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The Rules of Pacers Digest

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Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

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Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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The Cooking and Libations Thread

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  • #46
    Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

    Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
    How is Sea Salt any different from regular salt?
    Chemically? Not much. In practice, though, it's a difference of grain size which means it hits your tongue differently. Also sea salts often have trace elements that can add a distinctive flavor.

    Sea salt's relatively pricey... we've moved away from that to kosher salt. Gives you the same big grain size but for a quarter of the price.
    This space for rent.

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    • #47
      Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

      Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
      The problem here is getting fresh fish of any kind. I'd love to do this and salmon recipes but am not about to buy fish at the local grocery store.
      I once caught a nice salmon out of lake Michigan and have never been able to eat anything but FRESH salmon since.
      It is very true that fresh fish is the best fish. There are stories of fishermen who literally eat their catch live, it is that tasty.

      BUT - we're not all fishermen.

      A very cost effective and quality way to go is to buy the flash frozen fish steaks and seafood at Trader Joe's. The Yellowfin Tuna i made the other day was frozen from trader joes, and it was really good (though I would have preferred sashimi-grade Ahi).

      I can personally vouch for the "colossal" sized shrimp, the scallops, the talapia and especially the halibut and swordfish. Halibut is still pretty expensive, but worth it. Swordfish I try to avoid because it has been seriously overfished.

      Something happens to salmon when it is frozen - it's not nearly as good.

      The other thing to do is to research and find a market that flies in the fish every day. I don't know if Indy has one, but here in LA there is a Japanese market where all of the sushi chefs go.

      I fully respect that it can be out of most price ranges except for on special occasions, and it's on special occasions that I prepare it.
      “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

      “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.” - Catherine Aird

      Comment


      • #48
        Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

        Originally posted by Anthem View Post
        Chemically? Not much. In practice, though, it's a difference of grain size which means it hits your tongue differently. Also sea salts often have trace elements that can add a distinctive flavor.

        Sea salt's relatively pricey... we've moved away from that to kosher salt. Gives you the same big grain size but for a quarter of the price.
        There is a big taste difference to me. I can even tell different sea salts apart. the absolute best sea salt is celtic gray. It's so fresh from the sea that it's still a little bit wet. You can get it cheap at trader joes.

        Also, I found this article to be pretty interesting:

        Table salt, sea salt, kosher salt – what's the difference?

        February 16, 2005

        QUESTION: What is the difference between sea salt, kosher salt and good old sodium chloride? I always thought that NaCl was salt, period.

        P.E., San Diego

        ANSWER: Chemically speaking, a salt is any combination of an anion of an acid and a cation of a base. This means that not every salt has to contain sodium. Calcium carbonate, the calcium compound in foods and some dietary supplements, can also be considered a salt.

        In non-scientific food discussions, however, the term salt or table salt commonly refers to sodium chloride, the familiar white granular seasoning.

        Sea salt comes from evaporated seawater. The mineral content of sea salt is not limited to the sodium and chloride that make up the traditional salt molecule. Additional minerals can give the salt subtle flavor characteristics that can enhance foods.

        I was initially skeptical that sea salt had special qualities, but I changed my mind when I did a blind tasting of salts while in Italy. The experience was enough to induce me to keep some sea salt on my shelf for cooking.

        Depending on the brand, table salt can contains a small amount of an additive to prevent caking and encourage a smooth flow. This is often silicon dioxide, the primary ingredient of sand. It is not absorbed and has GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status as an additive. If the table salt is iodized, a source of iodine also will be added.

        Kosher salt is pure sodium chloride, usually without any additives, and it often comes in coarse crystals. It is not necessarily a kosher product, but it can be certified as kosher for Passover use. The real connection is that kosher salt has been used in the process by which foods are made kosher. It is no better or worse than any other form of table salt. I hope this helps clear up the differences.

