It's a long, long getaway...

[azurite]

Okay, so I managed to kinda-sorta-not-really figure out what's going on with the images for Azurelist, my very boring (as of this moment)-looking collective. Eventually I'll get a spiffy layout up, and it'll essentially link to all my sites, all the fanlistings I own (all of ONE at the moment), all the affiliates I have for all my sites (can be broken down if they're affiliates of an FL of mine) and fanlistings I've joined. I'll have to go to all those FLs and notify them of the change of URL...

But the stupid thing is, even if I've got the images showing up in Azurelist, they're not showing up in e3, the admin panel for the whole Enthusiast 3 script. I cannot figure out why. If I change one root path to work one place, it doesn't work someplace else. Why can't the damn install file be a bit more explicit about what path goes where, and what the format should be? When should it be /home/username/public_html/... and when should it be http://www.something.net?

Here's the confusing bit:
(1) You can go to Settings in the admin panel and change the path for the installation path, the root path (Web), the root path (Absolute), the Affiliates Images Directory (collective), the Joined images directory, and the Owned images directory. I changed the latter 3 to just plain affiliates/, joined/, and owned/, but while they show up in Azurelist, they don't show up in the Management section of the install (e3).

(2) For individual fanlistings, you can go to Owned, Edit, Database, and head to the Affiliates section, and select the Move Directory radio button. It says this: Please don't forget the trailing slash; this folder (absolute path, i.e., /home/user/public_html/images/) must have proper permissions set (i.e., must be CHMODed to 777). Well, like I mentioned before, there are two places where there is the affiliates folder. In the individual fanlisting folder (bea/affiliates) and in the collective folder. But it's having the same problem as above. o_o I don't know what to change it to! It keeps on trying to pull the images from http://www.seventh-star.net/e3/owned/2_ceruleansan_88x31a.gif when the image is really at http://www.seventh-star.net/azurelist/owned/2_ceruleansan_88x31a.gif. But I don't know where that e3 root path is coming from, except for the 'Installation path' which is SUPPOSED to be at e3... I think. AUGH!

Does anyone know what I could do? (Aside from copy/pasting the folders... a temporary, and annoying solution)

Tagged by seeshellirun
Four jobs you’ve had in your life:
1. "Filmcrew Member" at AMC Van Ness 1000
2. "Team Member" at 2 Jamba Juices
3. Online Desk Clerk at the Matador Bookstore on campus
4. Helpdesk Member for the ITR University Helpdesk

Four movies you could watch over and over:
1. Anastasia (the animated movie)
2. Equilibrium (zOMG Christian Bale! *drool!*)
3. The Mummy (good ol' fashioned Egyptian myth-butchering!)
4. This is Otakudom (cult classic. Hah.)

Four places you’ve lived:
1. San Francisco, California
2. Petaluma, California (sorta-- on the weekends)
3. San Rafael, California (when I was an itty bitty tot)
4. Northridge, California

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Alias (back in the day)
2. Smallville (about 2 years ago)
3. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (whenever I remember)
4. Stargate SG-1 (if it's repeats; the newer episodes kinda suck)

Four places you’ve been on vacation:
1. New York, New York
2. Japan (the mainland, Honshu)
3. New Brunswick, New Jersey
4. San Diego, California

Four websites you visit daily:
1. LiveJournal.com (my friends page)
2. Google Mail
3. Forums: CodeGrrl.com, eFiction.Wallflowergirl.Com
4. My own websites, just to check if they're all working okay (hah)

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Sweet & Sour Chicken w/ steamed rice
2. Veggie pizza
3. Steak ribs w/yams + sourdough bread rolls
4. Bubbie's Bread + Butter chips with Ritz/Wheat Thins & either cheddar cheese or Laughing Cow Swiss Bits

Four places you’d rather be:
1. Japan (pref. Tokyo, but hey...)
2. San Diego (with Scott...)
3. London
4. SOMEPLACE WARMER!

Four albums you can’t live without:
1. Sarah Brightman, Harem (it's all guardian_kysra's fault)
2. Eric Stuart, Blue, Dressed in Black (because of the hah-hah factor that only Brock/Kaiba fans get from hearing it)
3. Hilary Duff, Most Wanted (only because of the two songs of hers that I always listen to: "Come Clean" and "Fly")
4. The Sweets, Turkey 2K4 (the family mix of songs spanning the ages... everything I like is pretty much in the 2004 edition)

TAG!
atlantian_magic
guardian_kysra
rhapsody_dragon
schmollieollie

I'm looking forward to working more on WDKY, but I realize I should probably try and find some episodes online. I don't care if their dub or if some amazing person actually had the mojo and time to sub the original Japanese episodes... but I can't handle raws. Anyone know where I can go? GetItFido takes forever to load (if it loads at all).

