Microwave popcorn can go bad...

[W1GUH]

Popped a bag last week to tes my microwave. Tasted awful. The date on the box was 11/09. Only expired by over a year!

[PA5COR]

Yeah!

Why put dates on that stuff anyway ;)

[W3WN]

Not just the microwave stuff.

Boss picked up a jar of Orville's finest for the hot air popper. Tasted stale. Switched to a bag of the generic store brand, tasted great (well, considering it was plain and had no extra flavoring... it needed salt, but that was to be expected).

Real food doesn't last forever. And preservatives only get you so far... just ask Joan Rivers.

[W3MIV]

Oil goes rancid when exposed to air. Old microwave popcorn contains oil in the pouch which gradually succumbs the oxygen that seeps in. As any popcorn aficionado can tell you, you buy this stuff to eat, not to warehouse on a shelf. Too, as any p'corn gourmet will aver, air popping is for shit, not popcorn. FAT IS FLAVOR. You want bland? Don't eat!

[W3WN]

Oil goes rancid when exposed to air. Old microwave popcorn contains oil in the pouch which gradually succumbs the oxygen that seeps in. As any popcorn aficionado can tell you, you buy this stuff to eat, not to warehouse on a shelf. Too, as any p'corn gourmet will aver, air popping is for shit, not popcorn. FAT IS FLAVOR. You want bland? Don't eat!
Well, my doctor has expressly forbidden microwave popcorn until further notice. The air popped is bland, but it is filling and it is fiber.

So -- be a mensch. Don't tell me what I already know, tell me how I can add flavor to the air popped without driving my sugar levels up & keeping my doctor happy!

[W3MIV]

Get another doctor.

[W3WN]

Get another doctor.
The thought has crossed my mind.

I did NOT care for the cheery way he informed me "Congratulations! You're a diabetic!"

And he is getting most insistent about another prostate examination. For someone who claims he doesn't like to give them, he sure reaches for the rubber gloves in a hurry. To keep the records complete, you know. Frak the records.

[W1GUH]

Just roll on your side and try and relax.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

We had this old lady that we kept around.
She bought some "Fresh" bread "Paid full price!", but decided to keep it a while for whatever unknown reason.
Finally, she decides to make sandwiches with it, the two of us said we wanted none.
So, she puts all of the sandwiches in a bag and hands them to the old man.
He trots off to work, a computer tape librarian.
Comes time for lunch and he hits the bag, even he has standards!
Perhaps it was the fresh penicillin? nobody knows.
He stayed with a friend for the rest of the week!
Remember that most people grow up with parents, we grew up with drug fiends, fresh is something unusual.

[W3MIV]

The thought has crossed my mind.

I did NOT care for the cheery way he informed me "Congratulations! You're a diabetic!"

And he is getting most insistent about another prostate examination. For someone who claims he doesn't like to give them, he sure reaches for the rubber gloves in a hurry. To keep the records complete, you know. Frak the records.

I recommend you have a PSA test done every time you have blood drawn. It is a good indicator of impending prostate problems.

In so far as diabetes is concerned, I sense a great increase in the numbers of Type II diagnoses that I believe are questionable. If the serum glucose levels are border-line and you don't experience hypoglycemia (serious lowering of your serum glucose), I think I would seek another opinion. Type II Diabetes often can be controlled by weight loss, diet and exercise. Too many dox seem to want to start pushing pills when pushing the table is often a better solution. Get another opinion.

[KC2UGV]

Well, my doctor has expressly forbidden microwave popcorn until further notice. The air popped is bland, but it is filling and it is fiber.

So -- be a mensch. Don't tell me what I already know, tell me how I can add flavor to the air popped without driving my sugar levels up & keeping my doctor happy!

How to add fat-free, calorie-free flavor to a bag of popcorn:
Butter-flavored spray.

[W3WN]

I recommend you have a PSA test done every time you have blood drawn. It is a good indicator of impending prostate problems.

In so far as diabetes is concerned, I sense a great increase in the numbers of Type II diagnoses that I believe are questionable. If the serum glucose levels are border-line and you don't experience hypoglycemia (serious lowering of your serum glucose), I think I would seek another opinion. Type II Diabetes often can be controlled by weight loss, diet and exercise. Too many dox seem to want to start pushing pills when pushing the table is often a better solution. Get another opinion.
I flunked a physical for an insurance policy with an A1C of 16. By the time I got to the doctor's office (it took them a month to tell us this and then get scheduled), it was down to 12. My initial blood glucose reading was 375. I appreciate the thought Alb, but I don't think any of those numbers are anywhere near "borderline."

