Doctor Who "Deep Breath" – Not so Spoilery Review

            Everyone seems to have a different idea of what a spoiler is. I think of spoilers as anything that is meant to be a secret until you watch it. A spoiler reveals a fact or detail about a storyline that is meant to catch you off guard. Otherwise, it’s an appetizer. I am going to give a review of the first full episode with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. I will not give out information on the few items in the episode that are meant to be a surprise. I will deal with other aspects of the episode.

            I want to start off stating that I half heartedly suspect that this “leak” was intentional. I think Steven Moffat is so excited about this new series himself that he somehow allowed this “leak” to happen. Why else will they be screening the new episode so far in advance in Wales? Do they actually believe that those people will stay silent about what they have seen? If they want to keep it secret, they can do so and they know how to do so. They kept the 50^th anniversary on the low down and that plays into my suspicion here.

            I also want to say that this episode played beautifully in black and white, and that also plays a little into my suspicion that this was intentional. It’s one way to present the episode in black and white without much complaining. This episode, in black and white, had a Patrick Troughton, early Jon Pertwee vibe to it. I haven’t enjoyed a black in white episode in a very long time. I do hope that when the DVD comes out, it comes with the option to play it in black and white.

            So, for the review; I loved the episode. Peter Capaldi on his first outing did amazing. I am not a fan of “regeneration jitters” like some people are. I rather preferred the approach taken with Troughton and Pertwee after regeneration. Tom Baker started the tradition of bizarre behavior following regeneration and they went all out with Peter Davison. Colin Baker tried to kill his companion following his regeneration and Sylvester McCoy was so goofy and off the wall that it sadly turned me off to the rest of his tenure.

            Capaldi is a blend of all of the above. I was overall impressed with his first foray as the Doctor. What I was not a fan of was Strax, Jenny, and Vastra. They’re in the episode and painfully so. I really am not a fan of their characters. There is a dinosaur in the episode, for part of it anyhow. I thought at first that it was “Invasion of the Dinosaurs” version II, but that wasn’t the case here. I like the Doctor’s reactions towards the beast. It made for good material.

            The enemy is a really neat looking robot ~slash~ humanoid type being that has a speaking style that is almost without emotion. I like it. The Doctor really has wonderful dialogue with this being and we see a much darker Doctor emerge, especially in regards to how he handles “enemies”. There’s one point in the episode, and this may be considered a little bit spoilery, but the Doctor actually abandons Clara and leaves her with the monster. It makes the Doctor look very selfish and I love how they play it out. It was a surprise to me. It all works out in the end, but that’s part of the fun that I’ll leave to you watching the episode.

            After they dispatch the enemy (or so they think), the Doctor takes the Tardis out for a new refit. I’d love to see how it looks in color, but it looks pretty good in black and white. He returns for Clara and we see the Doctor has a new piece of furniture in the Tardis. It reminds me of a piece of furniture that Sylvester McCoy had for a little while in his Tardis, although I’m sure it’s not the same one. It does make the Doctor seem older and more thoughtful when we see him use this item. The last five minutes of the episode or so are well worth the price of admission. This episode is about the change in the Doctor and Clara’s relationship. They point out Clara’s pettiness. That is one of the few good scenes with Vastra. I’ll give her that. In fact, there is a sequence between Vastra and Clara that explains the last 9 years of Doctor Who and why the Doctor appeared so young while actually being so old. It was a brilliant explanation.

            The Doctor seems comfortable in his skin during the last five minutes and yes, there’s a much talked about cameo during this time. I’ve heard people say, especially those who have read the scripts, while not seeing the show, that they think it’s tacky. It certainly didn’t come across as tacky to me. I thought it was pretty good. I’m a Doctor Who fan from a long time ago and it really was nice to see.

            The ending of the episode sets up a story arc that is looks very promising. We see our old foe isn’t down and out as we have been led to believe. There’s a new lady in town who thinks she’s the Doctor’s girlfriend, and in this episode, the Doctor starts to realize that there’s someone out there, going back into last season, who is influencing chains of events in his life. I think his interest is piqued.

            Listen, if you want to know more, then go watch the episode. You certainly won’t regret it. I didn’t. I still plan on watching it in August. It’ll be interesting seeing how this looks in color, but again, it looked and played great in black and white. If nothing else, it has got me more excited for the new series of the show. I think that was the whole reason behind the supposed “leak”.

            I see there has been some complaining online from people who are saying that the new Doctor picks on Clara a lot. Listen, go back and watch Hartnell’s episodes. He picked on his assistants too, especially Ian Chesterton. Many times he couldn’t even get his name right! I’m glad to see Capaldi returning to this approach towards his companions. For far too long we’ve seen the Doctor be too cushy with his assistants, even kissing them. This Doctor isn’t the hugging type! I’m very excited to see where Doctor Who goes now. I’m afraid that they are going to lose some of the audience who tunes in to see a soap opera version of the show, but for old die hards like me, it’s a very promising start!

