Tips for baking while dealing with brain fog
August 17, 2022 5:47 AM Subscribe
Oh, this is nice. Thank you.
My most common, most hated baking error: forgetting the salt in bread.
Bread without salt, I once read, tastes like sadness, and that's a perfect description. You sense the rise isn't quite right, then the loaf doesn't brown as usual, then it cools and you taste it and the only solution, because you're mad-but-frugal: croutons. And freshly-made croutons make everyone happy.
Mise en place plus a checklist makes a huge difference! And, if your kid or partner or pet or whoever is in the kitchen, too, don't kick them out. Instead, narrate the steps to them.
posted by Caxton1476 at 6:30 AM on August 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
My most common, most hated baking error: forgetting the salt in bread.
Bread without salt, I once read, tastes like sadness, and that's a perfect description. You sense the rise isn't quite right, then the loaf doesn't brown as usual, then it cools and you taste it and the only solution, because you're mad-but-frugal: croutons. And freshly-made croutons make everyone happy.
Mise en place plus a checklist makes a huge difference! And, if your kid or partner or pet or whoever is in the kitchen, too, don't kick them out. Instead, narrate the steps to them.
posted by Caxton1476 at 6:30 AM on August 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
This is terrific advice. I realize that I've started doing things like these because I am so god damn tired all the time, and I have been, for either logistic or medical reasons, for a couple of years now. (In fact AskMefi helped me when I messed up a recipe for this reason -- I forgot the baking powder!)
I gather and set out all the ingredients first; I use printed copies so I can check the ingredients off on the recipe; and I use timers for everything. (In fact, I do that a lot in everyday life -- timers not just to keep me on track but to tell me that ten minutes has passed because I am bad at knowing how fast time is passing.) Plus, I use the easiest type of ingredient even when they aren't necessarily the freshest or most homemade. If I buy pre-chopped vegetables, I use them -- they don't rot in the fridge because I don't want to fool with chopping and washing the board!
posted by Countess Elena at 6:30 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I gather and set out all the ingredients first; I use printed copies so I can check the ingredients off on the recipe; and I use timers for everything. (In fact, I do that a lot in everyday life -- timers not just to keep me on track but to tell me that ten minutes has passed because I am bad at knowing how fast time is passing.) Plus, I use the easiest type of ingredient even when they aren't necessarily the freshest or most homemade. If I buy pre-chopped vegetables, I use them -- they don't rot in the fridge because I don't want to fool with chopping and washing the board!
posted by Countess Elena at 6:30 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
This is lovely. I have really appreciated King Arthur's recipes for a while - they really seem to want everyone to have fun and succeed at baking, including those of us who have very little idea what we are doing.
posted by solotoro at 6:32 AM on August 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by solotoro at 6:32 AM on August 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
Agreed, solotoro! I follow King Arthur on Twitter despite being in the wrong country to buy what they sell, which occasionally seems like a weird thing to be doing, but they seem so straightforwardly enthusiastic about sharing the joy of baking. (And the recipes sound so good!)
Some time back I got into the habit of getting all the ingredients out first, grouping them by recipe stage, then (important) putting each one away as soon as I'd used it. If there's anything still on the counter at the end, I know I've made a mistake. Doesn't stop me absentmindedly measuring out two tablespoons of something when the recipe asked for two teaspoons, of course.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:41 AM on August 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
Some time back I got into the habit of getting all the ingredients out first, grouping them by recipe stage, then (important) putting each one away as soon as I'd used it. If there's anything still on the counter at the end, I know I've made a mistake. Doesn't stop me absentmindedly measuring out two tablespoons of something when the recipe asked for two teaspoons, of course.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:41 AM on August 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
Great find, branewane--thank you for this. I appreciate the practical tips but especially love this bit, which feels humane and validating and pretty much the opposite of most online food stuff I run across unless I look very very hard:
posted by miles per flower at 6:55 AM on August 17, 2022 [11 favorites]
Finally, have grace for yourself...followed by a nod at the aptness of spoon theory.