The meds have brought my daily readings, for the most part, down to 85 - 115, depending on what I've eaten and when.

And, I found out after I was diagnosed that my mother has it, my sister has it, at least one of her daughters has it, and my younger brother is officially diagnosed as "borderline" and has to lose at least 100 pounds NOW.

For my birthday (never mind when), my mother-in-law insisted I try some of the "no sugar added" ice cream she bought. The next morning, my number had spiked from 91 (right before everyone came) to 165; it was back down by the next day, but that was scary.

So... is a second opinion really going to make a difference at this point?

As far as the PSA, well, I'm due for a blood test next week, another one right before my next appointment in April. I believe that's being screened for. I will continue to decline the prostate exam pending evidence to the contrary; I have NO desire to be, ah, examined THAT closely, I have been left more than uncomfortable the last few times that procedure was performed. (And I now have a great deal of sympathy for the fairer sex and what they put up with when they go see the OB/GYN).

[W3WN]

How to add fat-free, calorie-free flavor to a bag of popcorn:
Butter-flavored spray.
Better living through chemistry?

Do you own a piece of DuPont?

[KC2UGV]

Better living through chemistry?

Do you own a piece of DuPont?

Meh. I prefer plain ole popcorn. My wife constantly douses her popcorn with that stuff.

I wont vouch for the long-term safety of using judicious amounts of the spray stuff...

[W1GUH]

Better living through chemistry?

Do you own a piece of DuPont?

Collected a batch from Love Canal.

Not to mention that "butter flavor" doesn't really taste like real butter at all and leaves a nasty aftertaste.

[n2ize]

Collected a batch from Love Canal.

Not to mention that "butter flavor" doesn't really taste like real butter at all and leaves a nasty aftertaste.

DuPont had nothing to do with "Love Canal". BTW That name sounds obscene.

[WØTKX]

No oil at all, not even olive oil? A little of that and a bit of Parmesan/Romano and garlic.

Rice cakes, anyone?

[W4RLR]

I used to manage a movie theater, and most people set their standard for popcorn by what they get at the movie theater. I can tell you it is popped in coconut oil that comes in a five gallon drum. The oil is the consistency of spackling paste and must be heated to be pumped to the kettle. The corn itself gets that golden coloring from a coloring and salt concoction called Savorol, and the "butter"? Nothing more than vegetable oil and flavoring that comes in a two gallon bottle. Imagine what that does to your arteries.

My wife just bought some Little Debbie brownies. Normally they are quite good. This last box, rancid to the core. I wouldn't feed them to my dogs.

[W4RLR]

DuPont had nothing to do with "Love Canal". BTW That name sounds obscene.Especially when you consider it was "Hooker Chemical" that caused the Love Canal debacle.

I had the misfortune to meet a young lady once whose "love canal" was as toxic as the waste dump of the same name. Her hootie hoo would draw flies.

[N2NH]

Especially when you consider it was "Hooker Chemical" that caused the Love Canal debacle.

I had the misfortune to meet a young lady once whose "love canal" was as toxic as the waste dump of the same name. Her hootie hoo would draw flies.

You too? God isn't that awful? Sort of like going to Disney to find out that "It's a Small, Small World" has been closed because of a rash of Poison Ivy on the gondolas.

[n6hcm]

As far as the PSA, well, I'm due for a blood test next week, another one right before my next appointment in April. I believe that's being screened for.

i get blood work several times a year. i'm not aware of an insurer who will pick up the cost of a PSA that often.

[n2ize]

I used to manage a movie theater, and most people set their standard for popcorn by what they get at the movie theater. I can tell you it is popped in coconut oil that comes in a five gallon drum. The oil is the consistency of spackling paste and must be heated to be pumped to the kettle. The corn itself gets that golden coloring from a coloring and salt concoction called Savorol, and the "butter"? Nothing more than vegetable oil and flavoring that comes in a two gallon bottle. Imagine what that does to your arteries.


As a kid I saw a guy making it once. He put a brick of some orange junk into the machine (I suppose to melt it down) and then dumped in the corn. Even back then something told me that "orange stuff" couldn't be too healthy.

[W3WN]

Collected a batch from Love Canal.

Not to mention that "butter flavor" doesn't really taste like real butter at all and leaves a nasty aftertaste.
Love Canal? Wasn't that Hooker Chemical, not DuPont? [And what a pair of names!]

