Mango Jelly Recipe for 2025 and Instructions for Canning for Future Self

I don't like repeating blog articles, but I do change things around from time to time.   I have been at this since 2009 and there are things that I modify and put back on the blog.

In this case, it isn't so much the Mango Jelly recipe as much as the process.  The recipe is same as it was but it was tailored for my canning pot, and I did increase the amount of Bulk Pectin.  I got a much more "me friendly" result.  The result is more firm and more like what I expect a jelly to be like. 

If you like a soft jelly, reduce the amount of pectin from 12 to perhaps 10 or 8 Tablespoons.  I am using Bulk Pectin.  It's cheaper that way and being retired, I save money where I can.

Of course the Full Internet Warranty Applies - No Warranty implied or expressly written.  You follow these instructions at your own risk.  Just because this "works for me" does not mean it will work for you.  Read them, re-read, get your equipment set up, and re-read again.  Ramblingmoose.com takes no responsibility for any actions on your part.

That being said, I do this a couple times a year.  These are instructions from me to my future self.  I could do this with one jar in a sauce pan and a sealing lid if I had to. 

But I am a special character.  I've been told I am an ampersand.

The Full Recipe is at the bottom.

Wash your hands, frequently.

Canning.  The USDA has instructions, and "everyone else" does as well.  This is what I did Monday.  I've been canning for a couple years now and I have gotten good results.  Usually only one jar per batch fails to seal.  BUT, I tend to reuse my lids.  I have been told don't do that.   I roll the dice and don't pass on jars until a week or two after they are sitting around so I know they're going to seal.  The one that fails is mine and goes into the fridge.  Mango Jelly Pie on a Graham Cracker Crust can be a very nice dessert, and this jelly is great on Pancakes for syrup.  I had it on pancakes today and enjoyed it.

Into the canning pot, place more lids than jars.  Rings do not to be sterilized. I can comfortably fit 8 jars on the grid inside of my pot.  So I tend to put 8 to 10 lids in to the pot.

Place the funnel and the magnet stick into the pot.  Any scoops or paddles I think I will need go into the pot.

Note:  If you place all the things other than the jars that you want to sterilize into a separate sauce pan, and can fit them in, it may make life easier.  Using tools to remotely fish things out from a boiling pot of water from under jars and grid can be painful.  I did not use a separate pot for the lids and tools this time and I managed.

The tools that do not go into the jars will remain on a dinner plate outside of the pot.

Do not use a paper plate.  I made that mistake this batch and when I turned the fire back on, it caught and you had ashes everywhere.  Bad move.  Hank will tell you Propane cooks hot, it's God's Own Gas.

Put the pot in the sink and fill all the jars with water after you lift the metal grid and place it on the bottom of the pot.  Then fill the pot to the line so that all the jars are completely submerged with about an inch of water on top of the jars.

Yes, that's a lot of water. 
Yes, it all has to come to a full rolling boil.

The Boil.  Place the full pot on the stove and turn the heat on, full.  You want the water to come to a rolling boil.  This will take about a half of an hour.  Make sure the propane tank has enough gas for this project.  The entire canning episode yesterday only used 1% of the 100 gallon tank.  You most likely won't move the needle on the larger tanks.  You won't want to do this on a smaller bottle since those are for the Grill.

Sterilizing.  Once the pot, jars, lids, and tools are on a rolling boil, set the timer on the stove for 30 minutes.  This must boil for 30 minutes to sterilize everything.  Yes, I know you can't kill all the tardigrades in the pot, but this will get the botulism out of anything.  This way when you send jelly Up North to family, they won't get sick.

Jelly needs to cook to 165F or 74C.  Start this when the water is boiling, it takes about 20 minutes to go from room temp to 165F.  This kills any nasties that might be on the fruit or the pot.  The temp gun helps but the numbers dance around while you are stirring with the immersion blender. 

As long as the fruit is not frozen, adding the ingredients to the separate cooking pot, then turning on the heat on medium will be fine timing.  Your immersion blender or stick blender is great for the task. 

Use the white blender.  The other blender is for making soap.  Don't mix them.  This takes too long to "restart" because you did something stupid.

Keep stirring the jelly until you are ready for it, and do NOT use high heat.  The Mangoes will hot spot and you will end up with discolored fruit.  Not the best when you want "Gift Quality".  This also will mean that the jelly, jam really since it is complete fruit, will be smooth and pureed with no chunks.

When the timer sounds, check the temp on the jelly.  If it finishes before the water has boiled for 30 solid minutes, turn the heat down on the jelly.  You don't want hot spots.

Hopefully everything is done correctly, no hot spots and you are now ready to can.

Turn the heat off the canning pot.

Filling Jars.  Fish the tools you need out of the water bath.  Place them on the clean plate you just reached out of the cabinet or dishwasher for this purpose.

You will need the scissors clamp, the funnel, the scoop, the paddle.  The magnet stick should have floated upright so you can grab that without getting burned.

Once you get the tools out of the water and set out to cool on the plate, get the metal rack out of the bottom of the pot.  It can be set so the metal handles are elevated and the jars are no longer in the hot water.

Using the scissors clamp, grab the first jar and dump the boiling water back into the pot.  Place this on the work plate.  Put the funnel into the mouth of the jar.  Fill the jar no higher than the bottom of the funnel.  For wide mouth jars, do not fill above the line under the threads.

Tools do cool quickly but do be careful.  It will be a little uncomfortable at first.

Take the funnel out of the jars, and set it aside.  Since you are using it to fill the jars with the jelly, I set it on top of the jelly, narrow side down. 

In filling, if you slopped any jelly on the rim of the jar, wipe it off with a wet paper towel.  Carefully, you don't want to contaminate the jars.  Paper Towels are considered by me to be sterile-ish compared to a cloth towel.

Place a lid on the top of the jar, rubber side down, and seat it on the rim.  Then screw down a ring gently.  Make sure the ring is not "tight" as the air inside of the jar needs to be forced out during the second boil to create your vacuum seal.  Usually getting it to meet the lid then backing off a "wee bit" is enough.

Place that jar back on the metal grid and repeat for all of the jars you intend to can for this batch.

Now that you have your jars on the grid, check to make sure the rings are not constricting the lids.  Lower the grid to the bottom of the pot.

Second Boil to seal your jars.  You now have all your jars submerged and it is time for the second boil.

Turn the heat on full, the fan back on, and wait for the water to come back to a full boil.

