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11 Attachment(s)
Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
You know how the saying goes, chemists make great cooks/chefs, well it's true. I woke up this "labor day" and decided I was going to prepare Ramen from scratch just for the hell of it. Though technically, I made Udon noodles since I like them more. Anyways, Ramen chefs train for a long time to make great Ramen, I managed to do it in a couple of hours. It shouldn't come as a surprise, I'm pretty amazing after all.
Seriously, it was fucking delicious, even way better than the one I had @ Katana-Ya in San Fran
Here are some pictures, I was tracking the whole thing cause I thought I might put them on facebook, but fuck all those people. Also, since you're all idiots here too, I'll just finish this with nearly a dozen pictures.
Attachment 84913 Attachment 84914
Attachment 84915 Attachment 84916
Attachment 84917 Attachment 84918
Attachment 84919 Attachment 84920
Attachment 84921 Attachment 84922
Attachment 84923
P.S. The point of this thread was to make you feel shitty that you're not as cool as me, obviously
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Negative points for not photographing your own Ramen noodles!
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
I misspelled the thread title while attempting to misspell the thread title, doh!
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Stick to your petty noodles, cretin. I'll stick to hand making this:
http://i.imgur.com/QGRCx.jpg
If a chemist is a good cook, then a biochemist must be a master chef. Much love. xoxoxo.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mjmacky
Negative points for not photographing your own Ramen noodles!
Fine, a current pic of the pantry, then...
Attachment 84924
BTW, I do love to cook. Serious back problems prevent me from doing much of it now, but will be getting an MRI (hopefully in the next month) and will see what the future holds.
@Rings: Think of your poor, poor colon. :yikes:
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Darth Rings
Stick to your petty noodles, cretin. I'll stick to hand making this:
http://i.imgur.com/QGRCx.jpg
If a chemist is a good cook, then a biochemist must be a master chef. Much love. xoxoxo.
WTF do you call that, A heart stopper ? Seriously your cholesterol level must be atrocious if this a regular diet item.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
megabyteme
@Rings: Think of your poor, poor colon. :yikes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Artemis
WTF do you call that, A heart stopper ? Seriously your cholesterol level must be atrocious if this a regular diet item.
Haha, relax. A bunch of my friends and I were starting summer and we really wanted a challenge. So we were sitting one day in a pub, and overheard a bunch of guys talking about how they know Epic Meal Time accepts challenges. So we started conceptualizing the burger. In total it was 11.5 inches tall, and 10 inches wide. There was lamb, chicken, beef, goat, pig and I'm pretty sure what was one of our fingers in there. We were going to submit a video to Epic Meal Time, asking them to top our burger, but then once we realized that it costs a fair bit we stepped back after making our first burger.
For the record, I only ate two slices as big as the one on the side plate. My other mates (3 of them) finished the rest ... and as a reminder, the picture only shows half the burger.
Statistics: 6 pounds of bacon, 14 pounds of beef, 3 pounds of cheese, 20 pounds of other assorted meats (cooked into the cheese, burger and layered on the meat). 12 hours to cook.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Darth Rings
Stick to your petty noodles, cretin. I'll stick to hand making this:
http://i.imgur.com/QGRCx.jpg
If a chemist is a good cook, then a biochemist must be a master chef. Much love. xoxoxo.
Holy fuck!
I was going to put up a pic of my halloumi stack but there's not enough halloumi in the world to compete with that bad boy.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Hurray more food!
@MBM I thought I had you there, but you really do have tons of Ramen. Ever bought the Asian brands, like the kind you find at an Asian grocer? They're much better than the American brands I feel. Like the ones in the bucket, mmm.
@Darth How the fuck do you eat it though? Does your jaw dislocate?
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
I suck at cooking and am jealous of anyone who can make anything at all.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Now for my next trick, I'm going to dust a deep round dish with Corn Chex and marinade it in whole milk; serves 1 and is eaten with a spoon.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
You being chemist an all; can see we some hands on Breaking Bad in action :shifty:
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AbyBeats
I suck at cooking and am jealous of anyone who can make anything at all.
Not sure if you're being your usual sarcastic self, but cooking is actually very intuitive. If you think something makes sense, it probably does. And if you know you like something, that's better than not adding it/doing it at all. It's why the food I make, while not being as exquisite or culinary school inspired will always taste better to me. Same applies for anyone, just look at the opening post.
A few years ago I was living alone, and my friends were over for my house warming party. It was the first time in my life I actually had to rely on cookbooks (which were absolutely worthless with hindsight), and my own limited supply of utensils and cooking material. My friends asked me to prepare something foreign as they'd heard I'd be around (no you filthy bastard, not that kind of around). So, I decided to make them Eggplant Moussaka without so much as a recipe. With the exception of frying to the eggplants a tad too much, and using about 0.5 more measures of water than needed, I actually got it pretty much right by simply "winging it".
