My new JavaRanch shirt and my cast iron pan

[kevin Abel]

Tim,  

This is off topic, but I want to send Paul Wheaton and everyone that has been working with me to learn Java.

I would have added to Moosages, but it does not have a tab for attachments.

This is me with my new JavaRanch shirt and my cast iron pan.  

If someone on the staff knows how to move this post to a better location, please do it.

Kevin

[kevin Abel]

I used Word to compress the file and it turned it sideways and I don't know why.

I'm in a rush right now.  I'll see if I can fix it later.  

Kevin

[Tim Holloway]

My cast iron skillet is pusjing 50 years old and still going strong.

But recently I go tired of wearing out non-stick omelette pans, so I looked for a cast-iron version. Didn't find anything locally, so I ended up getting a tamagoyaki pan similar to this one: https://en.bentoandco.com/products/tamagoyaki-pan-sanjo-iron-chitose-9-5x15cm

The one I actually got included cooking chopsticks and a paddle. Tamagoyaki is Japanese-style omelette, where you pour thin layers of egg, roll them up, then add another layer and repeat to get a rolled omelette. The pan has a curved side to aid in rolling. The paddle was for people who can't roll the egg with the chopsticks.

I've actually got a number of things that this pan is better for than a circular pan, so I've been having fun with it.

[kevin Abel]

Ron,
I appreciate the image fix
Kevin

[kevin Abel]

Tim,
I didn't realize that posts grt read so many hundreds of times.  I  just saw that this thread is at 327 views.

I posted the shirt and pan photo because I saw Paul Wheaton wrote articles about cast iron pans.  

In Java, I would spell it as:

String pan = cast(iron)

Thanks,

Kevin

[paul wheaton]

Hi Kevin!

Here is my old cast iron article

https://richsoil.com/cast-iron.jsp


15 years ago we offered hats



About twelve years ago we offered mugs




And six years ago we offered shirts




I seem to recall that we left our logo at the embroidery place and allowed folks to make what they wanted.

My guess is that what you found was at cafepress?

[kevin Abel]

Hi Paul,

I clicked on the link at the bottom of CodeRanch where it shows your name.   I saw the article about cast iron pans.  I received my T-Shirt from CafePress and thought it was a good mixture for a photo.

I was at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant and was talking with an attractive woman who works in the gift shop part of the store around a year ago.   I used purchasing the pan as an excuse to talk with her again. The woman part of the story didn't  work out; however it lead to the great pan.

The best thing I cooked in it is Tandoori Chicken.  The result was the same as when I order it at an expensive Indian Restaurant using a special oven.  

My first time using chat boards was when I was a Clipper programmer around 1990.  Then I was on SQAforums.com for about 20 years and got to the point where I was answering many questions about UFT, ALM and other QA automation tools.   Now I'm on here a lot.  

There are five or ten people taking  a lot of time to assist me on learning Java.  I keep thanking them for putting in a huge effort to guide me.  It's strange that I don't know them in person, but they are more helpful than many people that I see in person.  

Up until now I was learning software only to keep working.  Now it is much more relaxing and fun because it is another hobby of mine.  I'm using the Head First Java Book.  I was rushing through it and missing a lot of understanding after reaching page 440 out of 700.  The crew here gave me good advice and I started the book from the beginning again.  I'm back at page 168.  Once in the while I read past page 440 out of curiosity.

I appreciate you starting this board and reading your articles.

Thank you,

Kevin

[Tim Holloway]

Heh. There are people right here in town that I haven't seen in person for years. Long before Covid I was a recluse.

My first wife was given 2 cast-iton skillets by her one-time fiancé. Who was an idiot otherwise which is how I ended up with both her and the skillets. One, alas, was casualty of a traffic accident that tossed it on the road and shattered it. The other I still use regularly. Got a cast-iron grill pan, as well, but I don't use it much.

I was using aluminum griddles for years but they'd always warp, so I got a Lodge cast-iron unit for pancackes and such. The main problem is that on my electric range, a big square griddle doesn't heat evenly even when it's cast iron. Got a tin comal from Aldi last month, but when it goes. probably that goes cast iron as well. Don't need no goddamgubmint to keep me from using gas because the homeowner's association does that. Gas cooking is overrated in my opinion. It doesn't have the thermal lag that electric does, but cast iron has thermal lag anyway.

I made tomagoyaki omelette in my new square pan this morning and the results were quite good for a second try!

[kevin Abel]

It's enjoyable how we went from Java to cast iron pans and a T-shirt to Japanese cooking.

To continue...I found a Java tutor on preply.com in Hunan province.

I often reply in Mandarin when she asks a Java question.  

Kevin

[kevin Abel]

Has anyone ever set up a zoom meeting for JavaRanch?  I wonder what would happen if I set up a meeting and invited all users for a meet and greet?  

I think I'd start the call by asking what kind of project they are coding and a list of hobbies. Then in future meetings we could give each person 5 minutes or so to talk about their Hobbies

Kevin

[kevin Abel]

I have a new induction stove/oven.  i made sure it will work with my favorite cast iron pan.  

The stovetop gets water to a boil faster than my microwave.  The flat top is level so the food does not slide to one side of the pan.  It is much easier to keep clean than my old stove with the heating circles.

I'm hoping the EMF energy is not harmful to my DNA.  

[Tim Holloway]

kevin Abel wrote:I have a new induction stove/oven.  i made sure it will work with my favorite cast iron pan.  

The stovetop gets water to a boil faster than my microwave.  The flat top is level so the food does not slide to one side of the pan.  It is much easier to keep clean than my old stove with the heating circles.

I'm hoping the EMF energy is not harmful to my DNA.  

No, I wouldn't worry about EMF energy. It's just plain old elecro-magnetism, and unlike your microwave, it's about 50-60Hz, so not likely to boil your eyeballs. Even a microwave isn't likely shred your DNA though. That takes ionizing radiation such as X-rays.  A cast-iron pan is an excellent target for magnetic induction and lots of people use them on induction cooktops.

I'm not one, since I'm paranoid about slapping down a heavy skillet and cracking the glass, but that's my problem.

[kevin Abel]

Yes.  I am afraid of dropping the Cast iron pan on the stove top.   Also I miss the simple mechanical control knobs.  

The old stove with the electric coils lasted for 25 years and still worked.  It was difficult to clean and looked old fashioned.  I don't expect this one to last 5 years. The warrantee is only 2 years.  

[Tim Holloway]

I'd like my control knobs a lot more if I didn't have to reach over the heat to adjust them. Also one of them partially melted. I think it's to keep them away from kids, since commercial ranges seem to favor front-mounted knobs.

I'd expect the heat surface to be quite durable for a long time, with the most likely failure being damage to the glass.

Controls are another matter. The mechanical controls last for decades, but electronics may or may not. I've a microwave bought in 1980 I still use daily, but the clockon my range has much flimsier membrane buttons and they wore out years ago. So while the electronics still work, you can't set the clock anymore.

On that topic, a real rage-inducer is that if the control board on an electronic appliance blows, a replacement can cost half the purchase price of the appliance. Yet most appliance control software could run on a $4 off-the-shelf microcontroller and most sensors, switches and relays are even cheaper. But put them on a wierd-shaped PCB and cover it with an oddly-sculpted bezel, and watch out!

My last washing machine had the plastic overlay peel away from the hard-shell panel cover. Because it wasn't flat, I could never glue it back down again. It did last until the bearings gave out, though.