...This can mean reframing my perspective about what “real” baking is. Some days I need to bake something for the benefit of my mental health, but a batch of box brownies or wrapping some apple slices in store-bought puff pastry is what I can realistically handle.
posted by miles per flower at 6:55 AM on August 17, 2022 [11 favorites]
This is great, and echoing others that King Arthur rules. They're 100% employee owned!
posted by saladin at 7:19 AM on August 17, 2022 [18 favorites]
posted by saladin at 7:19 AM on August 17, 2022 [18 favorites]
Bread without salt, I once read, tastes like sadness
When I was in Siena, Italy, a baker told me that traditional Sienese bread is baked without salt. There are many possible explanations for this, but what the baker told me was that saltless bread lasts much longer before going stale, and if your city is besieged on the regular, that helps.
So.. maybe your bread tastes like sadness, but it can survive a siege.
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:19 AM on August 17, 2022 [13 favorites]
When I was in Siena, Italy, a baker told me that traditional Sienese bread is baked without salt. There are many possible explanations for this, but what the baker told me was that saltless bread lasts much longer before going stale, and if your city is besieged on the regular, that helps.
So.. maybe your bread tastes like sadness, but it can survive a siege.
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:19 AM on August 17, 2022 [13 favorites]
Yeah, the King Arthur site is an incredible resource. Whenever I need a new recipe, I go there first, because even if theirs isn't the hottest-greatest thing going, I know it's going to work and be well-documented.
I was baking a loaf or two of yeasted bread every week for a long while, and then I sort of fell out of that schedule. Lately I've been making myself a loaf of quickbread every week and eating slices as a low-effort breakfast every day. The problem with this is that I'm usually baking it in the late evening, without a recipe (because it's more of a formula than a recipe) and more than once I've forgotten an ingredient (when it's the oil: not a giant problem; when it's the eggs: somewhat bigger problem; thankfully I've never forgotten the baking powder or salt... yet).
These are all great tips when you're just absent-minded or tired, even if not truly brainfogged.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:22 AM on August 17, 2022
I was baking a loaf or two of yeasted bread every week for a long while, and then I sort of fell out of that schedule. Lately I've been making myself a loaf of quickbread every week and eating slices as a low-effort breakfast every day. The problem with this is that I'm usually baking it in the late evening, without a recipe (because it's more of a formula than a recipe) and more than once I've forgotten an ingredient (when it's the oil: not a giant problem; when it's the eggs: somewhat bigger problem; thankfully I've never forgotten the baking powder or salt... yet).
These are all great tips when you're just absent-minded or tired, even if not truly brainfogged.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:22 AM on August 17, 2022
These are all great tips when you're just absent-minded or tired, even if not truly brainfogged.
As a tired and absent-minded baker I super appreciate them as well. It also is helpful when you're working in a less-than-ideal kitchen space; I used to forget ingredients because I didn't have counters large enough to hold the ingredients AND the mixer AND the pans etc. I eventually learned to mise-en-place eeeeeeeverything in smaller bowls, and then just know that if any bowl still had anything in it, whoops.
Still didn't help me when I wasn't wearing my glasses and used confectioners' sugar in place of flour, but...you can't win em all.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:51 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
As a tired and absent-minded baker I super appreciate them as well. It also is helpful when you're working in a less-than-ideal kitchen space; I used to forget ingredients because I didn't have counters large enough to hold the ingredients AND the mixer AND the pans etc. I eventually learned to mise-en-place eeeeeeeverything in smaller bowls, and then just know that if any bowl still had anything in it, whoops.
Still didn't help me when I wasn't wearing my glasses and used confectioners' sugar in place of flour, but...you can't win em all.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:51 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
My most common, most hated baking error: forgetting the salt in bread.
I once left salt out of a ~150kg batch of bread dough in a commercial bakery. And realized about an hour in when I went to divide and weigh my bins and came up several kg short (the missing salt plus reserved water that I didn’t realize it was my job to put in the mixer). A mistake I will only make once. Also somehow a correctable mistake - I did have to take all the dough I’d divided into bins and put it back in the mixer. And yeah it wasn’t optimal but at least it wasnt a total loss.
