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Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

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Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#361

Post by somenameforme »

jaggederest wrote: post #90
MerrimanInd wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm more of a coffee nerd than a steak aficionado but I've often made the comparison between those two. In both cases, the enthusiast considers their skill in making coffee/cooking steak to be a differentiator and they immerse themselves deeply into the process, skills, and tools. But for both coffee beans and steak the most important factor for a good end product is starting with high quality inputs. In other words,…

Coffee is a good metaphor here too, because bad technique can ruin a good steak just as surely as good coffee. "knows how to use a meat thermometer and reverse sear" describes like 10% of the population or less, same with coffee - there are people who use a bad grinder and a not-regularly-cleaned Mr. Coffee with good beans and get gas station coffee, and there are people out there making solidly B+ class coffee using…

I'd bring the cheapo French press kit it into the A- domain once you appreciate the number one trick to making good coffee: DON'T BOIL THE WATER. Water that is hot, but well below boiling brings out the flavor of the beans a million times more than boiling water. Get a glass kettle, and turn it off when you start to get some decent bubble action on the bottom.

Once you get that down, zomg - a French press with even the cheapest beans you find can make an amazzzzzing cup of coffee. Beats the pants of Starbucks, and comes quite close to a proper cup of coffee made with good beans. Another trick is to rotate your cheap beans, instead of just sticking to your favorite. Dark roast of choice one week, medium the next, and so on. By the time you loop back to your favorite, it'll taste unbelievable.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#362

Post by denkmoon »

xtajv wrote: post #12

I do not appreciate when authors use the royal "we" to speak for all software engineers when admitting to low quality-control standards. I suspect that it is an attempt to broach an uncomfortable topic through vulnerable self-disclosure, but we need to be serious about admitting when there is a problem somewhere. "Bugs" are not any more cute or fuzzy or entertaining or harmless than the engine "gremlins" that haunted…

Most of us aren't making software with fatal consequences. Most. I'd say the typical aviation job offers a few more chances for fatal consequences.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#363

Post by ErroneousBosh »

nuxi wrote: post #272
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wouldn't you have corn oil?

Where I live corn was never used for producing oil. For that purpose we used rapeseed/canola, sunflowers, olives and pumpkin seeds. Corn grown here is mostly used for corn flour, cornmeal (polenta), or for animal feed.

Ah, we've got pretty much all of that here, although way more rapeseed is grown than corn.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#364

Post by jghn »

kasey_junk wrote: post #287
lkjdsklf wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The funny part is steak is one of the easiest foods to cook without a thermometer You don’t have to worry about undercooking like you do with most other meats and most steak cuts will be delicious anywhere from 11-130 (if you cook a filet to 130, it won’t be the best but it’ll still be good) and some can go even higher It’s not like poultry where the range where it’s “good” is very small. A 170 chicken breast is almo…

I agree with your broader point but the chicken food safety thing is missing a ton of important nuance. The safety comes from how long you hold the meat at the temp. 165 is the safe point if you are only holding for 10s. 145 is safe if you hold it for 10 minutes. This is why sous vide is such a popular way to cook chicken. You can hold a breast at 145 for hours trivially.

Or understand risk ratios and don't rely on food that's 100% safe.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#365

Post by phearnot »

spiffytech wrote: post #100
jaggederest wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coffee is a good metaphor here too, because bad technique can ruin a good steak just as surely as good coffee. "knows how to use a meat thermometer and reverse sear" describes like 10% of the population or less, same with coffee - there are people who use a bad grinder and a not-regularly-cleaned Mr. Coffee with good beans and get gas station coffee, and there are people out there making solidly B+ class coffee using…

I know people who can cook a lot of food pretty well, but don't understand why they can't use a laser thermometer to check their meat. Knowing really is half the battle.

laser thermometer only measures surface temperature, unlike meat probes that measure internal temp. depending on the cut size or shape, initial temperature and probably some other factors internal temp will vary wildly for the given surface temperature. combustion probes mentioned in the sibling measure temp in several points at once to estimate readings even more precisely.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#367

Post by Foobar8568 »

MostlyStable wrote: post #30

I take the point, but I think the author picked a poor analogy. Cooking even an excellent steak is actually not that hard. In fact, I'd argue that it's among the easiest things to master/make at a top level quality at home. Does it require some modicum of attention and understanding? Sure. But starting with a high quality cut, owning a meat-thermometer, and knowing about reverse searing is about all it takes to relia…

Depending of the thickness, but all you need is to take out your steak for 30min before hand to 1h, really hot pan, 2min on each side and voila. That will get you there 90% of the time. We do something similar to T-bone or beef ribs, but finish them in the oven.

Most people or even restaurant don't let their meat outside nor use an actual hot pan.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#368

Post by bestham »

somenameforme wrote: post #361
jaggederest wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coffee is a good metaphor here too, because bad technique can ruin a good steak just as surely as good coffee. "knows how to use a meat thermometer and reverse sear" describes like 10% of the population or less, same with coffee - there are people who use a bad grinder and a not-regularly-cleaned Mr. Coffee with good beans and get gas station coffee, and there are people out there making solidly B+ class coffee using…

I'd bring the cheapo French press kit it into the A- domain once you appreciate the number one trick to making good coffee: DON'T BOIL THE WATER. Water that is hot, but well below boiling brings out the flavor of the beans a million times more than boiling water. Get a glass kettle, and turn it off when you start to get some decent bubble action on the bottom. Once you get that down, zomg - a French press with even t…

Are you saying that the temperature of the water when it hit the ground beans that matter or the fact that the water was brought up to a boil or 100°C?

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#369

Post by kulahan »

MostlyStable wrote: post #30

I take the point, but I think the author picked a poor analogy. Cooking even an excellent steak is actually not that hard. In fact, I'd argue that it's among the easiest things to master/make at a top level quality at home. Does it require some modicum of attention and understanding? Sure. But starting with a high quality cut, owning a meat-thermometer, and knowing about reverse searing is about all it takes to relia…

Even easier if you reverse sear. Put it in the oven at 275 for like 25 minutes. Then put it in the hottest pan you can muster for like 45 seconds per side.

No need to bring it up to room temp. No need to let it rest after. No need to do anything except those two steps. It’s recommended for 2” thick steaks, and you can go under by half an inch easily, but this can be a little rough on very thin steaks.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#370

Post by foobarian »

crazygringo wrote: post #333
wildzzz wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to sous vide steak in college with just some hot water and my roommate's six-pack cooler. Water should be no more than 5F warmer than the cook temp. For a medium rare steak, cook temp is 129F so get close that. Salt the steak no more than an hour before you start. Steak goes into a Ziploc bag, submerge it up to the zipper to let water pressure force out the air and then seal it shut. Close the lid and come bac…

The sous vide is not the hard part here. It's the deep frying for the sear. Not many people are willing to deep fry in their kitchens. It's messy, potentially dangerous, and not only stinks up the entire house for days but leaves a layer of oil over everything in the home that builds up and you can never really fully remove. There's a reason restaurants have massive powerful vents above the deep fryer, and that peopl…

My problem with deep frying (besides the points you bring up) is the waste. I can't stomach the amounts of oil I end up disposing even if I get several uses.
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