"The system"

In the past year or more, these two words have begun to raise my hackles. "The system." Most often heard at work, this phrase may refer to the email server, or to the HR computer application for tracking employees, or the payroll computer application, or to the company intranet, or even to my own spreadsheet-based educational records, depending on the situation and the speaker. But it nearly always deflects responsibility from humans to the inscrutable "system."

Cooking practice: Meatmix

I'd taken a pound of meat (93% lean ground beef) from the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator, with the intention of making my first attempt at cooking chili. But one evening after another passed: I got home late, I was too tired, I ordered pizza, or I ate at my relatives' house. A week went by. The meat began to turn brown on the outside.

I decided last night was the night. With this and this as my inspiration, I determined to produce, if not a true chili, at least a decent approximation thereof.

( Not quite chili )