt great. However, I think one of the tenants fiddled with it, because I checked it this morning and it was set at 65-70. I suspected something like this might happen - I figure, everyone else must have been comfy, or else someone would have complained sooner. But as it is, this seems like a good compromise. 72 honestly would have been a little too warm for me, since I care about sleep and comfort, and I sleep best in the present range. I can dress in warmer clothing if I'm uncomfortable, but I won't need a space heater on top of that.

 

And... yeah. Just figuring this stuff out.

 

Kali would be tonight but I got invited out to hang with the Ladies; that is what I shall do. I've been training and working on the apartment all week; a chance to step away for a bit would be most welcome. Especially since the first thing I'll be doing tomorrow will be helping my parents move.

[sarakingdom]

47 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Wow. That's just incredible to me, given how much time I've invested in cooking in the past. Just. Wow.

 

Here's a recipe I've used after martial arts: dump in a pound of raw ground beef (break it up a bit), a bag of frozen broccoli, and a half or full jar of pasta sauce. (Maybe a splash of water if you use half a jar.) Set for manual, four minutes. Go put my clothes and work things away for ten minutes or less, then eat half and pack the other half for my lunch. If you want carbs, not enough time for rice, but a diced potato should work. See RP's thread for more four minute meal talk.

 

If you're doing your regular rice thing (9 minutes?), just dump the vegetables on top, out of the water. Plenty of time. Might even be too mushy for you.

 

Here is something else that is useful to you, although you'll need to apply your own food safety guidelines if you include meat: there's a timer and a keep warm setting. Using the timer, you can put food in before you go to work and set it to start cooking an hour before you get home. It'll depressurize naturally and keep it warm for you. (If I were doing this, I think I'd use frozen meat and give it fifteen or twenty minutes to account for the thickness.)  Rice would not be awesome this way, it'd soak up the water before cooking, and the cooking would all go wrong. But canned beans would work fine. There's also a slow cooker setting that would do something similar, although I haven't used it.

[Kishi]

1 hour ago, sarakingdom said:

Here's a recipe I've used after martial arts: dump in a pound of raw ground beef (break it up a bit), a bag of frozen broccoli, and a half or full jar of pasta sauce. (Maybe a splash of water if you use half a jar.) Set for manual, four minutes. Go put my clothes and work things away for ten minutes or less, then eat half and pack the other half for my lunch. If you want carbs, not enough time for rice, but a diced potato should work. See RP's thread for more four minute meal talk.

 

If you're doing your regular rice thing (9 minutes?), just dump the vegetables on top, out of the water. Plenty of time. Might even be too mushy for you.

 

So, I don't even have to sauté this stuff? I could just put in some meat, rice, veggies on top, and pressure cook the whole thing?

[Urgan]

12 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

So, I don't even have to sauté this stuff? I could just put in some meat, rice, veggies on top, and pressure cook the whole thing?

 

Pretty much. I like to get a bit of brown on beforehand for stuff like sausage and beef, but it's just a personal preference. Nothing unsafe about just dumping it in and turning it on.

[Kishi]

4 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

Pretty much. I like to get a bit of brown on beforehand for stuff like sausage and beef, but it's just a personal preference. Nothing unsafe about just dumping it in and turning it on.

 

[Urgan]

5 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

 

And now you know the true power of the pressure cooker. Be free.