When the water is on a full rolling boil, set the timer on the stove for 30 minutes.  As the water is boiling, the heat will push some of the air out of the jars and create your later vacuum when you are waiting for the buttons on the lids to snap to seal. 

Time to remove the jars from the boiling water. 

Raise the grid to the top of the canning pot.  If you are confident, you can remove the grid to a safe workplace and deal with the jars.

Check each jar.  Make sure each lid is seated on the top of the jar and when you are confident, tighten the ring down.  Repeat for each jar and set them aside to cool.

By the time the jars have reached room temperature, each vacuum button should have snapped to prove that they are sealed.

Just because you need clean pipes, dump the hot water in the sink.  It will help melt the grease you didn't know you were putting in there.

Recipe.  USDA says you can store canned jelly for 6 to 12 months.

Ingredients:

• 8 Cups chunked ripe Mango pieces.
• 2 Cups Sugar.
• 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice.
• 12 Tablespoons of bulk Fruit Pectin.

Process:

• Cut up your Mangoes into chunks until you have 8 cups of the fruit.
• Mash slightly the Mangoes, and add to the cooking pot.
• Add 2 Cups of Sugar.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice.
• Add 12 tablespoons of bulk Fruit Pectin.
• Cook on medium on the stove until the jam begins to set at about 30 minutes.

Why You Want Ceramic Bearings In Your Inline Skates

 

I used to work with someone who decided to mess with my head.  He said "Why are you still skating, nobody does that any more?". 

I responded with "When is the last time you could see your toes without a mirror?".

I know.  Catty.  But hey, never compare your 100th session with someone else's first.

The thing is that I still skate.   I still measure the distance in fractions of Marathons.  It is August and I have not stopped.  Resting heart rate is 48.  I think that guy is still casting a large shadow at noon.

Jus' Sayin'.  Trails are filling up with skaters again.  This is the second "rebirth" of inline skating.  It isn't like in the 90s but you can find friendly faces out there again.

And that is the point.  I do it because I like to.  I do it because the beta endorphins are a great rush.  I do it because I have a distance goal of "Once Around The World At The Equator" and I am within 250 miles.

I skate once a week, bike twice a week.  Skating is 1.5 times more calories burned than Biking at my level.  1500 calories per hour.  I'll drop it when I'm "old" and I'm not there yet.

There are a few things that I picked up over the years.  You don't skate 24659 miles without learning a few things about a sport.

I am endurance, not speed, not tricks.  I go to log miles, as you might have gathered.  I pick a pace and "just go". 

August in Florida is hot, it was hotter in my native Philadelphia last week.  I found that taking a break every 45 minutes is a requirement, not "nice".

I bring a LOT of water.  My home park has lots of water stops, as did the park in Philly.  I time my breaks to be near water.  Getting through the heat in August wherever you are (February in the upside down world of the southern hemisphere) is helped by this strategy.

Stop, dump water on your head and clothes.  Don't get the bearings wet for the love of the skating gods.  But definitely do the water dump.  "Room temp" will feel nice and cool.  Ice water will send a chill up your spine.  Then dump a similar amount down your waiting gullet and enjoy.  I also bake brownies for my water stop since I'm stopping very close to an hour and it burns up your blood sugar.  Once you get going that water will evaporate and you will get about a half hour at "your pace" of being cool.  Trust this "Senior Skater" on this one, you will like the feeling of the breeze on your head and chest.

Second thing to mention is Bearings.  If you are still on your original bearings consider an upgrade.  I am in a wet climate.  I got very tired of having to tear down bearings every week, even up North.  That is about 100 miles in my old pace of 4x25 miles on the trails.

Hybrid Ceramic is a big improvement and they cost online about $25 a set.  You still have to keep them dry but they are a little better at rolling resistance than a steel bearing.

I know some out there say ABEC 7 or Bones Swiss but I disagree.  I have two containers of formerly useful bearings that were ABEC 5 and better.  ABEC is just a measure of precision of the bearings within the race in the bearing themselves, not a durability rating.   Once you hit the dust or wet on the trails, they will rust up and are no longer smooth. 

Hybrid are only good as long as they are maintained.  Degreased, Dried, Reoiled after a session.  

A much better solution is the more expensive Ceramic bearings.   A set of Full Ceramic bearings cost me about $70.  With the orange menace adding tariffs and taxes on anything he does not understand, I am sure they have gone up.

But do consider them.  Add a cheap Ultrasonic Cleaner to the purchase price at around $35-50.

Why?  They are made of a ceramic mixture like your coffee mug.  They are designed to never need lube.  Lube will pick up dust and corrupt your shiny white or black ceramic bearings.  Care is simple - Put them in the ultrasonic cleaner with water and a drop of dishwashing soap and let it run through a cycle.  When through dry them out with a hairdryer and reinstall.

The difference is a roll test or spin test.

You take a pair of skates and flip them over.  Run your hands, quickly, over the wheels to get them to spin.  Watch your clock to see how long the wheels spin.  My rule is 1 minute spin on steel bearings.  2 minutes on Hybrid is a good number although I see regularly upwards of 2 minutes 30 seconds. 

I have seen one wheel spin 5 minutes on ceramic bearings.  I shoot for 3 minutes 30.  I tend to get bored when I do a spin test.

Anything less than those numbers and into the ultrasonic they go.

Steel gets lube.  I'm not sure of the Hybrid but since they feel a little oily, I would tend to put more lube back.

Lube for me is "Tri Flow" oil.  It has Teflon in it, and it is a light machine oil.  I have been using it for the majority of my 24700 miles.

Ceramic Bearings do not get oiled.

Let me repeat that.

Ceramic Bearings do not get oiled.

You dry them off as much as possible, and put them back into the wheels.   My own ceramics are open bearings, unshielded.  The Steel and Hybrid are both shielded and I have stuck myself many times with the push pin to get the C Clamp off the individual sides of the bearings.

Steel Bearings have gotten so cheap that there are many out there that just get a new set rather than refurbish a set of steel bearings and take the hours of time to do it right.

Spin test them.  You will never get a set of steel bearings to spin the 2:30 of a hybrid let along the 3-5 minutes of a ceramic.

Ceramic bearings are smooth.  It makes for a much better feel on the trails.  More like you are on Ice than on asphalt.  More of what you are putting onto the trail gets converted to speed so this is not for someone who is just "taking up skating".  As an upgrade, I can't think of a nicer one other than perhaps a harder or larger wheel.

