Nick

If you want to completely mitigate the risk, then yeah it's ideal to start on low and progressively ratchet the heat up. Personally, I've just left it at medium and then cranked it up two notches on the dial after a few minutes. I've really never used the maximum heat for anything other than boiling water on my range, since just over medium is more than hot enough for a lovely sear. If the coil is significantly smaller than the bottom of the pan, I'd be much more careful and start on low no matter what pan I'm using just to reduce the risk of warping.

Cast iron would work, though you shouldn't blast the heat on it immediately because of how brittle they are and how unevenly they heat. You can find plenty of pictures online of people just chucking a room temp cast iron on at max heat and splitting them right down the middle. They get plenty hot when preheated at around the medium setting on most ranges, and if you need more you can blast it after it's warmed up in like 2-3 minutes.

This isn't just about saving the environment, but sure. There's also the public health element of removing a major source of indoor air pollution that's detrimental to the residents of these units. These units aren't equipped with range hoods that can adequately ventilate the space, even if they're being used every time someone cooks.

I had no problem buying a portable induction wok "burner" outside of China; they were literally $50 USD at our local Costco a few weeks ago and that was including the kinda-cheap-but-more-than-adequate stamped carbon steel wok. I didn't even go looking for it and it found me. I've also had no problems charring peppers, onions, or ginger by just placing a pan over the stove element and sticking them on the pan when it's hot.

When I'm sitting down with a nice single origin chocolate, it's nice to have some fruit to compare the acidity to. Priming the taste buds really does bring different dimensions of the chocolate to the forefront. It's not something I indulge in often, but if I'm going to be paying for it, I'm going to also go through the trouble of trying it with as many suitable seeming pairs as possible.

It feels even better when you look at the turnout and the margin. About a third of vote totals from last year's general election, and this was on the day before New Year's Eve, when you'd expect a lot of people to be traveling or hanging out with family. That's a shocking amount of people who turned up for a late special election just to give a fat middle finger to Republicans.

Happy to help! Feel free to ask any follow up questions if they ever arise, and I'll answer to the best of my ability. You might also want to chat with the baristas at your local cafe when they're not too busy to ask what grinders they use. It's nice to have something to benchmark against in terms of flavor.

I would steer clear of the Hario Mini Mill. The ceramic burrs are horrible for consistency and, as others have said, it's terribly arduous to grind beans with. I think the low price point leads a lot of people to purchasing it and then giving up on manual grinders entirely because the experience is so frustrating.

The Capresso is a step up from a blade grinder, but it's not going to be capable of making a good shot of espresso consistently. That isn't to say you won't get a good result occasionally, but it gives you far less ability to make minute adjustments to grind size.

1Zpresso does make fantastic grinders at multiple price points, so I'd second any recommendations that you get for them. The J series grinders are certainly capable of making a nice drip coffee, but are definitely the more espresso-focused grinders of their lineup. If your priority in a coffee is body over clarity, it's right up your alley. If it's the opposite, then you're going to want one of the K Ultra. The only real difference between the JX and the JX Pro is the grind adjustment mechanism, and I'm not too inclined to say that it matters, especially if you don't have a great espresso set up. The additional steps only really matter in the espresso range, and usually there are many, many more tweaks available to you when dialing in a shot. If cost isn't an issue, I'd still suggest the JX Pro, but the difference between the two is usually not going to be the thing that makes or breaks a shot.

If you get the higher tier 1Zpresso models or a Commandante, just know that you're well past the point of diminishing returns when it comes to grinders. Secondhand manual grinders are perfectly fine. My first 1ZPresso (the JX) is going on near a decade now, and it's still more than capable of brewing something delicious, though admittedly it's become relegated to a travel grinder.

If you really like the idea of an electric grinder and have the countertop space, scour used markets for a Mazzer Super Jolly. It's a pretty standard cafe grinder, and exists under a couple different white label names. I've seen them around me for about $250 USD or less, and they're pretty sturdy. The burrs are easy enough to change if they've been worn down by the cafe, and they usually run around $50 USD. It's not a more capable grinder than the 1Zpresso or Commandantes, but it's still better than the other electric options in the price range if you're not enthused about manual grinding.

As far as espresso machines go, I'd strongly suggest looking at the used market around you and looking for machines with a good following on home-barista. If you're patient, you can usually find a crazy deal on a pretty good machine in need of some light care. For more popular home machines, you'll usually find a number of guides for repairs or maintenance as well as links to specific parts that you'll need. In some cases, like with the Gaggia Classic, you'll also find various tweaks to drastically improve performance.

"I never thought that the queerphobic ethnonationalists I encouraged would turn their sights on the minority that I like!"

Loled at the last one, but also I think it's wrong to conflate any specific argument that Socrates makes with Plato's argument in any of the dialogues. The dialogues are presented as dialogues for a reason. If an interlocutor fails to push back adequately, it doesn't mean that the argument is beyond reproach. It might just be revealing a contemporarily widely understood value, or it's inviting the reader to engage with the dialogue. The reader is then challenging Socrates' notion that knowledge is hierarchical by taking on a presumed intellectual authority in Socrates. Given Plato's body of work, I think the fallibility of arguments in the dialogues are oriented towards the idea that we have imperfect knowledge and imperfect arguments, and sometimes people fail to catch and respond to these in elenchus. Plato could just be getting us to engage in the act of philosophy.

I mean tedious, sure in the same way that all philosophy is, but I'd be interested to know why you find it dubious. In a relatively surface-level reading, it has a very perfectionist texture to it, but I don't think there's anything overtly controversial about the notion that we should valorize knowledge and strive to deepen our understanding of everything. There's a good reason why it's pretty much the seminal work of the western political philosophical tradition.

I think it's a very well-refined work, it just doesn't seek to provide any particular answer. It's presented as a Socratic dialogue precisely because it's meant to be challenged and debated. Again, if you take issue with the idea of philosopher-kings being presented as a moral or political authority, I urge you to check out Poetic Justice, or at least a review or paper that cites it.

There's interpretations of Republic that don't involve taking Plato's Socrates literally when he's describing his ideal polis. I quite liked Jill Frank's interpretation in Poetic Justice, to give an example.

Unfortunately, it looks like she's not going to pull this one out, so we're going with the tried and true "If only we ran a moderate who stands for nothing, surely we would have won!" The margin is impressive though, and I hope she in public service because she's a voice that'll be necessary to chip away at these red strongholds.