When you start work at 4am you really need to remember your coffee, or else you never know what else you’ll forget.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:52 AM on August 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
I once left salt out of a ~150kg batch of bread dough in a commercial bakery. And realized about an hour in when I went to divide and weigh my bins and came up several kg short (the missing salt plus reserved water that I didn’t realize it was my job to put in the mixer). A mistake I will only make once. Also somehow a correctable mistake - I did have to take all the dough I’d divided into bins and put it back in the mixer. And yeah it wasn’t optimal but at least it wasnt a total loss.
When you start work at 4am you really need to remember your coffee, or else you never know what else you’ll forget.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:52 AM on August 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
If you're my mother, your favourite trick is forgetting to addthe liquids to the bread machine (you're just left with toasted powder).
I like it when she forgot the yeast though, it made a super dense lump of dough which was excellent toasted.
posted by Braeburn at 7:55 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
I like it when she forgot the yeast though, it made a super dense lump of dough which was excellent toasted.
posted by Braeburn at 7:55 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
Love this so much, particularly the advice about timers and how useless they become if you can't remember what they are for.
I forget everything in the kitchen. Particularly what I am supposed to be doing at any given time. My timer antics were getting so confusing and convoluted (set the oven timer for when I need to check on X, set my phone timer for when I need to check on Y. Start doing the things for Z and wait what was X timer for again oh no etc) that I finally got the bright idea to ask my very creative and talented husband to please create the timer of my dreams. He loves making fun(ctional) things so he did and my kitchen life is forever changed.
One unlabeled timer going off is a mysterious object in my mind. I just look at it wondering why are you beeping at me again? So thankfully I now have a supertimer that visually represents my four burners and oven and I LOVE it. When I put muffins or whatever in the oven I set the timer that represents the oven and I never forget why the timer is going off.
Also because he is the best at this kind of stuff he made it say increasingly dramatic and ridiculous things instead of simply beeping incessantly so if you are my next door neighbor the reason you keep hearing a robotic voice blaring "ABANDON SHIP!!" and "SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED!!!!" is that I'm outside watering the garden and I forgot to check on the muffins again.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 8:23 AM on August 17, 2022 [26 favorites]
I forget everything in the kitchen. Particularly what I am supposed to be doing at any given time. My timer antics were getting so confusing and convoluted (set the oven timer for when I need to check on X, set my phone timer for when I need to check on Y. Start doing the things for Z and wait what was X timer for again oh no etc) that I finally got the bright idea to ask my very creative and talented husband to please create the timer of my dreams. He loves making fun(ctional) things so he did and my kitchen life is forever changed.
One unlabeled timer going off is a mysterious object in my mind. I just look at it wondering why are you beeping at me again? So thankfully I now have a supertimer that visually represents my four burners and oven and I LOVE it. When I put muffins or whatever in the oven I set the timer that represents the oven and I never forget why the timer is going off.
Also because he is the best at this kind of stuff he made it say increasingly dramatic and ridiculous things instead of simply beeping incessantly so if you are my next door neighbor the reason you keep hearing a robotic voice blaring "ABANDON SHIP!!" and "SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED!!!!" is that I'm outside watering the garden and I forgot to check on the muffins again.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 8:23 AM on August 17, 2022 [26 favorites]
used confectioners' sugar in place of flour
Yeah! And tangential to that! Know what also supersucks not only in terms of using the wrong ingredient but also knowing when you're out of a particular ingredient and knowing what ingredient you're buying, is when the stupid company that makes the baking supplies suddenly decides to change the package design so that product x now looks exactly like product y from the same company used to look so that you pick up product y instead of product x at the damn store! THANK YOU SO MUUUCH, pricey, ecologically and morally sound sugar company whose name I can't remember but whose spiffy new package design I certainly remember now, now that it's too late, now I have two or three pounds of confectioners sugar and no brown sugar! Like this is not hard enough already!
posted by Don Pepino at 9:11 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yeah! And tangential to that! Know what also supersucks not only in terms of using the wrong ingredient but also knowing when you're out of a particular ingredient and knowing what ingredient you're buying, is when the stupid company that makes the baking supplies suddenly decides to change the package design so that product x now looks exactly like product y from the same company used to look so that you pick up product y instead of product x at the damn store! THANK YOU SO MUUUCH, pricey, ecologically and morally sound sugar company whose name I can't remember but whose spiffy new package design I certainly remember now, now that it's too late, now I have two or three pounds of confectioners sugar and no brown sugar! Like this is not hard enough already!
posted by Don Pepino at 9:11 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is great, and emphasized how weird it is that you never see recipe sites saying, here is a checklist for your mise-en-place, get these things laid out this way before you begin so the whole process can be as close to on rails as possible.