Both of my pairs of skates are hard wheels.  88A durometer.  My small set of 80 mm wheels are pure urethane - creamy colored plastic.  The 100 mm big wheels are probably polyurethane but they are 88A. 

Softer wheels will give you more grip but will wear out faster.  They are also stealing your momentum.   Higher durometer wheels will last longer, roll further.  You choose. 

I chose hard wheels.  A long time ago, that is.

I've been at this so long that the terminology has changed.  The "Frame" or "Skate Frame" where the wheels are bolted in was called a "Truck" from the old quad skate designation.  I still slip and call the Frame a Truck from time to time.

But I prefer a long frame, and I have a pair of Rollerblade Twisters from 2023 (I think) that I installed a set of 4x100mm wheels on that look like a demented set of skis.  They have the feel of riding on a rail because of the length of the frame but I don't do tricks.  If you do, you will want to get a custom shorter frame.

For me, and my distance, I'll stick with the longer frame.

(Or Truck)  Long frame on a big heavy boot is a heavy skate, a beast of a skate.

But definitely, if you can find them at a good price, get the ceramics.   You will appreciate the smoothness.

Better to roll than to talk about it.  Find yourself some trainer's tape and tape up the hot spots.  Then get out there and enjoy a workout, I know I will!

I Guess I Can Call It My Mutt Pizza

I know someone who goes to London, frequently.  He is aghast at what they call pizza over there.  His description was Jarred Spaghetti Sauce with Cheddar Cheese.

No, Really.  It sounds like an abomination.

Mind you if you try to serve me Pineapple Pizza, you will wear it.  I am flexible but it needs to taste right.  Pineapple belongs in an upside down cake.  Period.  Or perhaps on a different dessert.  Keep that dreck to yourself.

When I moved here to Florida, I was struck by how mediocre the pizza was.  Think sauce from a can and flavorless cheese.

I set on a path that allowed me to develop a recipe that my Italian Mother would be proud of.  It tastes like a 1970s Pizza Shop sauce.  The kind of place you walk in and see a giant vat of the stuff reducing on a slow flame on the stove.

Remember to add the spices when you take it off the heat.  You want the punch of oregano to shine through.

Today I came home from a marathon on the bike.  That seems to be my normal workout at this point.  Today was 28.02 miles - I was close and made sure to round out the distance.  After two hours, and getting hit by some light rain, and I wanted the pizza.

This thing's crust is not so very good.  It is a large tortilla.  Sure, it saves me about 300 calories but it is kind of soulless and I describe it as an "Italian Quesadilla".  Nothing against Mexican cuisine, I love and respect that and this mashup is strange.

I was in a rush so it has its place.

I did want to use up some of the oddball ingredients I had on hand.  The Mozzarella I had ready was only about half of what I needed so I got "creative".  Adding in the main flavor of the Parmesan would help this effort greatly. 

Still I was short.  I remembered the discussions of the British Pizza.  If we want to laugh, we look at each other and say "Cheddar Pizza" and cringe. 

At this point I realized either thaw out some more Mozzarella or get the Cheddar.  It's a good Cheddar, I equivocated, but it is still a cheddar.  It also was on the "old side" and I had cut out all the "spots".  It needed to be used up.

Ok, admittedly, all the ingredients were weird, let's make a pizza out of these bastard ingredients.  I cook to get a flavor profile as well as a balanced amount of protein with a specific calorie count.  That meant that in order to make the pizza 1000 calories, I needed 5 ounces of cheese total.  I ended up putting a mix together of 1 ounce of rather good sharp Parmesan, 2.5 ounces each of Mozzarella and Extra Sharp Cheddar.

Assembling the pie or quesadilla, I poured a glass of Chardonnay.  Taking a sniff of that glass, I realized it was for cooking.  We made Beef Stroganoff and it put the "Ordinaire" in the term "Vin Ordinaire".  Not great stuff.

Somehow the combination of that wine and the strange pizza worked well together.

I guess the moral of the story is not to be so rigid.  If you have to use Cheddar, it isn't the end of the world, just make sure that you have a strong sauce, and that the Cheddar is Extra Sharp.  Having it be the minority cheese in a mix won't ruin a pizza, it will pass if you are caught up short.

And a glass of Ordinary Wine never hurt anyone.

Cycling Hack - Cut The Sidewalls Off For Use As A Liner For The Tire

What you are looking at bears some explanation.

The short answer is when you ride so much that your tires are showing the belts through, you can give it a second life.

I've been "Make Do And Mend" for so long that it is second nature to me.  When I wear something out and throw it out, it is because I can't see a second or third use for it.  So the end result is that I repurpose many things in creative ways.

In this case, it's a liner for the tires next time the tube needs a servicing.

Why would I want a liner?

Simple.  I ride on streets and trails in a city.  Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  There is a lot of trash on the trails.  Seed husks, broken glass, wires, and coral stones were all on the trail that I rode on yesterday.  That is only what I remember.

Tires on a bike have lasted me about 2500 miles.  The front wheel lasts much longer, and that picture is of my rear wheel.  I just installed a new tire, and it is already lined with a tire tread from an earlier tire.

Since my endurance workouts are fairly long, I do tend to run through a tire in about 100 or so workouts.  I have caught quite a few flats in my time and the tubes are patched four or five places.  Tires generally do not need to be patched.

With a liner, I haven't had a flat in about 1000 miles.  Without a liner, it's about every other week.

You choose.

You can buy a liner.  They aren't any better than this except they tend to be lighter than the third of a bike tire I am stuffing into my replacement.

This is a hack.   It worked very well for me for a couple years. 

Non-Toxic Weed Killer Recipe

This is real simple.  Three ingredients.

And, yes, I am repeating this here because while I try VERY hard not to repeat topics, I could not find this one when I went looking for it.  The blog has been here since 2009 so it is a lot to slog through.

I'll keep the story short.  Mix this stuff up and spray it on your weeds, they go away.  It is not persistent so do it in the morning of a dry day.  It works best in the sun.  It may not kill everything but it also won't kill people or animals. 

It just annoys them.

Because of the Vinegar, the side effect is your weeds smell like a salad.

Slightly longer story - I let the weeds get a little out of control.  They began to overtake the swale (parking space) and the little square in front of my house.  The little square is now empty of weeds, the parking space is noticeably less weedy.

Before and after pics are here as well as the entire recipe.

Ingredients  (First picture is scaled to half gallon size for convenience):

• 1 Gallon White Vinegar (the cheap stuff)
• 2 Cups Epson Salt
• 1/4 Cup Blue Dawn Dish Soap (The Original Blue)

 

Process: 

• Mix ingredients up, I use the bottle of the sprayer to mix them thoroughly.
• Spray on to unwanted plants.
• Watch the Carnage.