        Salt has played an integral yet largely unappreciated role in history. Those interested in learning more can read "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky (Penguin).
        http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/uni...1f16focus.html
        “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

        “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.” - Catherine Aird

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        • #49
          Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

          Originally posted by Los Angeles View Post
          There is a big taste difference to me.
          Between sea salt and kosher, or between sea salt and table?
          This space for rent.

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          • #50
            Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

            Originally posted by Anthem View Post
            Between sea salt and kosher, or between sea salt and table?
            All three. Both kosher and table salt leave a dry burn on the tip and sides of the tongue. Sea salt involves the entire palate and the additional minerals pop right out to me.

            I can also taste the difference between different sea salts, and my favorite (head and shoulders above) is Celtic Gray.

            I wonder sometimes if it's because I actually spend time in the ocean that I can really taste the difference. There's something unmistakable about the way each kind of ocean water from different places on earth tastes to me. put a cup of sea water from california, hawaii and florida in front of me and I'll be able to name them on smell and taste.
            “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

            “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.” - Catherine Aird

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

              Originally posted by Los Angeles View Post
              All three. Both kosher and table salt leave a dry burn on the tip and sides of the tongue. Sea salt involves the entire palate and the additional minerals pop right out to me.

              I can also taste the difference between different sea salts, and my favorite (head and shoulders above) is Celtic Gray.

              I wonder sometimes if it's because I actually spend time in the ocean that I can really taste the difference. There's something unmistakable about the way each kind of ocean water from different places on earth tastes to me. put a cup of sea water from california, hawaii and florida in front of me and I'll be able to name them on smell and taste.
              Interesting.

              I have half a dozen tiny bags of specialty sea salts and it's pretty obvious the differences between them, but when I got a big container of generic sea salt at the grocery store it wasn't very different at all from kosher.
              This space for rent.

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              • #52
                Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                Originally posted by Gyron View Post
                We made a Low Country Boil last night.

                1 package of Zattarain's(Spelling?) Crab Boil
                4tblspoons of Salt
                Cayenne Pepper to Taste
                4 lbs of Shrimp(I like to use the medium size)
                2 Links of smoked Sausage(2 packages)
                1 3lb bag of Red Potatoes
                12 small ears of Corn(Fresh is better, but frozen is ok)

                We do this outside in our Turkey Fryer connected to a tank of
                propane.

                Bring Crab Boil, Salt, and Cayenne Pepper to a rolling boil with the pot about 2/3 full of water.

                Add Potatoes, boil for 10 minutes then add Corn, Boil for 5 minutes.
                Then add Sausage and boil for 5 more minutes.
                Then add Shrimp and boil for 3 minutes. Do not boil shrimp any longer than 3 minutes. It will over cook them.

                Turn off Flame and let sit for 5 minutes in the water.

                Our Cooker has a basket, so we have the basket in the bottom of the pot and bring the basket full of the food out fo the water to drain the water off. Then spread newspaper or wax paper out on a table or counter and dump the basket onto to table.

                And enjoy. Everyone picks at it while sitting at the table.
                That sounds delicious.


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                • #53
                  Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                  Chili tonight. Mine...the wife and I like it made dif. She wants it made in a skillet and dry, I llike chili a bit soupy.

                  looking for good recipe's. Don't let me down. Any style....any way....we love it.
                  Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                    Sweet and Spicy Chili

                    Ingredients:
                    2 lbs ground beef
                    1 C chopped onions
                    1 clove garlic, chopped
                    ½ C chopped red or green bell pepper
                    1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
                    1 4-oz can diced green chilis
                    2 15-oz cans chili beans
                    1 ½ tsp chili powder
                    1 tsp cumin
                    1 tsp thyme
                    ½ tsp cinnamon
                    ½ C honey

                    Directions:
                    Brown and drain beef, then add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Transfer to
                    large pot, then add remaining ingredients except for honey.
                    Simmer 7-10 min.
                    Add honey, and stir well.
                    This space for rent.

