Author: way0utwest

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here.

Today’s tip is to make a meal using a recipe or ingredient you’ve not tried before.

While I enjoy cooking, I haven’t experimented a lot. Some, but not a lot. I made a few things this year that I’ve never made before, as an experiment. For example, I put together homemade ramen early in the pandemic, which was a hit.

For me, I had never made donuts. We’ve enjoyed (too many) donuts during the pandemic, but most aren’t gluten free. I have a cookbook that includes and one for donuts. It’s involved, like bread, with letting the dough rise twice and then frying in oil.

I told my daughter I’d make them and she got very excited. I didn’t quite realize what I’d gotten myself into, and it was hours after my girl expected something, but they came out well.

It felt good to make these. My Mom had made something similar when I was a kid, but I’d never done them until now.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here.

Today’s tip is to broaden your perspective: read a different paper, magazine, or site.

Many of us tend to get caught in bubbles of information. Google/Bing do this, bringing us certain results. We have a set group of people on social media, and often we read the same sites for news, information, fun, etc.

The US election took place recently, and it was a contentious one. Like many, I was entranced with the process, the outcome, and the way the event unfolded. I have some sites for news, and a subscription, but I decided to try something different since I was hoping for other views.

In particular, I gave CNN a try at CNN.com. I haven’t been thrilled with their television program for years, as I think they struggle to find new and interesting things to day and still fill 24 hours. However, I saw some ratings about how people around the world view the site, and it’s fairly neutral.

I also grabbed a new book, Dirt, after hearing someone talk about it on NPR. It’s a book by a writer that moves to France to learn French cooking. A little out of my area, and I struggled to get into this book, but eventually it turned a corner, and I enjoyed hearing about how the writer blends cooking, chefs, ingredients, and life in a foreign country.