An Observation

            I am slowly coming to realize that those who succeed in life are those who are well adapted for the society that they live in. I sit here and dwell on the “days of yore” and think to myself that I’d only be happy if things were the way they used to be. Well, they’re not. The ones who did well during the time period that I long for were forerunners in their time. I’m sure there were people back then who like me, weren’t happy with the way things were and they longed for the “days of yore” as well. The "days of yore" to them was their "yesterday". No matter the generation, there's always “yesterday”. In every generation, you will always have those who wish for yesterday. I’m one of them. Then there are those who adapt and do well in the time that they live. Someday, 50 years from now, there’ll be someone out there who will lament for the “days of yore” and it’ll be today that they long for.

Obesity is the New Leprosy

            As I have suffered from whatever it is that has caused my health to fail, and for me to gain unprecedented weight, I have come to realize that obesity is the new leprosy.

            Back during biblical times, if you had leprosy, it was thought that you had it because something that you did. In other words, you caused your leprosy because you did something bad or sinful.

            Today, obesity is seen as something that is self inflicted as well. It’s seen as being just as disgusting as leprosy. I have had people who have treated me no better than lepers were treated in biblical times.

            I have an endocrinologist who has finally done enough testing to see that my hormones aren’t where they need to be. My testosterone is in the tank and I have elevated prolactin. My thyroid has also been causing me trouble. I also suffer from anemia and the blood doctor said my red blood cells don’t look right. They wanted me to do a bone marrow biopsy and I declined because having bone marrow aspirated is extremely distressing and painful. It involves a giant needle and shoving it through your hip bone.
             
             I turned to doctors as soon as I started feeling ill and they all told me that it was just a virus or bug and that it would pass. It never did. Now, my endocrinologist says that they need an MRI on me and I am too big for even an open MRI at this point. This stuff should have been handled a long time ago. I may have never gotten to this point.

            One good thing has come out of this. I see people for who they truly are. The German poet and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is quoted as saying, “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” Another quote widely attributed to him is, “The way you see people is how you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.”

            Like I said, I am a modern day leper. I am the lowest of low on today’s totem pole. However, it has allowed me to see people for who they truly are. I see people out there who make themselves out to be pillars of the community, yet they spit on me. I have also seen people who are also looked upon with disdain by these "worldy people" and they have in many cases treated me with compassion. By me being this way, I get to see people’s true hearts in ways that I never have before. I was once normal. I have lived the normal life. Some people who are like me have been this way their entire life. This has given me a unique perspective as I know both worlds. God is great. In my time of suffering, I thank him for this gift.

Is it really insurance?

            Health insurance isn't really insurance after all, is it? Insurance is something that you purchase to mitigate the effects of a potential loss that you could not otherwise protect yourself from financially. When it comes to health care, we all will suffer an expense at some point. Some more than others. For some people, they are sick their entire lives. Others, they will only need it for checkups, exams, and possibly at the tail end of their lives. How can that be insurance then when you are almost guaranteed to collect something on your policy?

            This is why we should treat healthcare like we do education. We see to it that everyone pitches in and supports the schools. I have neighbors with no children and yet they pay taxes that go support the school system. I have long felt that we need to do the same when it comes to our healthcare. I would like to see us all pitch in and support a public health system that provides healthcare to all. For those who can afford it, they can purchase private insurance or go to a private doctor/hospital. Still, we all pay for the basic safety net for all – a service that every human being will need at one point in their life. Even though I homeschool my children, I still have to pay taxes to the public school. I have a right to run for school board and we do have some local control over our school. That’s how I’d like to see healthcare. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s better than what we have had or have now.

            Obama’s Obamacare attempted to create a system like this, but instead of being a public system like our schools, it’s quasi private. It forces everyone to pitch in financially by purchasing a policy from a private company, whether you feel your health dictates that you need "insurance" or not. You either pitch in and pool your money or pay a penalty. How is it that much different that the system that I am advocating?  Here's the difference; Insurance companies and other corporations are allowed to make a profit off of us under this system. We are a captive audience. How would you like to own a business that in effect has the backing of the United States Government forcing the general public to consume your product? Also keep in mind that a profit is money that is above and beyond the actual cost of operating. Our Obamacare premiums are going towards profit for fat cats sitting in leather chairs content that they have customers forced to purchase their product.

            Even though people screamed about it, Obama had it right when he ran for office the first time. We should not use a private system for healthcare. It should be public. It should allow people the freedom to seek services outside of the public side, yet require everyone to pitch in, the same as we do for schools. Healthcare should be controlled locally like schools are. Until we have this, healthcare will be a mess.