And, I agree that "butter flavor" doesn't taste like real butter. I do miss that; one thing we did years ago, on a previous hot air popper, was melt some real butter or margarine & mix it in. Salt lightly, it's fantastic.

I hate getting "buttered" popcorn at the movie theatre... and never mind the price (it's getting so, to go to a movie with the family & get drinks & popcorn, it's approaching my mortgage payment).

[W1GUH]

Guess I missed the DuPont in the original post.

Tried some instant mashed potatoes (usually pretty good when I don't feel like peeling potatoes) with "butter flavor." :sick: :vomit:

I'm pretty sure that way, way back when buttered popcorn was brandy-new in the theaters (mid-50's) it WAS real butter. But even then, I preferred the non-buttered, 10 cents a bag, 15 cents for a box. The buttered variety was all of a WHOLE QUARTER!!! Egad! What extravagance.

Then there's Mr. Popcorn:

Aw, darn, can't find an image. Vended a bag of popcorn for a dime. If you were lucky some of it actually wound up in the bag when it came out of the machine!

[W3WN]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/september-20-2010,18120/

[W3WN]

No oil at all, not even olive oil? A little of that and a bit of Parmesan/Romano and garlic.

Rice cakes, anyone?Olive oil, but in moderation. As in, very little.

[WØTKX]

Just enough olive oil to help flavorings stick... just a little plain garlic is pretty good on popcorn.

I've made it with coconut oil, but that is probably worse than butter. Damn tasty though.

[W3MIV]

I've made it with coconut oil, but that is probably worse than butter. Damn tasty though.

Coconut oil is the best for flavor -- and the worst for arteries. But, hell, nobody lives forever! The popcorn (Pops Rite?) that came in a twin-sealed pack, one side of which was a solid stick of coconut oil mix was the best popcorn outside of a movie house.

[KA5PIU]

i get blood work several times a year. i'm not aware of an insurer who will pick up the cost of a PSA that often.

Hello.

The limit here is 4 times a year.
I asked the doctor about doing it more or less frequently and the answer was that it does not change that much.
So, 4 times it is.

[NQ6U]

Tried some instant mashed potatoes (usually pretty good when I don't feel like peeling potatoes) with "butter flavor." :sick: :vomit:

No need to peel potatoes for mashing. Cook 'em whole in the microwave, cut them in half and use one of these things:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/sdn-ML20q1Y-lWFJTTICNQNlJ59tgI5S85kt5EPwSGGoSg6rFhSLG5t89VqAht L9wZZWpLoV6a_XdjzQ_0cONeAmNQZ9O0oAIQQJtQJUzo_IR2PT VVanxk5hownNAeyD9MVj_P-5UZfC71wOu_A4rE_1NNDK49pbGNuz

Add a bit of warm milk and some butter and you'll have the best mashed potatoes you ever ate in about ten minutes.

[W3MIV]

Add a bit of warm milk and some butter and you'll have the best mashed potatoes you ever ate in about ten minutes.

Will they taste better if I eat them in less than ten minutes?

[W1GUH]

No need to peel potatoes for mashing. Cook 'em whole in the microwave, cut them in half and use one of these things:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/sdn-ML20q1Y-lWFJTTICNQNlJ59tgI5S85kt5EPwSGGoSg6rFhSLG5t89VqAht L9wZZWpLoV6a_XdjzQ_0cONeAmNQZ9O0oAIQQJtQJUzo_IR2PT VVanxk5hownNAeyD9MVj_P-5UZfC71wOu_A4rE_1NNDK49pbGNuz

Add a bit of warm milk and some butter and you'll have the best mashed potatoes you ever ate in about ten minutes.

Just gonna have to try that, sounds like a perfect thing. What is "one of these thing" called?

[NQ6U]

Just gonna have to try that, sounds like a perfect thing. What is "one of these thing" called?

A potato ricer. Dey is da kine.

[W1GUH]

Thank you! I don't reallly mind mashing potatoes when I'm roasting something, there's plenty of time there. But I don't particularly like using the energy to boil them...seems pretty ineffficient.

[W4RLR]

As a kid I saw a guy making it once. He put a brick of some orange junk into the machine (I suppose to melt it down) and then dumped in the corn. Even back then something told me that "orange stuff" couldn't be too healthy.That "orange stuff" was the coconut oil. As I said, at room temperature it has the consistency of spackling paste.

[W4RLR]

I hate getting "buttered" popcorn at the movie theatre... and never mind the price (it's getting so, to go to a movie with the family & get drinks & popcorn, it's approaching my mortgage payment).Movie theatres make little to nothing on the ticket price. For a first run movie, the studio and distributor get about ninety percent of the ticket price. It goes down on a sliding scale per week.

