Pie crust Apr 21, 2006
One time, I ate a whole pie crust in one sitting.  It was the best experience of my life.  I'm not sure why, but I absolutely love graham cracker pie crust.  It's like a drug to me; I can't get enough.  Sometimes I want to shovel the cake or pie out of the crust so I can eat the crust by itself.  Is this bad?  Eh, I don't care.  I love you, pie crust. #food
Gas or brake (1) Apr 21, 2006
I committed the cardinal sin of driving yesterday:  I confused the gas and brake pedals.  Just the other day, I heard something on the radio that was talking about requiring old people to retake the drivers' test every few years because too many old people make this same mistake (and kill people in the process).  I was thinking, "Yeah!  Stupid old people!  They shouldn't be allowed to drive!"  And then I end up doing the same exact thing.  I'm not sure how it happened.  I was driving home from work at the end of the day, and I was kind of spacing out.  I was going around a bend and my brain said, "Engage thinking process.  Driving too fast.  Engage foot-on-pedal process.  Driving faster now.  Error."  It took me a surprisingly long time to figure out what the problem was.  After I pressed a pedal, I noticed that not only was I not going slower, but I was in fact going faster.  A few seconds passed, and then I realized it was because I was pressing the wrong pedal.  And this happened right as I was driving past the security guard on my way out.  He probably wasn't even looking at me, but if he was, he might've been a little scared by a crazy person accelerating towards him.  Oh well.  You can't win 'em all. #travel
Time in class Apr 20, 2006
I actually wrote about this before, but it came up again, so I'm writing about it again:  Time spent in class is time wasted.  I can't even pretend to try to waste my time in class and get something useful out of it.  I'm currently taking a single grad class that meets for two and a half hours on Wednesday evenings.  It's not that much of a commitment.  But I get absolutely nothing from the class.  It's completely worthless.  If all the notes and assignments are online, what's the point in going?  Maybe if the professor taught something, I could try to squeeze some information out of the class.  But here's how it works:  He talks for two and a half hours about how to model and simulate things on a computer, then he gives us assignments that have virtually nothing to do with what he talked about.  The only conceivable reason I could formulate for attending the class is to ask him questions about the assignments, but even that's a stupid idea.  The only time to talk to him is after class, and there's just no way I can sit around for two and half hours to ask this guy a question.  I hate school, and I only have one class per week. #education
TankChair Apr 20, 2006
The TankChair is a wheelchair with tank treads, enabling it to trudge through water, mud, sand, gravel, and other things.  The guy who came up with the idea was sick of girly wheelchairs that get stuck too easily.  (via Cynical-C) #technology
Good for you Apr 19, 2006
I grew up with a dad of many catchphrases.  Ranging from "I don't like your attitude" to "Max out your 401k", my dad always had something to say.  The one I remember most is, "Eat it; it's good for you". 

My dad had a garden where he grew various fruits and vegetables.  It was his hobby and our family's only source of food.  [That second part is a total lie.]  In addition to the normal foods like tomatoes and green beans, he also grew things that aren't meant to be eaten by humans:  kale, squash (3 different kinds), and okra.  He was all about eating greens (and yellows in the case of squash), so he'd also eat beet greens and other green parts of plants that aren't necessarily meant to be eaten.  So he'd bring some stuff in for dinner and try to get me to eat it.  "Try some beet greens."  I don't want any.  "Why not?"  I don't like them.  "How do you know you don't like them?  They're just like spinach."  I don't like spinach.  "Well try some anyway; they're good for you.  This isn't a democracy."  Fine.  *Chew, chew, chew, swallow, gag, attempt smile*  I don't like them. 