I'm still confused about this whole metric system thing. I must have asked this a bazillion times, and I know I never would have left the chapter completely unconverted. I shouldn't be so much of a nitpicker, but I am. After all the conversions this silly sugar cookie recipe has been through, I doubt it could make a tasty batch after all. But that's what suspension of belief is for, right?

In any case, here's my main question:
What is used for DRY measure in the metric system? I've heard grams, I've heard mL and Liters, and I've heard metric tablespoons. Supposedly there's even a metric cup! I'm finding all this conflicting information though, so I would just like to know what metric folks have in their kitchens.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but grams is for weight, right? Ergo, if I had X amount of flour measured in grams, it would NOT be the same amount of brown sugar, right (in grams), because flour is lighter than brown sugar, yes? An equivalent WEIGHT of brown sugar would likely mean a SMALLER amount... if I've got this right.

So here's the recipe (sugar cookies):
1 1/2 cups sugar <--> 287.5 mL (should this be in grams?)
2/3 cup shortening or butter <--> 153 grams
2 eggs <--> SAME
2 tablespoons milk <--> about 30 mL
1 teaspoon vanilla extract <--> about 5 mL
3 1/4 cups flour <--> about 323 mL (should this be in grams?)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder <--> 11.5 grams
1/2 teaspoon salt <--> 2.47 mL or 3.04 grams (which should this be?)

Now, do my conversions (done at http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cookingconversions.asp, thanks guardian_kysra!) make sense? Would someone in a "metric kitchen" have the spoons, dry measure cups/spoons, and liquid measure cups/spoons to measure things like this?

Comments

[guardian-kysra.livejournal.com]

You really are making this harder than it is XD

What is used for DRY measure in the metric system?

Grams. Grams=mass/weight while liters=volume. In order to calculate dry goods in liters, one would have to submerse it in water then measure the liquid distribution before forming the volume equation which I can't remember from chemistry class XD

Most ENGLISH kitchen measuring tools have the metric measurements as well. Actually, most english kitchen tools are Metric but rounded to the nearest English unit.

if I had X amount of flour measured in grams, it would NOT be the same amount of brown sugar, right (in grams), because flour is lighter than brown sugar, yes? An equivalent WEIGHT of brown sugar would likely mean a SMALLER amount... if I've got this right.

No. A gram is still a gram just like a pound is still a pound. Remember that old mind bender? What weighs more: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers? Or am I interpreting wrong? I mean, if you're talking about amount - as in granules - then yes a gram of flour will probably have more granules than a gram of brown sugar simply since one is more coarse than the other. BUT the mass will be the same - 1 gram.

In order to convert cups to grams (without a metric scale XD), you have to covert cups to dry ounces. There are 8 ounces in one cup. 1 ounce = 28.35 grams

There are 16 ounces in 1 pound which equals to about 460 grams.

And here's a few more things to help:

1 table spoon = 3 teaspoons
4 table spoons = 1/4 cup
16 table spoons = 1 cup
1 cup = 230 grams appr.

HOWEVER - if you want a really 'give it to me' guide:

http://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml

Scroll down and there is a chart with frequently used ingredients converted from cups to grams for you.

Would someone in a "metric kitchen" have the spoons, dry measure cups/spoons, and liquid measure cups/spoons to measure things like this?

Yes. *I* have metric utensils. The only difference between metric tools and English is the standard by which they are crafted. i.e. an English measuring cup is an English cup (ounces) and a metric measuring cup is a metric cup (milliliters). Etc. etc. I even have a measuring cup that measures both ways XD

Hope this helps ('specially the site).

[azurite]

So (and I'm sorry if I'm really thick and just not getting this), dry things like flour, baking powder/soda, sugar, etc. are measured in grams (with little gram-spoons?) and liquids (milk, water, condensed milk-- er, the syrupy kind, I forget whether it's condensed or evaporated) are measured in mL?

I went to several conversion sites, including that other one you linked me to; it asked me to provide the ingredient type, which I did, and it often gave me results in mL, which confused me.