Some Canning Basics. - Too much rain, too many mangoes, too much free time. I guess I'll can mango jelly!

I'm sitting here on a Wednesday Morning debating the same thing I did yesterday.  Will the weather hold for me to get a workout in.

Yesterday, no absolutely not.  When I stopped watching Miami got 3 inches of rain and it was still going on. 

Today, I don't think so.  The leftover rains washed everything onto the road beds, left ponds everywhere, and there's more to come.  30 miles South, 60 miles West, and all coming here for a visit to Metro Fort Lauderdale.  My back yard.

So I'm considering my options.  Since it is Wet Season, you have to let the weather do the talking.

I could throw the bike on the car and drive to the park and go around 5 times, or until I get rained out.

I could make more Mango Jelly, and can the stuff and use up all of the morning.

I could do both, bike in the morning until I get wet then can jelly in the afternoon.

Since dog walk 2 is going to happen ... now, I'm going out to try to decide later.  To do anything athletic, I need a carboload and a lot of planning.  Procrastination does not lend itself to being a Jock.

While I was out, there was a storm that blew up over the park that I workout at, 8 miles North of me.  I never saw it here, at home, but RADAR made the decision for me.

Canning Basics:

WARNING:  Canning food is always at your own risk and your own skill level at keeping items and surfaces clean.  Boil everything you can for 30 minutes and please be careful.  Any doubt, buy new food at the supermarket.

Start with jars and lids that are as clean and undamaged as possible. 
If needed, run everything that touches food through the dishwasher.
You have to sterilize everything that touches food:

• Boil everything for 30 minutes minimum.
• All Spoons, Jars, Lids, and "Tools" like Funnels must be boiled for 30 minutes.
• Everything.
• If it does not touch the food, and only "outside" you can just make sure that it's clean and not sterile.  This is things like Jar Handlers and pot holders.

This does not guarantee that your food once canned will remain wholesome and good to eat. 
Do not can food with a high egg content. 
Use promptly, 6 Months or sooner.  I have personally gone a year but I'm stupid.

If any questions consult another source like the USDA for safe food handling procedures.  That link points you to the University of Georgia site which is where the USDA wanted you to go anyway.

Your Food should be cooked to the proper temperature to kill any bacteria.  If I am canning, I cook to a minimum of 165F as tested with a kitchen thermometer.  Hotter is better.   No Raw Foods.  When you boil the jars to seal them for 30 minutes, you will end up cooking them again anyway.

The Chart linked here shows you how hot you can cook your food to serve.  You are canning, you need a higher standard.  "Well Done" here is good.

Now that you have the food cooked, and your canning jars have been boiled, the process begins to fill your jars. 

The process that I will use is:

• Take the sterilized funnel from the boiling water and set aside on a clean plate.
• Remove a jar from the boiling water and empty it into the pot.
• Set the jar on a clean workspace plate.
• Remove a lid from the boiling water and set that aside on the plate.
• When filling a jar remember that the food will expand in the water bath, leave room from the top of the jar when you fill.
• Fill the jar with your food, and set a lid on top of the filled jar.
• Use a clean ring to loosely secure the lid in place. 
• You should be able to turn the ring but not have it come off if you lift by the ring.
• Set the filled jar in the hot water bath using the clean tools.
• Repeat for the remainder of the food and jars.
• When the pot has been filled, lower your jars into the hot water bath.
• Bring the water up to a full boil.
• Boil the water bath for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Reusing Jars is acceptable but Reusing Lids is risky.  If your last use of the lid required it to be pried off, and it bent, you probably won't be able to get a good seal from that lid and ring.  They should look clean, round, flat, and unbent.

I have reused lids.  I almost always reuse rings.  Always reuse your jars if you are short, nobody will know.

Revisiting the Leaked KFC Chicken Original Recipe - Close Enough To Real

Once upon a time, there was the Original Recipe.  You know, The Harlan Sanders Fried Chicken that built an empire. 

Most of us have had it before, and most of us enjoyed it.

Secrets told are secrets no more.  The Secret Recipe got Leaked and it made the rounds.

The Chicago Tribune article gives you more background that I will here.  It's a wonderful read, and if it hasn't disappeared, do go read it. 

As for my chicken?  If you have a KFC handy, and they do seem to be everywhere, go there and get a bucket.  This recipe is good, in fact it's pretty much spot on, but KFC is the real deal.

I will say that this time I tried it again with tweaks.

First: I did try the recipe with chicken chunks.  I cut up two chicken breasts and dredged them through one scrambled raw egg, then dipped the chunks in the mixture.

Second:  I fried them in a neutral oil heated to 350F.  Just below smoke point.  Cooked until they were golden brown and looked like a "Goldendoodle". 

Third: I reserved half of the spice and only used 1 cup of flour because I did not want a lot of waste.  Apparently the chicken is not too picky because this was pretty much perfect.

The first time I did this recipe, I baked the chicken.  This time I fried it.  More Authentic but heavier - the F in KFC is for Fried.  I'm an athlete so I don't worry too much about those calories but do be aware.

Result?  I'll do it again.  I have half of the spice mix in my cabinet and plenty of flour here since I constantly bake.

As I did before, I'll reproduce the graphic in text in case the original graphic disappears. 

Spice Mix to be added to 2 cups of Flour:

1. 2/3 tablespoon salt
2. 1/2 tablespoon thyme
3. 1/2 tablespoon basil
4. 1/3 tablespoon oregano
5. 1 tablespoon celery salt
6. 1 tablespoon black pepper
7. 1 tablespoon dried mustard powder
8. 4 tablespoons paprika
9. 2 tablespoons garlic salt
10. 1 tablespoon ground ginger
11. 3 tablespoons white pepper

For the metric crowd:

a cup flour is 120g
a Tablespoon is 15ml

Guess who I saw yesterday?!!?? Who? Everybody I looked at!

After spending some time in the kitchen making breakfast for future treats, I figured "Why not do this?"  I do a lot of "this" random stuff during the days. 

Today it was making milk for future use.  Pudding requires that, so I make it with powdered milk.  Not the best, but it works and we have a place that sells the stuff in huge bags.

Pro tip, it's annoying to make milk from powdered dry milk so make yourself some coffee or tea first.  Bring an extra amount of water to a boil and mix the powder in at once - it should be as close to boiling as possible.  The powder mixes almost immediately.