Not sold on Jimmy Fallon

            I must admit that last night was the first time I was able to stomach a full episode of Jimmy Fallon. My morbid curiosity got the better of me and I watched his show. When he mentioned that it may be the first time certain people may have tuned into watch him, I was one of those he was speaking about. I have caught bits and pieces of his show before, but most of what I’ve seen was too “hipster” for me. I couldn’t change the channel fast enough. The music leans more hip hop than I like. His brand of humor seems too sophomoric for me. Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel suffer from the same thing, but not as bad. I’m sure Jimmy Fallon is a really nice guy. He hit the nail on the head when he pondered how he ever came to host the Tonight Show.

            It was a fluke. Conan O’Brien was supposed to take over the Tonight Show and odds are, Conan would have had a 15 to 20 year run. During this time, Jimmy Fallon would have paid his dues on Late Night. Older people tend to go to bed earlier. Late Night is the perfect time slot for a young guy like Jimmy. Go watch early Conan episodes from Late Night and you’ll notice how Conan grew up and matured in his Late Night slot. Due to the Leno/O’Brien debacle, Leno got back in, Conan got out, and Jimmy sat there in the successor chair.

            NBC for some reason wasn’t happy with Jay Leno. He was #1 for his time slot and consistently so, but he must have unsettled somebody’s stomach there in management. The decision was made to force Jay Leno into retirement (technically firing an old person) and Voila! Jimmy Fallon, all green and unprepared, fell into the Tonight Show chair.

            It shows. Last night’s episode was certainly aimed at a much younger crowd. Even I felt old watching it. Yes, I grew up with U2 and Will Smith, but that lame ass bit about hip hop dancing? Come on! I tried to imagine my parents watching that and finding any entertainment in it. I doubt many people over my age bracket enjoyed it. It was so “Saturday Night Live”. I don’t think he’ll retain the older crowd that Leno held, you know, the ones who had the money to purchase Mercedes Benzes and other fine items whose advertisers paid big money to flaunt their wares during the Tonight Show. We’ll probably see more commercials for Cheerios and Crest toothpaste during Fallon’s tenure. Oh well, as long as it pays NBC’s bills.

            I saw an article that said that NBC wasn’t too worried about losing the older crowd because Jimmy Kimmel is a young guy as well and David Letterman won’t be around long. How nice. That’s like admitting that your guy sucks, and you don’t care because your viewers have nowhere else to go. Guess what? I’m willing to bet those older people will watch the news, drink their Geritol, and decide to turn in early. They won’t watch any of the garbage. I sure won’t.   

           

Weston Meat Grinder Review

Weston Meat Grinder Review:

Grinder with grey protective covering on yet.

Model # 08-2201-W
Number 22 Commercial Meat Grinder 1HP

Manufacturer: Weston
Country of Manufacture: China

Material: Stainless. The auger and head unit appear to be cast iron but I have been since told otherwise. 

110V/750 Watt

Retailer: One Stop Jerky Shop

onestopjerkyshop.com

Date of Purchase: 2/06/2014

Purchase Price: $549.99 ($544.99 after $5 discount)
Method Shipped: UPS Ground
Shipping Cost: Included

The Lowdown: My wife and I started grinding our own meat a year or two ago. We purchase meat from Sam's Club by the case and save money over our supermarket chain. Plus, the meat we grind tastes so much better than the ground meat that comes from the store. We also have the added benefit of knowing that only one or two animals are in our ground meat as opposed to hundreds, and we can visually inspect the meat that goes into our grind. The risk of contamination is also much lower.

A friend of mine loaned me his grinder a few years back. He drives semi and isn't home a lot, so he said I could hang onto it and take care of it while he was out trucking. It's called a Super Grinder and it's also Chinese made. It's a #12 in size, but the throat is really small and it takes forever to grind meat. It's ground a lot of meat for me the past year or so, but I've spent a lot of time with it doing so. You also have to cut the meat very small to go through the machine and grinding it a second time is a real pain.

We decided to make an investment in a real heavy duty grinder that would grind quickly and allow us to spend more time enjoying life instead of pushing meat through a grinder. After a lot of research, I chose this model of Weston. The price was right and it came with stuffing horns. The gentleman at One Stop Jerky Shop is a really nice and helpful guy. When you buy from him, you're buying from a real person with a real business. He told me that he keeps all his items in stock and doesn't drop ship. I had a problem with my payment. PayPal kept rejecting the sale. I was getting errors on his site and I sent him screenshots and he got it all figured out. He took the time to even call me and we visited on the phone for a little while. I highly recommend purchasing from him. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

The Review: Well, right off the bat, the 40 mm stuffing tube was cracked lengthwise right out of the box. This should have been caught by QA at the factory. The machine was packaged wonderfully. Out of the box, the body of the machine has a grey protective film on it covering the stainless steel. When you see some sales photos of this machine and the body looks a dull grey, that is why. The grinding plates and the cutting blade are stainless steel. The power switch is on the back of the unit and has a forward and reverse. Reverse doesn't stay in reverse, but springs right back, like it should. Turning it on, you twist the switch and it stays on until you twist it back. Off position is in between forward and reverse. There is a pop out breaker next to the switch.