This was the pattern for many years when I was a kid.  At some point, my dad caught on to the fact that I wasn't gonna "grow into" liking green, leafy vegetables, so he gave up.  It become more of a democracy.  He would pressure me; I would say no; he would say, "Oh well, more for me".  My point is that his reasoning that a certain food was good for me wasn't enough to convince me to eat it.  If it tasted like grass, I didn't want to eat it.  If I had to force it down my throat, it wasn't worth whatever health benefit it was providing me.  Is healthy food worth eating if it tastes terrible?  I don't think so.  And it's not that I'm a picky eater.  I like often-hated vegetables like Brussels sprouts and asparagus.  Plus, I can force myself to eat just about anything, which I usually do for the sake of politeness if I'm eating at someone else's house.  But when I'm in my own house, I don't want to hear, "Eat it; it's good for you".  It's not gonna work for this guy [thumbs pointed at self]. #food
Ruth's Chris revisited (2) Apr 18, 2006
Today's my birthday.  I'm 24.  Hooray!  I'm no longer in my early twenties.  I'm in my mid-twenties.  That's scary. 

Anyway, we went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to celebrate.  It was a somewhat similar experience to the first time I went:  Good food at a ridiculous price.  I'm not saying it was bad.  How could steak cooked in butter be bad?  I'm saying it wasn't much better than other places I've eaten at.  But I think it has something to do with my mindset about paying a lot for certain things that can be bought at much lower prices.  For example, I'm thinking about getting an expensive guitar.  Instead of getting the highest-priced model, I'm getting a middle-of-the-line model because I'm afraid I'd treat the higher-priced model like an antique.  The higher-priced one is better quality and probably sounds better, but it doesn't sound so much better that it justifies the added cost.  I think it's the same with food.  I can pay $30 for a steak, or I can pay $15.  Is the $30 steak that much better?  Wendy thinks so.  I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference. 

My complaint about Ruth's Chris is that I think there should be lots of perks and benefits, seeing that the food is so painfully expensive (though we once again paid with a gift card from Citibank, so it wasn't "real" money).  For $30, I got a little piece of meat.  Sure it was a good piece of meat that was seasoned well and cooked in some sort of butter sauce, but I literally didn't get anything else with that $30.  I had to order side dishes separately.  The least they could do is throw in a free dessert (which I got because it was my birthday) or give me a free drink.  Maybe they could do my taxes or call my parents to say hi.  That $30 didn't go very far.  Essentially, it went from my pocket to my stomach; a distance of about 6 inches.  That's not a very good investment. 

But oh well.  It was a good meal.  I got a lobster tail too, so I covered all the major species of meat.  A great way to spend funny money from Citibank is at expensive restaurants that you wouldn't otherwise go to. #food
Catching up Apr 18, 2006
I really don't like "catching up" with people I accidentally run into.  Let's be honest:  We weren't close friends in high school.  We probably never even had a single conversation.  So why are you pretending to be interested in what I do?  C'mon, you don't really care.  You're just trying to be polite.  And I applaud you for that.  But there's really no need for it.  I'm ok with a simple handshake and a "hey".  Let's just leave it at that.  No hard feelings. #psychology
Four point oh Apr 17, 2006
I'm glad I didn't try to be one of those 4.0 people in school.  I don't think it's worth it.  I only knew a few people in college who were in the running for a 4.0, and those people were super smart.  They didn't have to do much to get good grades.  And they actually liked classes.  These are the kinds of people who went on to grad school, which is something I'm glad I didn't make it into.  Sure, I got good grades and I'm technically "in grad school" right now, but it's not the same.  I have to put a lot of effort into school and I really don't enjoy classes.  Actually, I hate school.  But I think it would've been a lot worse if I was aiming for perfection.  To have to worry about every single grade on every single assignment and every single question on every single test, I would've gone crazy.  I'm ok with "pretty good". #education
Ig Nobel Prize Apr 17, 2006
The Ig Nobel Prize is a "prize" awarded to people who do research and invent things that "make people laugh and then think".  Reading the complete list of past winners is hilarious. #science
Running in the rain Apr 16, 2006
On Friday evening, I went running in the rain.  It was awesome.  I always have good experiences running in the rain, and I'm not sure why.  It might be that the rain takes my concentration off the pain in my calves and liver.  It might be that it makes it look like I'm really dedicated, when in reality I'm just a kid who's pretending to be doing a workout.  My favorite part is jumping in puddles.  I'll be running along, making it look like I'm serious, and then I'll do a two-foot stomp in a big puddle.  I guess that just never gets old. #sports