Point of the story: Get behind a stove with some oil, onions, salt, pepper and whatever else you have in your fridge, and I'm sure you'll love whatever you churn out.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AbyBeats
You being chemist an all; can see we some hands on Breaking Bad in action :shifty:
I'm afraid Macky can only function as the getaway driver, and the product purity assessment bureau (since he runs a mass spec). :idunno:
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Darth Rings
Point of the story: Get behind a stove with some oil, onions, salt, pepper and whatever else you have in your fridge, and I'm sure you'll love whatever you churn out.
For some reason even the pigs doesn't eat what I make.
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1 Attachment(s)
Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mjmacky
You know how the saying goes, chemists make great cooks/chefs, well it's true. I woke up this "labor day" and decided I was going to prepare Ramen from scratch just for the hell of it. Though technically, I made Udon noodles since I like them more. Anyways, Ramen chefs train for a long time to make great Ramen, I managed to do it in a couple of hours. It shouldn't come as a surprise, I'm pretty amazing after all.
Seriously, it was fucking delicious, even way better than the one I had @ Katana-Ya in San Fran
Here are some pictures, I was tracking the whole thing cause I thought I might put them on facebook, but fuck all those people. Also, since you're all idiots here too, I'll just finish this with nearly a dozen pictures.
Attachment 84913 Attachment 84914
Attachment 84915 Attachment 84916
Attachment 84917 Attachment 84918
Attachment 84919 Attachment 84920
Attachment 84921 Attachment 84922
Attachment 84923
P.S. The point of this thread was to make you feel shitty that you're not as cool as me, obviously
Attachment 84978
:idunno:
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
IdolEyes787
:idunno:
It means I won the taste test. Also, I can bench press you. I only ask that you keep your posture rigid so that I don't have to fondle your junk.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Darth Rings
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AbyBeats
You being chemist an all; can see we some hands on Breaking Bad in action :shifty:
I'm afraid Macky can only function as the getaway driver, and the product purity assessment bureau (since he runs a mass spec). :idunno:
In reality, I'm actually not a fan of organic chemistry or elaborate cooking. However, when I have done it (synthesis was part of my job in the past), I typically got high yields and purities. The meticulous yet tedious amount of detail I focus on makes both synthetic chemistry and cooking a chore for me, which is why I don't go all out with cooking often. I tend to make things once, love the result, and try something different at the next inspiration. They're all like conquests for me.
On a side note, I did look into how to synthesize cocaine both from non natural materials (expensive) and from coca leaf extract (cheap, economical). Was sounding like way too much work. I don't know any meth heads though, I've only been asked to make coke and vicodin. I didn't know how else to use my professional trade to barter with people I know.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mjmacky
In reality, I'm actually not a fan of organic chemistry or elaborate cooking. However, when I have done it (synthesis was part of my job in the past), I typically got high yields and purities. The meticulous yet tedious amount of detail I focus on makes both synthetic chemistry and cooking a chore for me, which is why I don't go all out with cooking often. I tend to make things once, love the result, and try something different at the next inspiration. They're all like conquests for me.
On a side note, I did look into how to synthesize cocaine both from non natural materials (expensive) and from coca leaf extract (cheap, economical). Was sounding like way too much work. I don't know any meth heads though, I've only been asked to make coke and vicodin. I didn't know how else to use my professional trade to barter with people I know.
Clearly I'm the winner. A couple of years ago a(n) friend acquaintance of mine approached me asking if I knew of a way to synthesize crystal. 6 days of arduous research, $75, a laboratory assignment sheet, a few dozen pages' worth of catalyst prices, and copious amounts of coffee later, I returned with what was (at the time) the best meth he'd ever had. I didn't take any extra care as you do, in fact, I'm usually one of the most chaotic organic chemists you will meet. I have, off-record, set 3 labs on fire (not joking), but proceeded to (every single time), put the fire out, finish the experiment, and get enough yield to be within 0.5% of the expected.
I never dabble with the stuff unless I'm absolutely forced to, as opposed to having some random interest in it, I assure you, I have none at all. I bloody loathe organic chemistry. Nearly as much as I do physical chemistry. Half my research involves some monkey sitting in the room with me postulating whether or not we need $500 or $3000 worth of materials in order to tickle an active site.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mjmacky
Quote:
Originally Posted by
IdolEyes787
:idunno:
It means I won the taste test. Also, I can bench press you. I only ask that you keep your posture rigid so that I don't have to fondle your junk.