One of the biggest things that recipe sites could stand to do to help people cook rather than just sell ads, would be to add checklists and timers to their pages. Better that than going on about the beautiful life stories of the first time you heard about this beautiful recipe when you were in Tuscany for a springtime sunset and the fragrances and colours and refreshing perfect and and and and and and aaaaaaagh.
posted by mhoye at 9:13 AM on August 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
One of the biggest things that recipe sites could stand to do to help people cook rather than just sell ads, would be to add checklists and timers to their pages. Better that than going on about the beautiful life stories of the first time you heard about this beautiful recipe when you were in Tuscany for a springtime sunset and the fragrances and colours and refreshing perfect and and and and and and aaaaaaagh.
posted by mhoye at 9:13 AM on August 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
Pumpkin pie filling without salt also tastes like sadness, to me.
Anyway, I loved this article! I set a timer for everything. The timer is a reminder that something is happening on the stove and/or oven and I need to come back if I have wandered away. This is almost the only thing I use Siri on my phone for but the ease of "Set a timer for five minutes" or whatever is very handy. But nothing beats making myself physically return to the oven/stove to turn off the timer.
posted by Tesseractive at 9:42 AM on August 17, 2022
Anyway, I loved this article! I set a timer for everything. The timer is a reminder that something is happening on the stove and/or oven and I need to come back if I have wandered away. This is almost the only thing I use Siri on my phone for but the ease of "Set a timer for five minutes" or whatever is very handy. But nothing beats making myself physically return to the oven/stove to turn off the timer.
posted by Tesseractive at 9:42 AM on August 17, 2022
In my opinion the biggest mistake a lot of new bread bakers, by which I mean me in particular, make is getting caught up in reddit baking groups and chasing open crumb and then getting molten peanut butter seeping through your toast onto your clothing and/or couch.
posted by srboisvert at 9:44 AM on August 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 9:44 AM on August 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
These are all great tips when you're just absent-minded or tired, even if not truly brainfogged.
Many of these are great tips even if you aren't absent-minded or tired, too.
This, for example:
Break recipes down into manageable steps: When I’m brain foggy, I may only have 20 or 30 minutes of concentration in me. Knowing how to pause recipes at different points allows me to work at my own pace.
Has long been one of my go-to suggestions for people who are learning how to pace complicated dinners in order to get everything ready on time -- cooking Thanskgiving, for example. Go through your recipe(s) ahead of time and look for the places where the a sub-component is stable and can be stopped -- for a few minutes you need to get something else together, or overnight in the fridge, or frozen well ahead of time. Knowing those points will really help you plan where and how you work on everything to get it together on time, because they give you flexibility.
Really, all of this is great advice for cooking well, generally.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:45 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Many of these are great tips even if you aren't absent-minded or tired, too.
This, for example:
Break recipes down into manageable steps: When I’m brain foggy, I may only have 20 or 30 minutes of concentration in me. Knowing how to pause recipes at different points allows me to work at my own pace.
Has long been one of my go-to suggestions for people who are learning how to pace complicated dinners in order to get everything ready on time -- cooking Thanskgiving, for example. Go through your recipe(s) ahead of time and look for the places where the a sub-component is stable and can be stopped -- for a few minutes you need to get something else together, or overnight in the fridge, or frozen well ahead of time. Knowing those points will really help you plan where and how you work on everything to get it together on time, because they give you flexibility.
Really, all of this is great advice for cooking well, generally.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:45 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
is when the stupid company that makes the baking supplies suddenly decides to change the package design so that product x now looks exactly like product y from the same company used to look so that you pick up product y instead of product x at the damn store!