This grinder is heavy - very heavy. It's not just the power unit that's heavy. The head and auger are very heavy as well. The auger and head unit are both cast stainless. They appear to be cast iron but I have been told that they indeed are stainless. It's the first time I've ever dealt with unfinished stainless like this. The casting on my head unit had some spots inside of it where the metal didn't cast well and left a couple of little pockets. I will have to keep that in mind when cleaning it as that's a good place for meat to hide and bacteria to grow. The unit assembles easily. The metal pan that sits on top of the unit is stainless steel and is much thinner than I would have expected. They even make slight bends in the metal to help strengthen it. Why wouldn't you just go with a heavier guage steel in the first place and be done with it? The ring where the pan sits atop the head unit is sharp. The edges around the pan are also sharper than I'd like. I plan on taking some emery cloth to it and dulling it down some. There are also a couple of sharp areas on the body, at the front of the unit above the feet. Hopefully I can do a video later and show this.

We washed the machine up. It smelled of household oil which we assume they spray the parts with to keep them from rusting while in storage and transit. After we cleaned it up, we ran a little over 20# of pork Boston butt through the machine. The speed at which this machine grinds is amazing. We used the medium grind plate and ran the meat through twice. It took less than 15 minutes to double grind this amount of meat.You'll spend more time cutting and cleaning than you will grinding, which is why we bought this in the first place.

Just a minute or two into the second grind, the machine started making a tremendous rattling noise. I contacted Weston about this and they are currently looking into it. They are also sending out a replacement stuffer to replace the cracked one. When you open the box, you see a big red piece of paper that tells you that if you have any problems, not to contact the seller, but Weston directly. When you call the number, you get an American who speaks English on the other end of the line. You get a name and contact information for this person too. It's not often that you find customer service like this today. From what I've read, Weston stands behind their products and I assume they'll make it right in this case too, or I'll write about it if they don't! I'm not even sure if that rattle is normal or not. It didn't rattle like that out of the box. I'm hoping it's something simple. Otherwise, the machine is quiet.

The Good: It grinds fast. It's a very heavy machine. It seems well built for a Chinese made item. One Stop Jerky Shop is an excellent seller. Weston has a good responsive customer service department and they seem to stand behind their product.

The Bad: The 40MM stuffing funnel was cracked right out of the box. Nothing in the box moved or shifted. It was in the center of the box so it's impossible that it was damaged in transit. It should have been caught at the factory. The motor started rattling just minutes into the grind. The pan that sits on top of the grinder is too thin. The sharp edges need to be sanded more.

Would I recommend it? Yes.

Further thoughts about the TIR rating system......

     As I have been working with this new system to rate tornados, I came across a small dilemma; one I should have anticipated. When we went from the F system to the EF system, wind speeds were adjusted. The whole reason for the switch to the EF system had to do with studies that showed that it took far less wind speed to cause a certain degree of damage. In order to keep apples to apples, they made the EF system where the damage apparent in an F4 was the same as the damage done by an EF4, although the wind speed estimate was different. For my TIR system to work, I need an accurate wind speed, even if estimated. The problem I am running into is that the wind speeds from F scale rated tornados haven't been readjusted.
     The 1999 OKC tornado isn't a problem as that tornado was measured with a Doppler Radar and that is acceptable in my TIR rating. However, as I was attempting to get a TIR rating on the Hallum tornado, I realized that they didn't have a definitive wind speed rating. All they said was that it was an F-4, and that it was only in small pockets. Most of the damage was F-3 or less. In this instance, I would be inclined to say this tornado was on the lower end of the F-4 scale and I would "guesstimate" a wind speed rating. However, when you look at the wind speeds of an F-4 tornado, you notice that the F-4 range is now into the current EF-5 range. That makes the Hallum tornado appear stronger than many EF-5 tornados when you attempt to TIR rate it using F scale wind estimates.
     What I may have to do is just convert from F to EF scale, then "guesstimate" the wind speed rating since damage between F and EF scales are supposed to be relatively the same. If the Hallum tornado had minor F4 damage, then I assume it is safe to say that it had minor EF4 damage, and therefore we can make an estimated wind speed rating based upon this. Until someone goes through and reassesses these old F scale damage surveys and converts them to EF, it seems to be my only option unless there is other information available, like a Doppler reading.