No problem ,when I not posting here I spend the rest of my life planking so I can have strangers look at pictures of me making a fool of myself on the internet.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Darth Rings
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AbyBeats
I suck at cooking and am jealous of anyone who can make anything at all.
Not sure if you're being your usual sarcastic self, but cooking is actually very intuitive. If you think something makes sense, it probably does. And if you know you like something, that's better than not adding it/doing it at all. It's why the food I make, while not being as exquisite or culinary school inspired will always taste better to
me. Same applies for anyone, just look at the opening post.
A few years ago I was living alone, and my friends were over for my house warming party. It was the first time in my life I actually had to rely on cookbooks (which were absolutely worthless with hindsight), and my own limited supply of utensils and cooking material. My friends asked me to prepare something foreign as they'd heard I'd be around (no you filthy bastard, not that kind of around). So, I decided to make them Eggplant Moussaka without so much as a recipe. With the exception of frying to the eggplants a tad too much, and using about 0.5 more measures of water than needed, I actually got it pretty much right by simply "winging it".
Point of the story: Get behind a stove with some oil, onions, salt, pepper and whatever else you have in your fridge, and I'm sure you'll love whatever you churn out.
Bullshit. Until you've mastered certain processes all you are ever going to be able to make is something in tomato sauce or gravy. In order to master those processes you need to be taught them, which is where recipes come in. Cooking is intuitive in terms of taste, but not technique. You might as well say medical research is intuitive: 'oh just bung that gene in there, it looks about right so it'll probably do the same thing'. And if you did say that (I wouldn't put it past you) I would shank you, I really would.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mjmacky
Quote:
Originally Posted by
IdolEyes787
:idunno:
It means I won the taste test. Also, I can bench press you. I only ask that you keep your posture rigid so that I don't have to fondle your junk.
:glag:
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
PS. Next time you entertain guests, you could think about not feeding them watery overcooked moussaka by simply following this recipe:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/veggiemoussaka_90770
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Squeamous
Bullshit. Until you've mastered certain processes all you are ever going to be able to make is something in tomato sauce or gravy. In order to master those processes you need to be taught them, which is where recipes come in. Cooking is intuitive in terms of taste, but not technique. You might as well say medical research is intuitive: 'oh just bung that gene in there, it looks about right so it'll probably do the same thing'. And if you did say that (I wouldn't put it past you) I would shank you, I really would.
I'd love to know what techniques you're talking about. This isn't me being condescending, or sarcastic. Sure, I can't flip an omelette in one piece, but I can measure a steak's residual blood just fine. Apart from those two "techniques"/"tricks", I really can't think of something advanced to the point of being unable to learn it by watching someone and/or intuition. If you're talking about techniques like searing, moulding, seasoning etc. on the other hand, then I really have no response, as those are the epitome of common sense dictated techniques.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Darth Rings
I'd love to know what techniques you're talking about. This isn't me being condescending, or sarcastic. Sure, I can't flip an omelette in one piece, but I can measure a steak's residual blood just fine. Apart from those two "techniques"/"tricks", I really can't think of something advanced to the point of being unable to learn it by watching someone and/or intuition. If you're talking about techniques like searing, moulding, seasoning etc. on the other hand, then I really have no response, as those are the epitome of common sense dictated techniques.
Clearly you have never baked, made a souffle, used a bain marie, made jam/mayonnaise/bread/custard/any kind of pastry.
For instance, truly excellent shortcrust pastry requires that you handle it as little as possible, aerate it in the rubbing-in stage, reach the correct level of consistency (determined only by experience), refrigerate it for at least 30 mins before you roll it out, and brush the casing with egg once it is in the tin and let it dry to form a seal before adding filling (otherwise soggy pastry). It should also preferably be rolled out using a marble board and pin since marble is always slightly cooler to touch than room temperature. Science bitches, not your pre-Copernicus mumbo jumbo.
Equally, there's a reason we use sugar thermometers in cooking, notably when making jam or toffee and attempting to reach setting or hard crack temperatures. You really have no idea you n00b.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Darth Rings
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Artemis
WTF do you call that, A heart stopper ? Seriously your cholesterol level must be atrocious if this a regular diet item.
Haha, relax. A bunch of my friends and I were starting summer and we really wanted a challenge. So we were sitting one day in a pub, and overheard a bunch of guys talking about how they know Epic Meal Time accepts challenges. So we started conceptualizing the burger. In total it was 11.5 inches tall, and 10 inches wide. There was lamb, chicken, beef, goat, pig and I'm pretty sure what was one of our fingers in there. We were going to submit a video to Epic Meal Time, asking them to top our burger, but then once we realized that it costs a fair bit we stepped back after making our first burger.
