Sushi! Sashimi! Nigiri! Maki!

[TazManiac]

Somethings fishy around here...

[Jabberwonky]

How do you think the Flying Shark meme got started?

[GlytchMeister]

Whenever I see that shark, I imagine the Metal Gear "REEN!" sound that happens when someone sees Snake.

As for sushi? Eugh. My dad travels to Japan frequently for work, and the guys over there basically test his mettle by making him eat the weirdest, most disgusting stuff you can get out of the ocean.
I'm pretty sure he's eaten a deep-fried Angler Fish. Like, the head and everything. *shudder*
Dad gets them back by getting them to eat coleslaw and some other stuff when they come to America. Apparently, native Japanese people can't stand the taste of coleslaw.
I can't eat raw fish. At all. It's just something hard-wired into my brain. If uncooked fish gets too close to my mouth, I instinctively retreat or retch.
It's so bad that dad once made fake sushi with rice, some kind of fishy-looking fruit (peaches?) and some kind of leaf to wrap it. I couldn't handle that, even after he told me it was fake. :\

How do you think the Flying Shark meme got started?

I see your flying shark and raise you a flying tank!

[TazManiac]

Hah, I can 'fix you'! (I know, I know, you don't need fixing...)


Post up any remembered Wapsi FISH, (Sea, Nautical...) related strips people...

[shadowinthelight]

How do you think the Flying Shark meme got started?

Meh, I prefer Jack Cannon's Christmas Shark.

[jwhouk]

[Dave]

I saw recently that somebody is doing a form of "street art" in a literal sense... painting or stenciling drawings onto concrete sidewalks, using a water-repelling polymer (perhaps something like Thompson's Water Seal). When dry it's invisible. The drawings appear "by contrast" only when rain wets the sidewalk.

It'd be a kick if somebody decided to do a bit of Water Seal artwork on the sidewalk in front of that window at Stella's... showing the footprints and hand markings of two characters who "stuck their landings" after a long dive from the rooftops above. A pattern of radiating "cracks" from each footprint would be good for extra credit.

Gotta say, I do like the new practice of encouraging local artists to use city utility boxes as a canvas. San Jose has gotten some beautiful eyecatchers that way. Alas, "pavement art" with Water Seal and a brush might not be something the Authorities would understand or approve of... especially if it's of the "in-joke" sort.

[Catawampus]

I can't eat raw fish. At all. It's just something hard-wired into my brain. If uncooked fish gets too close to my mouth, I instinctively retreat or retch.
It's so bad that dad once made fake sushi with rice, some kind of fishy-looking fruit (peaches?) and some kind of leaf to wrap it. I couldn't handle that, even after he told me it was fake. :\

Heh, I couldn't even begin to guess the number of times I had to eat whatever fish or critter I caught raw because building a fire wasn't an option at the time. You get used to it. It is somewhat chewy, though if it gets a bit rotten then it softens up a tad!

Ahhh, the happy carefree childhood days of risking infection by internal parasites. . .

[Sgt. Howard]

I can't eat raw fish. At all. It's just something hard-wired into my brain. If uncooked fish gets too close to my mouth, I instinctively retreat or retch.
It's so bad that dad once made fake sushi with rice, some kind of fishy-looking fruit (peaches?) and some kind of leaf to wrap it. I couldn't handle that, even after he told me it was fake. :\

Heh, I couldn't even begin to guess the number of times I had to eat whatever fish or critter I caught raw because building a fire wasn't an option at the time. You get used to it. It is somewhat chewy, though if it gets a bit rotten then it softens up a tad!

Ahhh, the happy carefree childhood days of risking infection by internal parasites. . .

... and if you CAN'T get it past your nose without a gag reflex, it works dandy as bait!

[GlytchMeister]

Heh, I couldn't even begin to guess the number of times I had to eat whatever fish or critter I caught raw because building a fire wasn't an option at the time. You get used to it. It is somewhat chewy, though if it gets a bit rotten then it softens up a tad!

Ahhh, the happy carefree childhood days of risking infection by internal parasites. . .

Whyyyy? Oh, God, Why? What... What situation were you somehow repeatedly in that required eating raw things because making fire wasn't possible? Were you some kind of whacked-out survival trainer or something? Les Stroud, is that you?

Bleargh. Letting it rot... ON PURPOSE? AUGH!

[Dave]

Bleargh. Letting it rot... ON PURPOSE? AUGH!

There's a very long tradition of this.

[GlytchMeister]

Bleargh. Letting it rot... ON PURPOSE? AUGH!

There's a very long tradition of this.

Ok, W Sauce I can handle. I like putting that in my burgers while cooking them.

But Cat seemed to be implying letting a dead raw fish sit out for a while and rot in an entirely uncontrolled, unsanitary manner and then eating said rotten fish.

Thus the extreme revulsion.

[jwhouk]

You wouldn't make it very long in Nunavut.