 

Little Jhonny was an only child.

After hearing from his friends that had younger siblings how fun it was to take care, play, and sometimes pick on them, he got extremely jealous and began to wish very badly for a little brother.

So everyday he would beg his parents for them to have another baby. His parents, however, really didn't want another child, so they always refused.

But at some point, little Jhonny's dad got tired of being constantly pestered, so he decided to make something up for him:

"Son, you actually DO have a little brother!"

"What? No way!"

"It's true! It's just that your schedules never match!"

"What? What does that mean?"

"Well, it means that while he's here at home, you're at school. And while you're sleeping, we are playing with him. Got it? He stays with us almost as much as you do, but you never run into each other!"

"Ohhhhhh! So then he's like my other daddy."

Note to Self: If Trail Repairs are so Annoying, Stop Doing Them Until Done.

I tell people I'm a Dual-Sport Endurance Athlete.   Then I get a wonderful confused look.

It means I do Inline Skating, or Cycling, for a long time period.  Sometimes as much as 3 hours in one workout. 

It's the equivalent of getting into your car and driving for pleasure a long way away and trying really hard to get lost.  But you don't get lost, so you go home a little excited that you didn't get lost and you decide to try harder next time.

SkateSkateSkate or BikeBikeBike.  Long time. 

Bring plenty of water.
Bring snacks.
Bring Sunblock.

Trust me that last one is just as important as the snacks.  I've come home from a summer workout with a sunburned neck and all the skating I did was on a cloudy day in a Pennsylvania Forest.

Valley Forge, PA in Summer can be deceivingly sunny.

Sometimes I'd "Throw a bolt" or "break an axle" and then have to sit aside the trail and fix things on the spot.  You don't want a wheel of any type rubbing against the sides of your Exercise-Vehicle-Of-Choice 75 minutes from the Trailhead.

It would make it very difficult to get home.

I got more and more insistent on what I wanted to bring along when I was far from home.  Like tossing air pumps on the bike, tool kits in the skate pack.  I wasn't the only one since I would find the equivalent of the Ikea Part 100001 Allen Key all over these trails.  That is a 4MM Allen Key for the non-cognoscenti.

I usually have more than one of those with me and I have just handed them over to a stranded athlete more than once.

However sitting aside a trail saying many times to people "Just threw a bolt" and removing the rest of that wheel and tucking it into a bag was something I developed a nice deep feeling of contempt for.  May as well put some bolt locker on those things so they don't move since the bearings for the wheels are hard to get.

No, really, if you skate, getting good bearings may require a 6 week wait.  Splurge on the Full Ceramic bearings because that sheen of water will rust your "Swiss" bearings (made in China no doubt).

I have blown tires in the middle of a workout on the bike.  Replaced them.  Rode on.  Punctures are annoying.

Today was just ... Pointless. 

I stopped in the middle of a shorter workout.  Laps of 4.6 miles, at 9 miles, at a water stop.  I was sitting on the bumper of my Jeep.  After I finished my water and sugar rush from the Chocolate, I decided to "just tighten up my back brake.

The bike was stopping but slower than I prefer.  Too many "Trail Hogs" on the trails here in South Florida.  People seem to be much more self absorbed these days, and with headphone use the rule and not the exception, ON YER LEFT is simply ignored.

I need to be able to dump speed NOW.  Accident avoidance when you are topping out at 7 feet tall on a bike and helmet is important.

So I did.  Except I got it slightly wrong.  That last lap was really quite slow.  Oh sure, I biked along for a reasonable 16.3 miles, call it 148,182 bananas, or 25.75 km, but the brake was too close to the disc.

That caused drag, and it slowed me down. 

When all was through, it was a bad Trail Repair I had done, and I should have waited. 

Bad Moose, No Chocolate.  Don't get back on the trail without fixing that.

I did, the bike's back wheel rolls clear of the brake disc now, and I'll be able to enjoy my next workout in a couple days.

Just only do the absolute necessary on the trails, right?  Enjoy your ride and don't be a perfectionist.  The time for that is at home before or after you are done.

Now, I need to find the bike box so I can sand my brake pads on the bike again.  Stopping good.  Boring bad.

For Perfect Scrambled Eggs, One Tablespoon of Milk Each and Low and Slow.

Custard-y and soft scrambled eggs shouldn't be this easy.  Really.

For each Egg, add one Tablespoon of Milk.
Scramble in a bowl, mug, etc.

Add any add ins as you feel necessary but if they need cooking, do that separately.

Get your favorite skillet out and start to warm it up on LOW.
Yes, Low.

They don't have to be babied, but relax, everything will cook in time.

The picture was at the end of cooking my breakfast today.  That gadget in my hand shows how low the heat was on the surface of the skillet, 233F.  Just over Boiling.  Call it 105C.

You will be cooking this low and slow.  It seems to be the key to this.
Push the eggs around with your spatula gently.  They will set. 

But try it.

It took me less time to make two eggs in a skillet than it usually does to make a "Souffle Egg" in the microwave.   Sure there's clean up afterwords, but at least you're not having them explode and coat the insides of the microwave, or turn into a yellow and white hockey puck.

Migrating my Linux Install From One Machine to the next. Took me longer to open the case.

Before I retired, I always had very new computers.

Then I moved down here to Florida.  The power company who shall remain nameless with their crappy infrastructure took care of that.

I had a rather nice desktop machine.  Then I realized that it was killed by power spikes.  The old laptop I had still worked.

Hmm, I'm onto something here.

Basically that power brick on the floor filtered the power spikes.  Literally, it blew out a power brick and left me powerless until I could get to the computer store down in Miami.

Then I realized that there is not enough room for a desk and a desktop and a giant CRT Style Monitor.  Hey it was the "Naughties" so LCD Screens were still expensive.

I migrated to my laptop permanently.

It was harder to move data around then, the hardware did not lend itself to it, and Windows... Well the less said about that the better.

Now, my newest computer is a little more than 3 years old (November 2020) and it's fast in comparison.  I moved over to Linux permanently and never looked back a while ago.  Some time around 2010, maybe earlier.  When Windows 8.1 came out.   I still have that install on a very old laptop and cringe every time I use it.  Ugly block land, and now Windows 11 is coming back to the way it used to look in Windows 2000 ... with AI?  Sheesh how do you people use Windows these days?  It's a steaming pile of sluggish poop!  Do you want SkyNet because AI is how you get Terminator.

