bcl05

I think that all sounds great. I'm not anti-gun. I'm agnostic on guns - they don't mean much to me, but I get that they are important to many. I am strongly anti-gun deaths. Whatever works (whether its more or less guns, I don't care) to reduce the number of stupid, unnecessary, wasteful deaths, I'm all for it.

We've cut the number of drunk driving deaths by a little more than 50% over the last 25 years with a multifaceted effort. Drunk driving is far less socially acceptable than it used to be. It is being investigated and prosecuted far more aggressively. There are effective advocacy groups out there campaigning against it. It is still a problem but it is one that has improved in a very significant way. The fact that there are still drunk driving deaths doesn't mean the reduction isn't a success worth celebrating. I'd be thrilled to have a similar multifaceted effort against gun-related deaths that reduces the number of gun deaths by half. ~30,000 gun deaths a year (of mostly young, generally healthy people) is a national health crisis. Lets address it .

I feel bad for the guy. I'm thrilled he's no longer our problem. These are not mutually exclusive.

(raises hand.)

Porchetta. This was one of the best things I've made. Amazing. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/12/all-belly-porchetta-recipe-italian-roast-pork.html

My stated goal is to reduce gun deaths. Gun deaths, whether by homicide, accident, or suicide, are all unnecessary and tragic. A death by suicide is a failure of both our mental health services as well as a result our ability to protect the depressed from guns. Depression far too often is a fatal disease when poorly treated and the victim has a gun. The vast majority of depressed people can and do get better. It's a treatable disease. Viewing gun deaths by suicide as inevitable and therefore not a problem is just completely wrongheaded. As pointed out above, depressed people with access to guns are many times more likely to successfully commit suicide. Their odds of attempting suicide are the same. It's just the tools are different. Guns are vastly more dangerous than (most) pills. Why don't we view 35000 gun deaths a year as the public health problem it is? It's mostly young healthy people that die from bullet wounds. Let's commit some research funds and public health dollars to reduce that number. I really don't care (much) who has guns and why, as long as we can get the death rate down. Just lets all agree that 35000 dead young people a year is too many.

Skirt is my favorite steak to grill. I marinade with garlic, onion, worcestershire sauce, a bit of chipotle in adobo all blended together into a paste. Lots of salt. Then crank my grill as high is it will go (my kamado joe can get to ~700-900 degrees) and sear on both sides for just a minute or three. Cut against the grain - sheer deliciousness. I just picked up a 16lb packer brisket to smoke for Fathers day. Can't wait...

Anyone have any experience with an M1 grill? Looks great - a combination of direct heat with height adjustable charcoal tray as well as a firebox for indrect smoking. https://mgrills.com/products/m1 Got great reviews on amazingribs.com but for that much $$, need some more info... I've been considering a hastybake grill for a while. This looks a bit better, but tough call...

There was an armed uniformed cop at Pulse last night. 50 died. 53 injured. No one ever expects a mass shooting. Even the good guys with the guns.

Right. The NRA's solution is to try and make sure mass shooters get shot themselves, faster. That would be great. You know what would be better? For them not to start shooting in the first place.

I would be fine with all of us having our "right" to weapons curtailed a bit in the interest of reducing the 35000 gun deaths that happen unnecessarily each year in this country. I would have far more respect for the pro gun community if they offered any actual ideas about how we should deal with this epidemic. 35000 gun deaths. Hundreds of mass shootings every year. It's a problem. A huge one.

Also, was this the hood thermometer? The one built into the weber? Those should be viewed as decorative only. They are notoriously unreliable.

Its probably fine. I don't know that brand. Calibrate it when you get it. Boil some water and check the temp. If its way off from 212, you know you have a dud.

I have the igrill1 (previous version). I don't love it. Interface is a bit wonky and the probe doesn't always work as well as I'd like. Its entirely possible that they've improved things with igrill2, but I would get a Maverick ET-733 as my stay-in-the-food and grill-temp monitoring device if I was buying today. And a thermopen for rapid temp checking.

Mine are better slow first, then sear. Not a giant difference, but consistent and noticeable. The best money you can spend for grilling is a good thermometer. Get a thermopen and never look back...

Right

You need higher temp to get crispy skin. All 250 and the skin will be rubbery. I smoke at 225 for ~45 min or an hour and then take them off to rest. Meanwhile, crank the heat to 375 or more and put them back on for 5 minutes or so to crisp up the skin. Best of both worlds...

Skewers of marinated grilled chicken hearts is one of my favorite snacks... Deeelish.

This is a hard one. I'm totally uncomfortable with punishing someone for some thing they haven't done yet. I'm also extremely thankful for the apparently good instincts of this gun store owner and am glad the police were called. Messy.

So they're digging up a national wildlife refuge? Come on. Stop this nonsense now.

I could go on and on about birding and about feeder placement strategy, but I fear I've derailed this thread enough. Back to the criminal idiots in Malheur. Anyone who wants to talk birds, I'm happy to do so in a new thread or by PM. And for PB - British birders are completely nuts. The idea of competitive birding makes no sense to me. Every community of birders I've been a part of is fabulous and supportive.

All the hummers in that video are ruby-throated hummingbirds. If you are in the eastern US, 99.9% of all the hummingbirds you see will be ruby-throated. In the west (particularly SW), there are a lot of other species. If you really want to see hummingbirds, you need to go to South America. I have a friend who went to Ecuador and saw 47 species of hummingbirds in a week. Some of the ones down there are incredibly spectacular - far more colorful and bizarre looking than ours.

I don't have much free time. But I do fill it with birding. Best hobby in the world. They are small, colorful, singing, flying dinosaurs. The onus is on the rest of you philistines to explain why you aren't birding. We will be watching you. Advancing slowly, quietly. Peering through telescopes and binoculars. And writing down lists and observations. Occaisonally feeding you sunflower seeds. Revenge will be ours. Bwahahahaha. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/travel/angry-birders-standoff-at-oregon-refuge-has-riled-a-passionate-group.html?_r=0

As a birder, Malheur a pretty special place and definitely on my list of places I have to get to during my lifetime. Its a well known and precious refuge that is right on the pacific flyway. It hosts one of the more desirable birding festivals in the western US. The idea that these jerks are occupying a deserted area that is of no use/interest to anyone is a fallacy. The national park system is one of the true points of pride for this country. While certainly imperfect, we have done a better job of stewarding our unique outdoor spaces than the vast majority of other countries out there. We all have a right to use that space, and these jerks can't claim it for themselves. A statement from Portland Audobon (lots of similar ones out there). http://audubonportland.org/news/audubon-society-of-portland-statement-on-the-occupation-of-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge

True, and if you free-speech up a room full of first graders, they all go home at the end of the day. The right to free speech gets limits when it becomes dangerous. The comparison can't be taken very far.