[GlytchMeister]

You wouldn't make it very long in Nunavut.

Oh, I know. I'm not even a big fan of fish in general. And I can't stand even most cooked seafoods. I am a turf guy. You can keep your surf. I'm a landlubber, and I am what I eat.

[jwhouk]

Google "Jordin Tootoo hunting" and have a fun read.

[Jabberwonky]

Having ridden motorcycles my whole life, I've eaten worse things than sushi. Usually by surprise on both parties...

[Catawampus]

Whyyyy? Oh, God, Why? What... What situation were you somehow repeatedly in that required eating raw things because making fire wasn't possible? Were you some kind of whacked-out survival trainer or something? Les Stroud, is that you?

Bleargh. Letting it rot... ON PURPOSE? AUGH!

In places that have grocery stores and refrigerators and all that sort of thing, the common perception is that Winter is a time of hunger and deprivation while Spring is a time of plenty. That's not really accurate. In the Winter time you still have the food that you managed to store away and preserve, assuming that things haven't gone horribly wrong. Sure, the weather is cold, but that's a different problem altogether and the cool dry air helps to keep such things as dried meat that you have hanging up somewhat better preserved.

When Spring comes along, you're likely getting low on your stores. The warmer moister air also encourages things to spoil faster. And it takes several months before plants really start producing enough food for you to survive off of, even if the weather is all warm and nice. Not many animals are out yet, and those that you can catch are pretty scrawny. Food is scarce until late Spring, generally.

So in early Spring, you often have two options: scrape the mold and maggots off of what little remains of your stored meat and eat it, or don't eat much of anything for several weeks. I've had to do both, and I can assure you that the former is preferable to the latter.

[GlytchMeister]

Whyyyy? Oh, God, Why? What... What situation were you somehow repeatedly in that required eating raw things because making fire wasn't possible? Were you some kind of whacked-out survival trainer or something? Les Stroud, is that you?

Bleargh. Letting it rot... ON PURPOSE? AUGH!

In places that have grocery stores and refrigerators and all that sort of thing, the common perception is that Winter is a time of hunger and deprivation while Spring is a time of plenty. That's not really accurate. In the Winter time you still have the food that you managed to store away and preserve, assuming that things haven't gone horribly wrong. Sure, the weather is cold, but that's a different problem altogether and the cool dry air helps to keep such things as dried meat that you have hanging up somewhat better preserved.

When Spring comes along, you're likely getting low on your stores. The warmer moister air also encourages things to spoil faster. And it takes several months before plants really start producing enough food for you to survive off of, even if the weather is all warm and nice. Not many animals are out yet, and those that you can catch are pretty scrawny. Food is scarce until late Spring, generally.

So in early Spring, you often have two options: scrape the mold and maggots off of what little remains of your stored meat and eat it, or don't eat much of anything for several weeks. I've had to do both, and I can assure you that the former is preferable to the latter.

Huh. I've never really thought about it like that. I don't even remember Brian's Winter addressing that sort of issue. Is there a way to preserve meats during warm and wet weather? If you're in a place with hard winters (Illinois), you can just toss the meat somewhere and it'll freeze, and if you're in a place with hot summers (Illinois) I'm pretty sure you can cut the meat into thin strips and dry it into jerky or something.

But what about spring? Y'know, when it won't stop raining (April Showers)?

...I'm also still trying to figure out how you got into such a nasty situation...

[Warrl]

Is there a way to preserve meats during warm and wet weather?

Common ways of preserving food generally involve taking it to one or another extreme.

Extreme cold (refrigeration) makes food inhospitable to bacteria but doesn't kill them. And it only works as long as the cold lasts.

Extreme heat kills bacteria, but if you aren't going to eat the stuff immediately you have to take measures to prevent re-contamination; thus, canning.

Extreme salt - corning meats, or pickling in brine - makes the food toxic to bacteria

Extreme low-salt is not effective.

Extreme acid - pickling in vinegar - makes the food toxic to bacteria.

Extreme base - lutefisk is the only example I can think of - does too.

Extreme sweet, too. It's why honey stays pure, and also works fairly well for jams and jellies.

Extreme non-sweet is ineffective.

Extreme wet is ineffective.

Extreme dry makes food inhospitable to bacteria, but not toxic.

Non-extreme preservation techniques:

Smoking loads food with stuff that is toxic to bacteria but not so bad for humans.

Fermenting gets foods to produce their own stuff that is toxic to bacteria. That's why in medieval times people drank wine or beer rather than water - even giving booze to babies. The alcohol kills bacteria. People who drank water very-often got sick and died from it. There are other non-alcoholic fermented foods: natto, kimchee, some saurkraut... the basic idea is the same.

[Catawampus]

There's also radiation, which kills the micro-organisms in the food and thus helps preserve it as long as no new ones are added to it.

Whichever preservation technique is used, some sort of a sealed container is helpful afterward so as to maintain the relative level of sterility.