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                    • #55
                      Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                      Anyone have a good home-made salsa recipe?

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                        Originally posted by Anthem View Post
                        Sweet and Spicy Chili

                        Ingredients:
                        2 lbs ground beef
                        1 C chopped onions
                        1 clove garlic, chopped
                        ½ C chopped red or green bell pepper
                        1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
                        1 4-oz can diced green chilis
                        2 15-oz cans chili beans
                        1 ½ tsp chili powder
                        1 tsp cumin
                        1 tsp thyme
                        ½ tsp cinnamon
                        ½ C honey

                        Directions:
                        Brown and drain beef, then add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Transfer to
                        large pot, then add remaining ingredients except for honey.
                        Simmer 7-10 min.
                        Add honey, and stir well.
                        Solid recipe. Try switching honey with dark chocolate. (yeah, I said it). You'll geek over it!
                        “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

                        “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.” - Catherine Aird

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                          Originally posted by Los Angeles View Post
                          Solid recipe. Try switching honey with dark chocolate. (yeah, I said it). You'll geek over it!
                          Oh yeah, I've done that. Plus ground-up pecans! Really good.

                          Tonight we made something that under no circumstances can be considered "fine dining" but they're quite good: Spicy Sausage and Cheese Biscuits. These are a "on the way out the door" food for busy mornings.

                          Basic biscuit recipe:
                          2 cups self-rising flour (or all-purpose white + 1T baking powder + 1t salt)
                          1 cup heavy whipping cream.

                          That's it. No shortening or anything else. Anyway, I cooked up half a container of spicy ground sausage and chopped in a few forkfuls of jalapeno and banana peppers. Added a cup of shredded chedder, a small handful of frozen corn, and a small bit of Cajun seasoning, mixed it all together and added the whipping cream. Kneaded it in the bowl, broke it off into pieces, and made 1 tray full of biscuits. They're supposed to cook at 450 for 10, but we had something else baking so we did 350 for 30.

                          They're great. As soon as I submit this reply, I'm going back for fourths.
                          This space for rent.

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                            Originally posted by Spicoli View Post
                            Anyone have a good home-made salsa recipe?
                            1 mango, diced
                            1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
                            1 jalapeno, finely chopped
                            3 tablespoons lime juice (supposed to be fresh, but I use the green plastic bottle and it works great)
                            3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
                            This space for rent.

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                              Made yakisoba tonight for the first time... pretty good. I loosely followed Mark Bittman's recipe... he's my favorite foodie.

                              http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/dining/03mini.html



                              I used egg noodles instead of rice noodles, leftover pork loin instead of uncooked pork shoulder, and added some spinach (we sneak spinach into everything to get the kids more greens) and egg (since we didn't have quite as much pork as I wanted).

                              Despite the fact that mine didn't really look much like his, it really turned out well. Definitely worth experimenting with, if you're into Eastern cuisine.
                              Last edited by Anthem; 04-26-2010, 07:45 PM.
                              This space for rent.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Re: The Cooking and Libations Thread

                                We also tried something new on the grill last night. Mango Turkey Pita Sandwiches. We started with 2 turkey tenderloins and sliced them lengthwise marinated in mango chutney. I peeled and diced 2 mangoes and sauteed them with a small chopped red onion, a clove of garlic, a chopped red jalapeño, sugar, and a cup of white wine vinegar to make that. I only used half of the chutney as the marinade. Grilled the turkey on the grill. Then, I took 4 pita rounds, brushed them with olive oil mixed with cayenne pepper and toasted them on the grill too. When all of that was done I broke each pita in half and put a romaine leaf on it, topped that with some of the turkey, some of the remainig chutney, some flaked Parmesan cheese, and put another pita half on top. So basically, I made a fancy turkey sandwich using toasted pitas for the bread. A bit messy but extrememely tasty.

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