Andy Ellis

We often tell stories from the point of view of the hero. But heroes don't notice everything; examining a story from the point of view of the villain can be informative. Let's look at Harry Potter. 1/20

@PstafarianPrice Ooh, pastrami is fun to make. But even easier, as I just learned, is brisket jerky: slice to 5-6mm, season with salt, and smoke 5ish hours at 165. Delicious.

What I WANTED was to turn these two roasts into thinly sliced pastrami After reading about what's involved in curing pastrami & deciding not to mess with the meat slices, I settled for... coursely chopped beef slices. Gonna make some killer wraps.

Continuing the Half Cow Freezer Clean out: how it started vs how it's going I need, like, a monthly Friends Come Over And Use The Meat Slicer event. I have never used the meat slices. Getting it out & cleaning it is more work than just cutting... BUT if more ppl had meat?? Hmm

Locks are to keep honest people honest, not to stop criminals.

@rsnbrgr Whereas the lesson I learned in Field Training is that locks are to keep honest people honest.

As we built the 609th Information Warfare Squadron SCIF in 1996, we installed 32 lockers on the operations floor and a call went out if we should get keyed or combo locks. "Buy 31 locks," I replied. "I explicitly trust everyone in the SCIF." Our commander nix'd the locks.

@steelhead1990 I think my answer to that is just the sixth sentence of the post.

@csoandy If their relationship wasn't more than just friendly would Vrabel tell the whole world he needs to be a better father and husband from now on and that he needed counseling? 🤔

Shadows on the Wall Celebrity news tells us less about them than it does about us. This newsletter is not about Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini. That situation is the candle, and this newsletter is about the shadowplay on the walls, and what that story says about us. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, very briefly: Mike Vrabel is the head coach of the New England Patriots, and was formerly the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Dianna Russini is an NFL reporter, who used to cover the Titans. Vrabel and Russini were recently photographed in a more-than-just-friendly interaction (both are married, to other people), and photos have surfaced of them engaging similarly over the past few years. The nature of their relationship is unclear from the outside, and I’m not here to speculate. But many people do speculate, and Vrabel’s very high profile position, as well as Russini’s, and their professional interactions, have led to a salacious rush to judgement from all corners. Often, those demanding reactions are leadership lessons in and of themselves, and that’ll be the theme today. Because I’m Boston-based, most of the reactions I’ve seen have been pointed at Vrabel, but I first want to address one I’ve seen pointed at Russini. Reaction 0: She only got ahead through her relationship with Vrabel. I see this reaction mostly from men, and I don’t know that I’ve seen it from many (if any) NFL reporters. Here’s the thing about reporters, especially sports reporters: hard work will only take you so far. Your relationships with players, coaches, and staff are a key part of the job, since you’re trying to have great coverage before your peers. Of course people get advantages in that career field through their relationships. Lesson: Don’t borrow evil where it wasn’t intended. (1% Leadership, Chapter 24) Unless you’re an NFL reporter, I don’t think your opinion strongly matters here. What does matter is whether you’re approaching the situation with grace, or whether you’re making an assumption. Yes, there is a long history in a lot of industries of people (in both directions) abusing intimate relationships, but, equally, there’s also a long history of people having intimate relations in the workplace that are non-abusive (full disclosure: I dated, proposed to, and married a co-worker (the same one) who is still my wife after nearly a quarter century). What you assume is happening says more about you: if you assume Russini isn’t competent enough to succeed, then perhaps you’re the one who is overly judgemental in problematic ways. Reaction 1: Fire him! There are a lot of people who’ve called for, either directly or via insinuation, Vrabel to be fired from the Patriots. Some demand the NFL investigate and get involved. Anecdata suggests a high correlation between this group of people and those who dislike the Patriots (or are fans of rival teams), who may be less than pleased that the Patriots were back in the Super Bowl a mere three months ago. Lesson: Your job is not to like your team; it is to not dislike them. (1% Leadership, Chapter 27) Read the rest: open.substack.com/pub/duhaone/p/…

@hoshizorarock I counter your attack with … brisket.

台湾人達よ🥺 力を借りるぞ。 アメリカ人達よ！！ 私の攻撃をくらいなさい。 大鶏排（ダージーパイ）

@miridoru Here’s the brisket on the smoker with the first application of tallow.

The oil is tallow, and has many uses (you can use it as a frying oil). I will be using it on the brisket. As the brisket smokes, it tends to dry out. Many chefs spray on moisture (often apple cider vinegar); I’ll instead apply tallow lightly to moisturize the meat with its own fat. The little pieces of fat that didn’t render into tallow get a quick trip in the oven and are tasty bites. Can be eaten straight as crackling, or can be used as a topping on salads or vegetables.

$150 for one piece of meat? This economy is crazy.

@BenjaminSWatson The best part was reading this aloud to my wife, and she knew exactly who’d tweeted it.

My youngest boys have a globe in their room. This morning they were looking at it and said, “Daddy, why does it say Philippians?” 🤣 #churchkids

The brisket fat? Rendered down into two cups of tallow. The remaining fat is some yummy cracklin’.

Beef jerky, halfway there….

@politicalmath I had to show ID at the grocery store today. Granted, it was to sample alcohol…

The only way this could possibly be real is if Catherine's friend has never ordered a drink at a Chili's or bought her own booze at a liquor store

Age verification is going great

In the interest of cultural exchange, I give you a typical Sunday activity, @yoyonofukuoka @Jet_Driver_ @Bananabuton @miridoru @hayatechaaan @TokyoTower_M

@erickdahan I basically only by large cuts, because the labor cost of the local butcher maker everything else ludicrous.

@csoandy you don't want to know how much kosher meat costs in Canada. We have had to cut back a lot.

This is one of my favorite things to do when I’m stuck in an airport: go through my contacts, finding people I haven’t chatted with in a long time, and text them and tell them I’m thinking of them, and to have a great day. Rarely do I get through more than a few before I end up in a great conversation.