The way the movie theater makes money is on concessions. Popcorn that costs about 50 cents to make is sold for $4. The soda that costs about 15 cents is sold for $2.50. Candy that goes for $3 a box cost about a third of that. They have to make their money somewhere.

[W3WN]

Movie theatres make little to nothing on the ticket price. For a first run movie, the studio and distributor get about ninety percent of the ticket price. It goes down on a sliding scale per week.

The way the movie theater makes money is on concessions. Popcorn that costs about 50 cents to make is sold for $4. The soda that costs about 15 cents is sold for $2.50. Candy that goes for $3 a box cost about a third of that. They have to make their money somewhere.

I know, but it's penny wise/pound foolish economics.

Sell that popcorn for $3 a bucket/bag instead of $5 (not $4 around here) and I might buy two. So they may make more per item, but they lose the volume & a higher net profit. And so on. Now, my wife brings a big purse in with her, and it usually holds some water bottles and some small (and healthier) snacks. If they try and stop us or confiscate it, we will buy nothing (and go to another theatre the next time). So in the long run...

[W1GUH]

They make even more when you get day old popcorn.

[W1GUH]

No need to peel potatoes for mashing. Cook 'em whole in the microwave, cut them in half and use one of these things:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/sdn-ML20q1Y-lWFJTTICNQNlJ59tgI5S85kt5EPwSGGoSg6rFhSLG5t89VqAht L9wZZWpLoV6a_XdjzQ_0cONeAmNQZ9O0oAIQQJtQJUzo_IR2PT VVanxk5hownNAeyD9MVj_P-5UZfC71wOu_A4rE_1NNDK49pbGNuz

Add a bit of warm milk and some butter and you'll have the best mashed potatoes you ever ate in about ten minutes.

google-fu turned up a hybrid method. Peel & quarter 'em, then cook 'em in the microwave.

[NQ6U]

google-fu turned up a hybrid method. Peel & quarter 'em, then cook 'em in the microwave.

Sure. But with my method, you don't have to peel them.

[W7XF]

<snip> Now, my wife brings a big purse in with her, and it usually holds some water bottles and some small (and healthier) snacks. If they try and stop us or confiscate it, we will buy nothing (and go to another theatre the next time). So in the long run...<snip>
Last time I went to a theatre for a movie, the usher actually required me to open my backpack to see if I was bringing in any outside food/drinks. Only thing in it was my helmet, HT and gloves... Most of the theatres in Tucson will require women to open purses for the same reason.

[W3WN]

Last time I went to a theatre for a movie, the usher actually required me to open my backpack to see if I was bringing in any outside food/drinks. Only thing in it was my helmet, HT and gloves... Most of the theatres in Tucson will require women to open purses for the same reason.
The theatres we usually go to haven't gone to that extreme. And I suspect that if you buy SOMETHING (be it a drink or a box of candy or whatever), they are more likely to let you go.

But I wonder, out of idle speculation... what would happen if they did demand to search a purse, or backpack, or jacket... and the patron either refused, or if found with "contraband", refused to let them confiscate it. Can they legally refuse you entrance to the movie? (And if they do, I would presume that they'd be required to refund your ticket... wouldn't they?)

I know that the first time an usher or usherette demanded to search me, or my wife or daughter, or our coats etc., regardless of whether or not there was anything to find... that would be the last time I'd patronize that establishment. There are still plenty of movie theatres to go to, and they're all hurting for patrons these days.

[KC2UGV]

The theatres we usually go to haven't gone to that extreme. And I suspect that if you buy SOMETHING (be it a drink or a box of candy or whatever), they are more likely to let you go.

But I wonder, out of idle speculation... what would happen if they did demand to search a purse, or backpack, or jacket... and the patron either refused, or if found with "contraband", refused to let them confiscate it. Can they legally refuse you entrance to the movie? (And if they do, I would presume that they'd be required to refund your ticket... wouldn't they?)

I know that the first time an usher or usherette demanded to search me, or my wife or daughter, or our coats etc., regardless of whether or not there was anything to find... that would be the last time I'd patronize that establishment. There are still plenty of movie theatres to go to, and they're all hurting for patrons these days.