This particular "new" machine I have here is a Lenovo T15 with 16GB of memory and a rather fast 500GB hard drive. 

How I went to it was simple.  I opened it up and connected the new machine and the hard drive clone of a backup from my X390 Yoga.  Turned it on and it worked.

Yep.  That's it.  Really, that old Yoga was feeling it's age because the USB-C socket that I used to power it was getting flaky but it is still a solid performer - Linux is a very forgiving environment.  The prior two upgrades, going back about 10 years, are both usable speed wise, even today.  You can't do that with Windows.

Oh, I had the "new" computer reboot a couple times and looked over the bios on the new machine and everything was just like I left it.

All done until this morning.  I was presented with an "initramfs" prompt.  It was an error that was fixed easily by two file system checks.  Took about 5 minutes once I remembered what I needed to do.

fsck -y /dev/mapper/luks*d
fsck -y /dev/mapper/luks*2

That means: File System Check, answer everything yes, on the drives referenced in the Mapper directory.

Yep.  That's it.  Took about 15 minutes to move the hardware.  Newer machine, larger screen, faster processor, still an encrypted hard drive.  Thanks for the upgrade!  I am right back where I was, doing my thing and happily listening to Mexican Pop on my cheap little external speakers.

Trust in Dog, That Storm Means It's Not A Workout Day Even Though It Will Clear

 I guess the light comes on and nobody is still home.

The alarm has a light on it that is "just enough" to wake me.  Ear plugs are in so I can't hear the thing anyway. 

I can't also hear the rain outside until I pull the ear plugs out.  After checking the radar, it's no workout so I drop into a lower gear and ask Rack the McNab SuperDog (TM) if he's ok and can wait or "Do you need to go out". 

Rack just lay on his bed, sprawled out, vibrating from the outdoor thunder and lightning, very, very, frightening.

Yes, a McNab SuperDog (TM) is smart enough to tell you if he needs to water a tree or not.  That's why he's a Super Dog for crying out loud!

He didn't.  I watered my own porcelain "tree".  Was able to check Radar while doing all that and realized that "It's Not A Workout Day" or as a Visitor or Tourist to My Fair City would say "Not a Beach Day".

I grabbed my clothes after checking the scales for the daily weigh in.  Leaning against the wall in the hall I heard the Weather Alert Radio agree with my appraisal.  The Radar was evil and green/red and mottled, and we were in a lull in the downpour.  The Pompano Beach AirPark where I workout was under a red blob, and just forget it.  Ok, not going to happen.

The clearing that they need to do after the storms was not going to happen either because it's not a high priority.  It rains, their choices in plantings next to the trails drop litter on the trails, and eventually they get the blowers out to clear it off, but it could be a solid week in some cases.  Your workout is not their priority.

I pulled on the jeans and looked in the mirror.  Not bad, my two-pack may not be a six pack, but I'm also close to being a grandfather's age.  Memento Mori can wait.

...and we went out for a walk. 

By the time we got back he was laying at my feet as I made his food bowl vibrating.

All that is to say basically that if you think the Sunshine State is easy to predict weather because it is rarely colder than 50F and rarely warmer than 95F, hold my beer while I get Radar up.  Storms can come from any angle.  Here they tend to ride the border between Broward and Dade Counties right on that line.  The heat islands from Miami and Miami Beach and Downtown Fort Lauderdale, tend to push the storms right along that.  Just North of Downtown Fort Lauderdale in Wilton Manors and adjoining Oakland Park are in the "rain shadow" and drier, and the Pompano Airpark is a cool bit of land that pulls in storms. 

I once outraced a Thunderstorm coming south on Federal Highway/US1 from Boca Raton into Deerfield Beach into Pompano Beach getting to my car completely dry on my racing inline skates.  Apparently that storm was not moving at that high a speed.

So trust in Dog, and get a good Radar app.  Oh and those Weather Alert Radios are generally programmable with something called "SAME" which will limit the alerts to just your one-ninth of the county.  In a square county, like mine, that's important.

Mind you by 9AM all that is immaterial because the weather has cleared for a couple hours.  Slop will still be on the trails in Pompano but momentum has it's own charm and so do the Peppermint Patty Pancakes that I made for breakfast.  Well, Peppermint.  Not really enough Cocoa yet to call them Peppermint Patty, but that's easy to fix.

Pay Attention When Your Computer Warns You Your File Is Open On A Save, I Lost My Jokes File

 Hey I mean I can recover it, but it will take some flipping back and forth to get it back.

What happened was that in all the nonsense that I do here, I blinked.  It was not due to anything other than just being busy and or tired blah blah blah.

I had the file I keep open on the desktop.  That Jokes file.  It's titled "Thirteen Bad Jokes.txt".  Many months back I started putting jokes and stories into that file but started with saving one liners.   I found so many more one liners that I used them for the weekend titles.

That many...

But I would have people send jokes to me and others I would "farm" from joke sites on the web.  I had a few basic rules -

They have to be funny to me,
They have to be funny to me after I clean them up to be able to be told in a class room of 12 year olds,
They have to be not-evil - Not racist/sexist/etc-ist.

I personally don't consider myself terribly offensive - here.  In person you will know exactly how you sit with me in chapter and verse, and probably learn too much about my own head, too quickly.

If you find that strange, be truthful with yourself, because I am sure there are some out there who would say exactly that about you. 

The "Hold My Beer" mindset that extends in our recent culture is very different than it had been even 20 years ago.

So I screwed up.  While I watch this particular post come up with a warning message that says " Update Failed ".  Oh yes, it will be one of those days.

I guess I'll be spending time on those same sites looking to start over.  Having a zero byte file on the desktop of this machine is useless. 

Since I was gifted a machine so that I could continue writing the blog as well as other things, I may be able to leverage one of those machines to help.

Repair Software Rules

1) Never use Windows because the ick factor is just too high
2) when backing up Linux don't try to use your back up on the machine you are trying to restore to because the Linux hard drive is a clone, and if you plug a cloned back up into an encrypted master, it will error out.
3) if trying to restore a single file or directory of them (Folder to you Windows people), use a temporary Linux install.  It only takes an hour to create one, only 10 minutes to book from install media. 

On that note, if I want Lunch at Noon when I have company, I have to release this blurb of helpful hints, and rants, and get my beefy and fit self into the shower!

We will see how that all goes won't we?  LOL

Debian may be stable, but that doesn't mean I have to be. "touch /forcefsck" will help.

I started the day the way I ended the last one, cursing at a laptop.