I recently tried to buy baking powder and ended up with baking soda in a little cylindrical container, which I swear to god ought to be illegal.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:06 AM on August 17, 2022 [13 favorites]
I recently tried to buy baking powder and ended up with baking soda in a little cylindrical container, which I swear to god ought to be illegal.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:06 AM on August 17, 2022 [13 favorites]
I love this article, but I am mostly here to say that the apple cake recipe linked at the bottom is my favorite cake in the world. I make it at least twice every apple season and wish I had some right this minute! Do not skip the frosting!
posted by tangosnail at 10:14 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by tangosnail at 10:14 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
The timer thing is idiosyncratic, in my experience.
I only really bake bread. My basic principle is "watch the dough, not the clock, but ALWAYS set a timer."
I use the timer on the stove because it's visible and the beeper is really loud and annoying, so even if I don't hear it, someone will and they'll find me and tell me. I have to be able to see time remaining whenever I want.
My idiosyncratic practice is setting it for about 90% of the recommended time - something I do for any cooking/baking process. I like that slack; it allows me to know time is about up, but I still have space to finish something, wash my hands, whatever. But I always forget to tell others that, so they think the beep means it's time to take the thing out of the oven, turn down the burner, or whatever. For me, the timer tells me when to check on something and decide if more time is needed.
My wife and our stepdaughters - fantastic bakers, all - use their electronic devices, especially the Echo dot. They love setting and checking a timer with voice commands, which I'm glad works for them, but I cannot get used to that.
posted by Caxton1476 at 10:29 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
I only really bake bread. My basic principle is "watch the dough, not the clock, but ALWAYS set a timer."
I use the timer on the stove because it's visible and the beeper is really loud and annoying, so even if I don't hear it, someone will and they'll find me and tell me. I have to be able to see time remaining whenever I want.
My idiosyncratic practice is setting it for about 90% of the recommended time - something I do for any cooking/baking process. I like that slack; it allows me to know time is about up, but I still have space to finish something, wash my hands, whatever. But I always forget to tell others that, so they think the beep means it's time to take the thing out of the oven, turn down the burner, or whatever. For me, the timer tells me when to check on something and decide if more time is needed.
My wife and our stepdaughters - fantastic bakers, all - use their electronic devices, especially the Echo dot. They love setting and checking a timer with voice commands, which I'm glad works for them, but I cannot get used to that.
posted by Caxton1476 at 10:29 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
chasing open crumb and then getting molten peanut butter seeping through your toast onto your clothing and/or couch.
Preach. Open crumb is hipster aesthetic-achievement-over-function bullshit and I will die on that hill.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:33 AM on August 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
Preach. Open crumb is hipster aesthetic-achievement-over-function bullshit and I will die on that hill.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:33 AM on August 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
Oo, the whiteboard with timers could be handy. I’ve visited a lab with a bunch of little portable timers to be put next to the various Things, possibly on a note (as simple as the setter’s name so you knew who to look for).
posted by clew at 10:34 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by clew at 10:34 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, all the voice assistants can set named timers so you know what they are when they go off.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:41 AM on August 17, 2022
posted by uncleozzy at 10:41 AM on August 17, 2022
Eponys… wait, what was I doing again?
posted by zamboni at 11:17 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by zamboni at 11:17 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
And freshly-made croutons make everyone happy.
Truth. And don't forget to pet them!
posted by Melismata at 12:20 PM on August 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Truth. And don't forget to pet them!
posted by Melismata at 12:20 PM on August 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
So thankfully I now have a supertimer that visually represents my four burners and oven and I LOVE it. When I put muffins or whatever in the oven I set the timer that represents the oven and I never forget why the timer is going off.DON'T LEAVE US HANGING
posted by Hardcore Poser at 7:31 PM on August 17, 2022
Oh the link is up there (in the it of I LOVE it) but also right here: SUPERTIMER
It really is the very best awesome robot timer friend!
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 8:23 PM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
It really is the very best awesome robot timer friend!
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 8:23 PM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
My major concern is whether people with 'brain fog' are driving... always, always, always, pre-measure, mise en place, section off the prep area etc. A recipe is an early computer program waiting for its 'IF/THEN/ELSE/GOTO moments...
posted by IndelibleUnderpants at 5:56 AM on August 18, 2022
posted by IndelibleUnderpants at 5:56 AM on August 18, 2022
The Paprika Recipe Management app is not free, but it provides many useful features.
