The Power of VS

I'll never forget the day my friend who worked at Microsoft sent me a present - it was the full set of discs for Visual Studio. I don't even remember all of the things I could install. Visual C++ was the main thing, of course. 

But no, not today - not that VS. I'm talking about the "vs" that's short for "versus" - which is Latin for "against"

Did you ever want to look something up, but you don't even know what you're looking for? But you know about something else that's like it.

Take Visual Studio, for example. What's out there in the world that's like Visual Studio but isn't Visual Studio?

Try this: go to the browser and type, "visual studio vs" - don't hit enter, just let the Google think about it.

Unless, I suppose, you've got predictions turned off, you'll see all these things that somebody thinks are like Visual Studio. My personal favorite is up there twice: that's right, PyCharm and IntelliJ, both by JetBrains. They are pretty much the greatest thing since... 

Yes, by all means do ask the Google about "sliced bread vs"

Soup: Split Pea With Chicken

There comes a time, usually in the summer, when the freezer becomes overrun with chicken bodies. That time was today.

And nothing in the fridge for lunch. But I've got a package of split peas in the cupboard. Who cares if it's 90 degrees outside? Let's make soup!

Three chicken bodies and 6-9 cups of water, depending on how thick you want your soup. Simmer for an hour. Cool for a few minutes, then pick some chicken off the bones. [update: I tried 6 cups, I think 7 might be better]

Chopped/sauteed about a half onion from the fridge's veggie drawer in a couple TBS of buttery.

Add back the broth and chicken, plus the split peas. Bring back to a boil, simmer for an hour or so. [update: I tried to get away with simmering for just 30 minutes, but I think at least 40-45 might be needed]

Salt and pepper to taste.