You see, If you are running Windows on your personal computer, a lot of the control has been slowly taken from you until Microsoft has turned something that was once a long time ago a hobby machine, into an appliance.

The Mac never really was anything but an appliance.  Do as we say, stay in our little walled garden, and walk in lock step while pretending you have freedom.  Draw your pictures and enjoy.

I run Linux.  There really are no rules.  You have a computer, in my case an older one that is a hand me down from corporate life.  You push the Windows install away, and you take the control back. 

The design philosophy is drastically different.  You have control.  Free will, really.  So you find an acceptable level of risk that fits your capabilities, your knowledge, and you make your own decisions.  This implies you will make mistakes along the way.  You will break things.  It's not always a comfortable ride, although it can be.

I use a version of the operating system called Debian.  In its Stable form, it is one of the most comfortable and competent pieces of software you will ever experience.  It is the warm comforter on a cold night with a nice mug of hot chocolate and a Labrador retriever sitting by your side.  It simply does not break.  Oh sure, it is known to be a bit older, but that software being older has its benefits.  Stability. 

It's the air cooled VW Beetle of your dreams, or in my case that 2002 Jeep Wrangler that is sitting in the driveway with no rust and no check engine light.  I'm proud of that, really.  I mean who has a 22 year old car that is worth $15K without really trying?

On the other hand, I've turned this island of stability into a rowdy puppy.  With the Zoomies.  Colliding into the china cabinet and breaking dishes.

How?  I turned it into "Testing Debian".  Now keep in mind, Debian anything is more stable than most.  There are companies that have based their entire existence on running something that is called "Testing" by one of the most careful and conservative organizations in the Linux world. 

Where Windows and the Mac are all hush-hush and closed source, if I had a mind to, I could get the actual code that built the software my computer runs on and build my own version.  Create my own distribution.  There are a large number of computer companies that do just that.

But, things sometimes go awry.  Hence my bad night and day.  Something has been lingering and I tried to force it.  I ended up in a "Dependency Hell" where one piece of software was depending on another to run at a low level within the computer's library of software. 

Didn't work.  I gave up just after breakfast and did something I did not want to do - I restored the computer from a backup.

And that's the moral of the story.   Always have a complete back up of your computer.  I did.  A clone of my hard drive.  Why not?  Memory is cheap these days, and I set the machine to do a full and complete backup on Sunday night so on Monday morning, I can update the thing on my own time.

Yes, Windows users, I can tell my machine to do things on my own schedule even if the thing is not going to work right once I am done. 

Windows Update be damned, I'm flying by the seat of my pants.

That is how my Jeep got its wheels cleaned.  Start the restore, then get bored.  I went outside and cleaned the car while the "dd" copy was working.

"dd"?  Originally meant Disk Dump, but I have used it like Disk Destroyer before.

Jeep has the wheels cleaned, windows washed, and I have a 22 year old car that the check engine light is now turned off.  Not every Jeep Wrangler (2002 TJ) Owner can say that.

The Computer?  I'm back on it, as you can see.  Feet up on the couch creating a divot on the arm just like always.

On the other hand the version of Debian will tick over so the Testing version I am on becomes "Stable" in summer.  Until then, I just run in parallel like I am here.  Encrypted hard drive, testing operating system, and all.

Had I had any sort of a command prompt I'd look for the following:

From the command prompt, make sure your encrypted disk is at least readable.  Mine was not, it booted directly into the Bios which meant I was stuffed.

In /dev/mapper there are files pointing to your encrypted hard disks. 

fsck -y /dev/mapper/ (your disk names)

Then try a reboot.  If you are successful you will end up at your normal desktop.  If not, find your back up drive and do a restore.

You did do a backup right?

Ok, now that you are back, this command will force a fsck (file system check) on your hard drives when you reboot next time. 

sudo touch /forcefsck

Sedation Reaction In Dogs - Run Run Run Thump is Not Far From True

 

Rack was diagnosed with Cancer.  Left side of the tail Gland, and while you may raise an eyebrow at that, it is where it happened.  I don't want the search results to be ruined by using the clinical term for the location of it, and for this discussion, it's not completely required.

Just think of Expressing That Gland In The Butt.  On the left, specifically.  If you mention that line to a vet or a vet tech they will tell you exactly which gland.

He went in and the surgeon believes that he got all the cancer out, which is the best you can hope for in a 12 year old McNab SuperDog (TM).  That does not give me a prognosis.  It only puts Rack on something that I describe as Permanent Hospice Care since he could easily live 16 years or more, or just 16 weeks more. 

We.
Just.
Won't.
Know.

(For dramatic emphasis.)

Anyway, what happened is that Rack has always been tough to sedate.  As in he's been stitched back together when a pit bull attacked him standing rigid on a table full of meds.  Three times the expected rate of sedation for a normal dog of his size.  He simply did not go to sleep. 

And before you get on me for Breed Specific Behavior - it was a Pit Bull, so save your pontificating.  Oh and get off your own platform as you are getting a nose bleed.  There are a lot of irresponsible dog owners out there.  The owner solved the problem by moving away.  Vanishing.

So stuff your attitude.

Fast forward to today.  Rack came home from being sedated.  My "Very Reputable Veterinary Hospital was amazed at "How Much Sedation We Had To Put Into Him Before He Went Under".  Yeah we know, and that was why we warned you.

They brought him out.  He looked like a cartoon character.  Cone of Healing on, Doggie Depends Diaper on, legs not getting traction so he was galloping down the hall.  His pupils were so dilated that they were reflecting light from down the hallway.

Oh he was trippin' balls, as they say!

We got him home.  It was as if the episode of the Paul Reiser show "Mad About You" had cast Murray the Collie in my house.  You know, where Murray was obsessed with a mouse in the walls of the apartment and was running around the entire episode trying to get the thing.  "Run, Run, Run, Thump!" as Murray collided with a wall or a piece of furniture.  Strange, annoying, bizarre, whatever you want to call the behavior.  Season 2, Episode 2, Mad About You, called "Bing, Bang, Boom" for however long that link lasts.  Definitely worth a watch if you like Paul Reiser like I do. 

No Dogs were Harmed in filming the episode, he said so at the end of it.

This was what we went through that night. 

 

Youtube links do not last forever, so watch it while you can - Bill, Feb 14, 2024

For about 6 hours until Rack wore himself out and the night medications (Tramadol plus Gabapentin) kicked in, he was going around the house, cone and diaper on, and banging into things.  Then he'd back up, turn around, and return repeating the path.