Yes, they can refuse you entry. In fact, it's usually printed on the ticket that you may be ejected, with no refund.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

Super Bowl is a classic example, NO this, no that, no the other.
Sure, you can go back to your car and deposit said items and come back, and go back to the end of the line.
Or, you can deposit said items into the crush pile, an d that is exactly what they do with it, it goes into a small garbage compactor and gets turned into a cube with carry handles.
This gets put into another larger compactor and made into a larger mass that is removed the next day.
Unless of course you have a pass.

[VE7DCW]

Hello.

Super Bowl is a classic example, NO this, no that, no the other.
Sure, you can go back to your car and deposit said items and come back, and go back to the end of the line.
Or, you can deposit said items into the crush pile, an d that is exactly what they do with it, it goes into a small garbage compactor and gets turned into a cube with carry handles.
This gets put into another larger compactor and made into a larger mass that is removed the next day.
Unless of course you have a pass.

Ok. ..... O.k. .....this has to be called as a WARP ..... Rudy ..... I have'nt even the slightest idea WTF you've just posted about.... can anybody decode this? :wtf:

[WØTKX]

http://www.circushistory.org/Graphics/rudy.jpg

[W1GUH]

There are so many way to see movies these day, why ever go to a theater anyway? Even standard def DVD's on a good monitor can look better than a movie on a screen -- and ya don't have to put up with a filthy, smelly theater...pay exorbitant prices prices...put up with noisy patrons...etc. Makes the whole question of the palatability and price of movie theater snacks kinda moot.

[W3MIV]

NETFLIX

[W3WN]

There are so many way to see movies these day, why ever go to a theater anyway? Even standard def DVD's on a good monitor can look better than a movie on a screen -- and ya don't have to put up with a filthy, smelly theater...pay exorbitant prices prices...put up with noisy patrons...etc. Makes the whole question of the palatability and price of movie theater snacks kinda moot.
Funny you should mention that... the boss had it in her head that we NEED to rent a DVR from Verizon. (Catalyst of this is that her parents recorded something for her, and it never occurred to them that there's no way to transfer it OUT of their DVR to us).

I pointed out to her that we have a VGA input on the TV, so I should be able to hook a spare computer up to it and use it as a big monitor. And, since you can now watch many network TV shows from the network's web sites... she no longer desires a DVR.

[W3WN]

Ok. ..... O.k. .....this has to be called as a WARP ..... Rudy ..... I have'nt even the slightest idea WTF you've just posted about.... can anybody decode this? :wtf:
No, I understand the tangent he's going down.

When PNC Park first opened, the Pirates maintained their previous policy that you can bring in any non-alcoholic beverage, so long as it was in a plastic unopened container. Then, they suddenly changed the policy between seasons to prohibt you from bringing in ANYTHING. And didn't start enforcing it until a month into the season.

As you can imagine, people were pissed. The worst part of it was that people were told, that first day, that they could leave their bottles outside & pick them up on their way home. Of course, on their way out... all had been discarded. I didn't fall for that... I walked back to the car, left our drinks, and returned. I also went and raised holy hell at Customer Service (and got $25 worth of "bucco bucks" to use for the inconvenience... sometimes it pays to make a fuss!)

The upshot was that the policy was revised again. You can now bring in bottled water, drinks for children, baby formula, and such. But not bottled beverages. And we do -- we usually bring 6 to 9 bottles of cold water with us, or if we forget, buy it from a vendor outside the stadium for a buck each; they charge $3.50 to $5 for bottled water inside.

But... getting back on tangent here... the baseball, football, and hockey venues all have their policies posted, and they state in advance that they have the right to search you & your possessions, for safety reasons. So they have the right to check your "carry in" bag. Don't like it? Don't buy a ticket. (I don't neccesarily agree with these policies... it's very clear that they're using the safety issue as an excuse, because they WANT you to buy food & beverages inside and an exorbitant markup... but that's the way it is.)

A movie theatre, at least the ones we frequent, do not have such policies posted. If they don't... do they have the right to refuse you entrance if you refuse to let them search you, especially if the real purpose of the search is for "contraband?"

You know, when I see K3AIR at WASHFest next week. I'll ask him. (Nice thing about having a lawyer for a friend, especially one who specializes in helping people who get stepped on, you can do that.)

Again, at least in our local venues... I suspect that if you don't look obvious, you wont' get hassled. And they probably don't want a lawsuit... you'd look pretty petty for throwing someone out of a theatre for bringing in a bottle of water, after all, even if you are completely within your rights.

[KC2UGV]

Ok. ..... O.k. .....this has to be called as a WARP ..... Rudy ..... I have'nt even the slightest idea WTF you've just posted about.... can anybody decode this? :wtf:

Nope.