Pig parts (3) May 19, 2009
It thoroughly amazes me that the following meat products all come from the same animal: 
  • Bacon
  • Ham
  • Pork Chops
  • Ribs
  • Pulled Pork
  • Sausage
The differences between pulled pork and ham are so drastic, it makes one wonder whether we should thank God for creating such a culinarily diverse animal or human ingenuity for thinking up such distinct methods of curing and flavoring. #food
Rims May 15, 2009
I will truly never understand the thought processes of a person who buys ridiculous oversized chrome rims for their already ridiculous sports car.  Especially when that person lives in the suburbs, has a graduate degree, and will soon be a parent.  I guess it's just another expensive hobby. #travel
Let it go to voicemail (2) May 15, 2009
I was in a meeting yesterday and one of the guys answered his cell phone in the middle of the meeting and told the caller (his wife) he couldn't talk.  The Etiquette Police would point out the following flaws in this person's game plan: 
  1. A phone was left on during a meeting.  (-5 points)
  2. A phone was answered during a meeting.  (-10 points)
  3. An unfathomably pointless conversation took place (-30 points) in earshot of other people (-20 points)
Your score:  -65 points.  You lose.  Next time let it go to voicemail, Twitchy. #technology
Voice crack May 14, 2009
I work with at least two grown male adults whose voices still crack on occasion.  I can't think of a better way to look like a total idiot than to be in your 30s or 40s and sound like you're 13. #psychology
Lines on paper (1) May 14, 2009
I was in a meeting earlier today where a guy (a lawyer -- not sure if that matters or not) was writing things in a lined notebook, and he was completely ignoring the lines.  As a COCN (Certified Obsessive Compulsive Nerd), I had to try hard not to freak out.  I mean this guy was writing too big to fit in between the horizontal lines, and then he would skip lines and start writing directly over top another horizontal line.  And those vertical lines on the left side?  Totally ignored them, like he was some kind of big shot or something.  I almost lost it.  Why have lines on paper if you're not gonna use them? #business
Towns without cars May 13, 2009
The town of Vauban, Germany has no cars.  Deliberately.  If you want to own a car, you have to pay to store it in a garage on the outskirts of town.  A similar town is being planned near Oakland, California. 

There are about a billion upsides to this.  Less pollution.  Quieter streets.  Not paying money to buy a car.  Saving money on car-related expenses.  More walking and biking, which means better health. 

The downside:  Not having a car. 

(via Neatorama) #travel
Nut vs. seed (2) May 13, 2009
For lunch yesterday, I had a salad with nuts on it.  Pine nuts and sunflower seeds.  Here's where it gets complicated.  First of all, there are two different naming conventions:  Botanical and culinary.  Botany is the study of plants, while culinary art is all about cooking and eating. 

According to a botanist, a seed is what a plant uses to reproduce.  A fruit is what a plant uses to disseminate seeds.  A nut is both the fruit and the seed.  According to a culinary artist, a fruit is any sweet-tasting plant product associated with seeds.  A nut is any hard, oily, shelled plant product. 

Pine nuts are the seeds of pine trees, and since they can be shelled, they're not botanically nuts.  Sunflower seeds are the seeds of sunflowers, and technically speaking, I only ate the sunflower kernels, not the entire seeds, which in turn means they're not nuts.  But culinarily, both pine nuts and sunflower seeds are considered nuts because they're hard, oily, and shelled. 

So there you have it.  If I was speaking to a botanist, I would say I had a salad with seeds on it.  If I was speaking to a culinary artist, I would say I had a salad with nuts on it.  Since I know neither, I'll never tell anyone anything. #food
Gin May 13, 2009
Two facts about gin: 
  1. It's made from pure grain alcohol and flavored with juniper berries, which come from coniferous juniper trees, which is why it tastes like pine trees.
  2. It's the only hard alcohol that doesn't make me want to forcefully vomit.
#food
Free KFC May 12, 2009
Guess what, idiots?  It's still KFC.  It doesn't matter if it's fried, grilled, roasted, liquefied, or sauteed in the blood of baby penguins.  It's still KFC. #food
Seizures and pleasure May 12, 2009
This article talks about a study conducted by the Department of Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2003 that concluded that certain epileptic patients experienced pleasure during seizures, some wished to continue experiencing seizures, and some could control when seizures occurred.  Said one patient: 
"It is like an emotional wave striking me again and again.  I feel compelled to obey a sort of phenomenon.  These sensations are outside the spectrum of what I ever have experienced outside a seizure."
The patient also said he experiences "a delicious taste, and he swallows repeatedly.  He enjoys the sensations and is absorbed in them in a way that he can barely hear when spoken to."  How weird is that?  I thought seizures were a negative thing. 

Also noteworthy is this quote from Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky about his epilepsy: 
"For several moments, I would experience such joy as would be inconceivable in ordinary life -- such joy that no one else could have any notion of.  I would feel the most complete harmony in myself and in the whole world and this feeling was so strong and sweet that for a few seconds of such bliss I would give ten or more years of my life, even my whole life perhaps."
However, his condition after a seizure matches what I've heard: 
"As a result of his fits he would sometimes bruise himself in falling, and his muscles would hurt him from his convulsions ... But the most important thing was that he lost his memory and for two or three days he would feel utterly broken.  His mental condition was also grievous: he could scarcely overcome his anguish and hypersensitivity."
(via Boing Boing) #health