The only other time I saw something like this was on an "Animal Documentary" where an Antelope was walking around in circles, compulsively, due to a parasite.  The predators of the area stopped that behavior, eventually. 

Rack's imitation of Murray stopped around 10 PM and we were able to get a few hours of sleep.

So if you are back from your Vet Visit, and your dog is compulsively and excessively pacing your house, what we did was to give him more.  Literally another Tramadol tablet brought him down to the point where he could sleep.  Turning off the lights kept him asleep.  The next day he did not need any more sedation for a while, until the second meal and the broken stitches meant we had to go back to the vet for a "repair".

It has been a rough road.  Rack is healing.  He has been under medication and some of those are sedating, for a week and a half now.  The first few days were frankly quite dirty.  Blood and gore flying when he would shake.  Any time you operate that far down the intestines, you will get all sorts of infections, and he is on some pretty strong antibiotics right now. 

But we're hopeful, and we're watching, and that is about all we can do for now.

Wish us luck.

Low and Slow for Perfect Eggs? Skip the microwave.

Temperature and timing is everything.

At least in cooking it is.  It is the difference between turning sugar and water into syrup and turning it into candy.  Or just carbonize it into a blackened mess.

The back story is simple, my diet has changed.  I'm having a lot of scrambled eggs lately because I am "home". 

For a while I was just stirring them in a bowl and then microwaving the bowl.  Stop that, it made for something I could patch a tire with.

So I thought "Hey, you are a better cook than that, what is going on here?".

Hens Eggs stirred and then heated, or really more like warmed, will cook and firm up.  But what you truly want are those rich custard like eggs that you can get when someone who knows what they are doing to them is at the stove.  Adding in cream or milk will change the texture and make things richer but if you use too much heat your results won't be any better.

This is basic, but basic cooking is what you have to get to get your results so you can build.  It's the same for any skill.  Put the time into it and turn the heat down and you'll be surprised.

I took three eggs, and threw them indifferently into a bowl and pressed the 30 second button.  Repeated twice more.  I ended up with a sulfurous yellow blob.  Sure it looked like a souffle and rose quite a bit but that is not what I wanted. 

I thought ok, I have the same eggs.  I can repeat next time.  Again I added no salt, scrambled them in a mug, and poured them into a skillet.  The heat was at low-medium - just enough to toast the bread I was serving with. 

Pushing things around with my trusty Halloween inspired Frankenstein Spatula, (Thanks, Patty,) I noticed I was getting the results I wanted.  Sunny Yellow Egg Custard.

It was perfect.

The next day, the temperature of the skillet was higher.  High enough to begin to tan the surface of the eggs.  It was not as good.  So this morning, less heat. 

This is not the only food that works this way.  It is why you have a candy thermometer.  You cook Meats the same way, to a specific temperature internally.  Steaks at a low internal temperature are rare, at a high one they are burned, sorry, well done.  Pork shoulder cooked to 210 is perfect, 180 is tough.

That last one is due to the toughness of the fibers in the muscles of the pig.  In that case, you need to allow the time at a gentle heat to break the collagen down so that the muscles break down in the sauce to make a soft and pull apart pork dish.  Pulled Pork.  Perfect for a crock pot.

So take your time.  You'll find the results are much better. 

New Tires, New Battery, Old Size, Welcome to WalMart. At 7 AM. UGH.

"People of Walmart", this stuff really does happen.

A couple weeks back, last year at this point, the battery in my Jeep failed. 

Mind you, it's a 21 year old car, having a bad battery is kind of expected.

Did some shopping. 

Sears is dead.  Their Board allowed the company to be gutted, and the store here is gone.  I'd just drive up, buy one, have it installed.  It was incredibly convenient.  Now the grand Searstown in Fort Lauderdale is being eaten away by heavy machinery and going to become a reef, or so I had heard.

It was the same way with tires.  Order them, they get delivered.  Install them, enjoy them.  I had Cooper Tires on the Jeep for about a decade. 

In the meantime, there went Sears.  There went the tires as well.  They are about 10 years old and have been degrading, internally.   I guess they're not meant to be used quite THAT long.  Until I get to about 25mph, it was a horrible ride.  Very rough.  The tread is beginning to show wear which is difficult on an offroad tire.  The tires themselves were an upgrade from "stock" by two sizes.  Not enough to require me to "lift" the car, just enough to put the speedometer into actual accurate reading. 

I had gotten a screw in the tire and threw my hands up and said it is time.  After removing the screw head with a tool and leaving the body in the tire as a plug I shopped for identical tires.

Oh I had found them at Walmart.  As a rule, I don't particularly like the place.  I was sitting out back waiting for the battery to be delivered to me at pickup and listening to the Creatures there and their "music".

Every fifth word was "BITCH" on one track.  Not exactly my idea of music.  It was hers and she did break a nail sitting there annoying everyone around me.

The workers were awesome, delivered the battery to the back of my friend's car, and we left.  I installed the thing in the car in my driveway.

Back to finding tires.  I ordered exactly what I had over 10 years ago.  31x10.5R15.  

Exactly.

They got to the store.  After an hour of wandering the bowels of this place that I was thinking that I may be able to get my skates out I got a text and went to talk to someone there.   Apparently their corporate rules are strict.  If you get a good price there and the size is not identical to what your car had on purchase, they will refuse installation.

I showed her where it was literally, identically sized to what I bought. 

Nope.  They won't do it. 
Nope, I can't put them in the car and find installation.  Not on such short notice.  Please reverse all the charges. 

They did reverse the charges, and I limped home.

I found some other tires, identical to the size on the sticker on the driver's side door post.  I'm not exactly happy with not having the slightly larger tires.  Oh, I'll get better gas mileage, and I'll be in alignment with what I use the Jeep for here in South Florida - carving a groove to the park to workout.  But it's not what I want. 

They're ... Normal, and they will not handle as well.  The larger Coopers were very much more sure footed than the original 215/75R15.  I have one of the original 21 year old tires on the back of the car as a spare.  I would not trust it either.  It's looking cracked. 

Pro Tip if you are down here driving around:  First, the rules are the same, use your damn turn signals, obey the stop signs and speed limits.  Second, there is a lot of construction in South Florida and you have a higher chance of a puncture than you do Back Home.

But the rules of the same have not changed.  The stop sign still means stop.  The speed limit is still the speed limit.  We will be cursing at you and no you should not drive stupid.

Just stay off the road if you don't understand that.  My new Uniroyals will thank you for that.