I like the metric system for all things but cooking. :P

[azurite]

Oh, one more thing... what are the standard measurements of the spoons and cups in a metric kitchen? For example, someone told me there'd never be a 1 mL spoon or anything; it's too tiny. But from the looks of my conversions (basically the Metric Kitchen site allowed me to round a little), I'd need a 5mL spoon, a 10 mL spoon, and if possible, a way to measure smaller than 5mL... like 2.5mL of salt? and the 2.5mL extra on top of the 10 I'd have for baking powder?

For grams, what I wanted to get across with that whole brown sugar vs. flour thing was that if you had GRAMS that needed to be measured, could you use a measuring cup, or would you have to use a scale? If it's the latter, is it traditional to have a scale in your kitchen? And how do you measure dry ingredients on a scale without making a giant mess?

E.x. if I need 390 grams of flour, if I had a "gram measuring cup" wouldn't it get filled up with more of X ingredient than Y ingredient (for example, brown sugar granules vs. flour), making the whole concept of it being equal measure (gram for gram, regardless of the ingredient inside) moot? That's why I think you'd need a scale. But that sounds like so much more work. But then, I'm asking b/c I don't know. :P *impish*

[guardian-kysra.livejournal.com]

You are not thick. Just not used to the whole metric deal - which is why when the US tried to replace the English system with metric a few years ago people freaked.

By the way, I am an idiot cuz I took you WAY TOO LITERALLY. Therefore, I apologize for confusing you and possibly confusing you even more here.

First, I converted your ingredients for you:

300 g sugar
160 g butter
2 eggs
30 mL milk
5 mL van. extract
450 g flour
37.5 mL baking powder
2.5 mL salt

These are all approximate, obviously. Cooking is not an exact science no matter WHAT measurement system you are using. For instance, I might measure a cup of sugar as 307 g one time and while doing another recipe, measure it to weight 315 g. The difference is so slight, it won't really effect the overall outcome as long as you're consistent (i.e. just a wee bit more milk, a wee bit more flour, wee bit more, etc). So don't freak out over measurements. There is NO exact measurement. This goes doubly when you're converting since metric and English units are not evenly divisible.

Second, you CAN measure dry ingredients in Liter units (i.e. mL, cL, L, etc.) as long as the weight has already been calculated. That is, if a recipe calls for 200 mL of sugar, specifically, by all means, use a regular *dry* measuring cup with metric markings (NOT a liquid measuring cup which will measure differently). You don't have to weigh it for the grams if the recipe specifies the volume measurment.

Dry ingredients that are called for in very small amounts (i.e. baking powder or salt) can and usually are measured by volume rather than weight (i.e. mL)

Spoons: I have a set of five measuring 1, 2, 5, 15, and 25 mL respectively.

Metric cups: up to 250 g (dry) - up to 250 mL (liquid)

Da dreaded metric scale: Should a recipe ask for say . . . 350 g of chopped walnuts without specifying volume, you first guestimate and measure it in cups (I would go with 1 as nuts are heavier than flour). You then pour it in the scale bowl - which mine is dual, measures in both English and Metric - and weigh. If the weight turns out to be a bit more or less than called for, you simply spoon out or spoon in a bit until you get a close enough measurement. (So, you use both the cup and scale).

Um, I hope that answers everything XD

Just to illustrate

[guardian-kysra.livejournal.com]

. . . the very unpredictable nature of recipe measurements.

I have tried the same recipe for baklava three times now and you know, everything turns out fine till I get to making the syrup. My syrup never thickens. So, I figured the measurement (2 cups water) was wrong.

The second time I made it, I adjusted to 1 1/2 cups water, and my baklava (which takes 5-7 frickin' hours to make), and still the damn syrup wasn't thick enough. It all just settled on the bottom and SAT, soaking into the dough, ruining the entire pastry.

The third time I adjusted to 1 1/4 cups water, and it STILL RUINED the pastry. So, the next time, I'll adjust it again, this time adding more honey while lessening the water volume.

Just goes to show, you can't always trust a recipe. They are guides, but you have to test and revise ^_~

And I ain't no chef.

[guardian-kysra.livejournal.com]

Will. Write. Lengthy. Explanation.

In the meantime, I don't know if you're so nitpicky *grin* that you would find this a suitable idea, but sometimes one learns by example. That is: Why don't you MAKE whatever the characters are supposed to make, and do it with the metric measurements <--- i.e. the conversions you have. If they're wrong, you can make adjustments. That way you can see and experience the results ^_^