It slurps in recipes from webpages, and provides a very good grocery list manager that can sync across multiple devices.
While cooking, you can check off ingredients as you add them and steps as you do them, and anywhere a recipe includes a time, you can just click directly on the time to start a timer!
posted by BrashTech at 9:01 AM on August 18, 2022
It slurps in recipes from webpages, and provides a very good grocery list manager that can sync across multiple devices.
While cooking, you can check off ingredients as you add them and steps as you do them, and anywhere a recipe includes a time, you can just click directly on the time to start a timer!
posted by BrashTech at 9:01 AM on August 18, 2022
So thankfully I now have a supertimer that visually represents my four burners and oven and I LOVE it.
I use a very similar iphone app called Thyme.
posted by belladonna at 6:08 PM on August 18, 2022
I use a very similar iphone app called Thyme.
posted by belladonna at 6:08 PM on August 18, 2022
My major concern is whether people with 'brain fog' are driving...
LOL... if you are in America there are people driving across town with gunshot wounds to the chest because they can't afford the ambo. Almost every news article about people being somehow hurt will include the mandatory line "X number of victims refused treatment at the scene". Those people are either driving themselves home or to the hospital while psychologically and/or physically impaired.
Just assume all drivers are impaired all the time. You'll only occasionally be wrong.
posted by srboisvert at 4:59 AM on August 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
LOL... if you are in America there are people driving across town with gunshot wounds to the chest because they can't afford the ambo. Almost every news article about people being somehow hurt will include the mandatory line "X number of victims refused treatment at the scene". Those people are either driving themselves home or to the hospital while psychologically and/or physically impaired.
Just assume all drivers are impaired all the time. You'll only occasionally be wrong.
posted by srboisvert at 4:59 AM on August 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just assume all drivers are impaired all the time.
Plus the ones sitting at stop signs and green lights texting. Last week there was a car sortof in the left turn lane but enough out of it that I had to get all the way over into the gutter to get past it and through the intersection. The light was a beautiful spring green, but the car was not moving. I stopped for a second to check to be sure the person wasn't slumped over the steering wheel dead, but of course they were texting. So I did the quick wake-up horn honk; they did wake up and they even looked up for a second, but they were too distracted to see anything useful and looked back down at the phone. So I headed off. As long as I could still see the scene in the rearview mirror, the car was still there, blocking the left turn lane and part of the straight lane. I pray to the saints and the angel Gabriel every night and every morning that that poor person has a good timer and does not have any confusingly packaged leaveners or sugars in their kitchen.
posted by Don Pepino at 6:41 AM on August 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Plus the ones sitting at stop signs and green lights texting. Last week there was a car sortof in the left turn lane but enough out of it that I had to get all the way over into the gutter to get past it and through the intersection. The light was a beautiful spring green, but the car was not moving. I stopped for a second to check to be sure the person wasn't slumped over the steering wheel dead, but of course they were texting. So I did the quick wake-up horn honk; they did wake up and they even looked up for a second, but they were too distracted to see anything useful and looked back down at the phone. So I headed off. As long as I could still see the scene in the rearview mirror, the car was still there, blocking the left turn lane and part of the straight lane. I pray to the saints and the angel Gabriel every night and every morning that that poor person has a good timer and does not have any confusingly packaged leaveners or sugars in their kitchen.
posted by Don Pepino at 6:41 AM on August 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Ooh yeah, there's probably a specific saint for that
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:58 PM on August 21, 2022
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:58 PM on August 21, 2022
My idiosyncratic practice is setting it for about 90% of the recommended time - something I do for any cooking/baking process. I like that slack; it allows me to know time is about up, but I still have space to finish something, wash my hands, whatever.Caxton1476, I love this! I sometimes do it for various timer things but hadn't concretized it into a practice.
posted by brainwane at 7:01 AM on September 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
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for lifeuntil my janky memory drops the whole idea on the floor.posted by nebulawindphone at 6:23 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]