For the record, I only ate two slices as big as the one on the side plate. My other mates (3 of them) finished the rest ... and as a reminder, the picture only shows half the burger.
Statistics: 6 pounds of bacon, 14 pounds of beef, 3 pounds of cheese, 20 pounds of other assorted meats (cooked into the cheese, burger and layered on the meat). 12 hours to cook.
:blink:
4 people ate 43 pounds of assorted protein at a sitting? WTF was it? An Elvis impersonators evening?
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
That, there, I will concede to. I don't enjoy baking and/or making sweets. My most advanced dessert ever made was boxed-and-ready caramel pie. I heated that thing up damn proper, if I may say so myself.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
I shall shortly be astonishing you all with my culinary expertise!
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Squeamous
I shall shortly be astonishing you all with my culinary expertise!
That sounds ominous. Are you sitting on a 60s swivel chair stroking a white persian cat perchance?
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
I am actually sitting on a 60s swivel chair, but since I'm typing this I'm sure you can guess that I'm not stroking my pussy :idunno:
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Squeamous
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Darth Rings
.........So, I decided to make them Eggplant Moussaka without so much as a recipe. With the exception of frying to the eggplants a tad too much, and using about 0.5 more measures of water than needed, I actually got it pretty much right by simply "winging it".
Point of the story: Get behind a stove with some oil, onions, salt, pepper and whatever else you have in your fridge, and I'm sure you'll love whatever you churn out.
Bullshit. Until you've mastered certain processes all you are ever going to be able to make is something in tomato sauce or gravy. In order to master those processes you need to be taught them, which is where recipes come in. Cooking is intuitive in terms of taste, but not technique. You might as well say medical research is intuitive: 'oh just bung that gene in there, it looks about right so it'll probably do the same thing'. And if you did say that (I wouldn't put it past you) I would shank you, I really would.
:glag:
Now not to put a too finer point on it, but letting my wife into the kitchen to 'wing it' can end up with some truly diabolical results. Either it's not that intuitive, or she just has absolutely no intuition.This is not a gag, she has cooked some mystery dishes that even the cats turn their nose up at, so having a lash isn't always the best course of action.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Squeamous
I am actually sitting on a 60s swivel chair, but since I'm typing this I'm sure you can guess that I'm not stroking my pussy :idunno:
Who is ?
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Artemis
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Squeamous
I am actually sitting on a 60s swivel chair, but since I'm typing this I'm sure you can guess that I'm not stroking my pussy :idunno:
Who is ?
It is probably licking itself at the moment
I can't quite believe I typed that
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Biggles
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Artemis
Who is ?
It is probably licking itself at the moment
I can't quite believe I typed that
It's asleep and it doesn't want to be disturbed!
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Squeamous
Clearly you have never baked...
Indeed, there is little intuitive about making a good loaf of bread.
Bread- good bread- requires few ingredients but major amounts of technique and I don't know how a novice would accidentally tumble to the tricks.
I like baking cause the place smells so nice afterwords.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
FFS!1 What the fuck is going on around here? ... Does this look like fucking Mumsnet or something? ... Have you all turned into wimmin?
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
clocker
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Squeamous
Clearly you have never baked...
Indeed, there is little intuitive about making a good loaf of bread.
Bread- good bread- requires few ingredients but major amounts of technique and I don't know how a novice would accidentally tumble to the tricks.
I like baking cause the place smells so nice afterwords.
Yep, baking is considered scientific in approach because the right result really does rely on the absolute right quantities of ingredients and particular techniques.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Ah here's the thing. Chemists can follow recipes, and use intuition to make adjustments. I've baked lots of bread in my day, so I'm familiar with doughy products (present avatar excluded). In this specific case, I took a look at an Udon noodle recipe, and instinctively knew what to do (from experience). Now I'm a bit of a saucier in my kitchen. My wife cooks for shit, except for pastries. However, anything that we eat, it's usually I who handles the sauces and seasonings. I wasn't trained in it, just your typical trial and error method of development that I've been doing for years. So for broths and curry I can usually work from my head and mood.
Point is, I have my limitations, I can't do everything by instinct, but I can alter a recipe more suitable for my taste and succeed.
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Re: Experimenationary in Ramen: A Food Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Squeamous
Yep, baking is considered scientific in approach because the right result really does rely on the absolute right quantities of ingredients and particular techniques.
Sure, but just like scientific technique, there are factors that give way to leniency, substitution, or alteration, and it takes intuition (based on fundamental understanding) to guess where they exist successfully. With cooking and science, there are tried and true iron rules and practices, but as a whole they are not static.