Friday, March 27, 2009
Polyamorist vegetarian yoga teachers who like anal sex and Ecstasy and really strong coffee?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Obamagram
“My view is also that nobody’s above the law, and, if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen, but that, generally speaking, I’m more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards.”
“My view is also that nobody’s above the law, and, if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen, but that, generally speaking, I’m more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards.”
Monday, March 23, 2009
Total cost of the seeds and tools: $200, according to the White House. Dale Haney, ground superintendent, and the kitchen staff will be in charge with the day to day upkeep of the garden.
spinach, onions, shallots, garlic, chard, snap peas, arugula (yes, arugula, for those of you who remember President Barack Obama’s Iowa gaffe about the price of the leafy green during the campaign), carrots and okra. The garden will also produce blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, along with herbs including rosemary, thyme and oregano.
spinach, onions, shallots, garlic, chard, snap peas, arugula (yes, arugula, for those of you who remember President Barack Obama’s Iowa gaffe about the price of the leafy green during the campaign), carrots and okra. The garden will also produce blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, along with herbs including rosemary, thyme and oregano.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hugo nominees, best novel:
* Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
* The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
* Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) — Free download
* Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
* Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)
That's a nice crop.
* Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
* The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
* Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) — Free download
* Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
* Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)
That's a nice crop.
Friday, March 20, 2009
True story of pizza, as heard on the internet.
>>879794
The food we now know as pizza originated in Germany in the middle of the 14th century. In those days, it consisted of square unleavened bread with salted lamb meat which was baked in small clay ovens.
The Normans took the Germans' idea and expanded it to include sauce and cheese. They replaced the meat with a mixture of turnips and beets because protein was very scarce during this time period. It was then that it was first referred to as "peozia" which would later become "pizza".
Pizza became virtually extinct during the 16th century. The invading Japanese conquerors took the recipe and hid it from both the Normans, the Germans and the Italians.
Twenty-five years later, an old man in Ireland found the recipe and tried making it in his kitchen. Using soda bread for crust, potatoes for cheese, and corned beef for meat, the pizza he produced was approximately 18 inches in diameter and over 1 foot thick. It took 2 hours to prepare and fed 7 people for 3 days.
But it wasn't until 1907 that Edward von Schmidt started a small pizza company in Hackensack, New Jersey. He called his shop Pizza Hut, selling 2 different kinds of pizza as well as penny candy. When he sold the naming rights to his company in 1924 for $750, pizza became an American staple and convenience food. Pizza helped the Allied troops during World War II and was featured in several feature Hollywood films during the Depression.
As you can see, the history of pizza is both numerous and complex.
>>879794
The food we now know as pizza originated in Germany in the middle of the 14th century. In those days, it consisted of square unleavened bread with salted lamb meat which was baked in small clay ovens.
The Normans took the Germans' idea and expanded it to include sauce and cheese. They replaced the meat with a mixture of turnips and beets because protein was very scarce during this time period. It was then that it was first referred to as "peozia" which would later become "pizza".
Pizza became virtually extinct during the 16th century. The invading Japanese conquerors took the recipe and hid it from both the Normans, the Germans and the Italians.
Twenty-five years later, an old man in Ireland found the recipe and tried making it in his kitchen. Using soda bread for crust, potatoes for cheese, and corned beef for meat, the pizza he produced was approximately 18 inches in diameter and over 1 foot thick. It took 2 hours to prepare and fed 7 people for 3 days.
But it wasn't until 1907 that Edward von Schmidt started a small pizza company in Hackensack, New Jersey. He called his shop Pizza Hut, selling 2 different kinds of pizza as well as penny candy. When he sold the naming rights to his company in 1924 for $750, pizza became an American staple and convenience food. Pizza helped the Allied troops during World War II and was featured in several feature Hollywood films during the Depression.
As you can see, the history of pizza is both numerous and complex.
Monday, March 16, 2009
According to the NYT, via marginal revolution, prices for recycled stuff have crashed.
"Tin is now selling for $5 a pound, down from $300. Paper has sagged by as much as 80 percent." I dunno; was tin really at $300 a pound, ever? Off to google.
The general point is a solid one: considered only as raw materials, recycled stuff isn't worth what it was. However, lots of goods (/bads) in the waste stream can be reused as-is. Spent part of today supervising my worker rebuilding a part of the garage using recycled boards. Then went to home depot and spent way too much money on new building materials - my $7,000 house is going to wind up costing $10,000, but well worth it.
Edit: a year ago, tin was at $12, $5 now. Historically $3/lb over last 20 years.
OK, I wasn't the only one who spotted the error. Wonder if the Times has run a correction.
"Tin is now selling for $5 a pound, down from $300. Paper has sagged by as much as 80 percent." I dunno; was tin really at $300 a pound, ever? Off to google.
The general point is a solid one: considered only as raw materials, recycled stuff isn't worth what it was. However, lots of goods (/bads) in the waste stream can be reused as-is. Spent part of today supervising my worker rebuilding a part of the garage using recycled boards. Then went to home depot and spent way too much money on new building materials - my $7,000 house is going to wind up costing $10,000, but well worth it.
Edit: a year ago, tin was at $12, $5 now. Historically $3/lb over last 20 years.
OK, I wasn't the only one who spotted the error. Wonder if the Times has run a correction.
word for the day: hikikomori
"Shaking Tokyo," directed by Bong Joon-ho, stars Teruyuki Kagawa as a hikikomori,a type so familiar the Japanese have a name for it. A hikikomori, usually male, decides to stay inside one day and essentially never leaves. Some have been reported as hermits for up to 10 years, living mostly on pizza deliveries. In America, we call these people "software engineers."
"Shaking Tokyo," directed by Bong Joon-ho, stars Teruyuki Kagawa as a hikikomori,a type so familiar the Japanese have a name for it. A hikikomori, usually male, decides to stay inside one day and essentially never leaves. Some have been reported as hermits for up to 10 years, living mostly on pizza deliveries. In America, we call these people "software engineers."
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Yeesh. 2 weeks with no blog entries. well, i was away working for a week, but still.
But I don't really have any fresh content at the moment. Hope to replace this entry with something more substantive shortly.. tomorrowish.
Not that.. I mean, blogging's dead. All the cool kids now twitter, or something.
Thi space exists mostly as my personal portal - these are the webcomics i read, the blogs, the links. It's here in part because I never did get the hang of setting a feed reader, or whatever they call those.
Oh, it's Pi day, 3/14/2009. One of the first blog entries I ever read in one of the first blogs I ever read was Wil Wheaton's discussion of pi day, about 6 years ago.
Meanwhile, a couple of stories of buried treasure:
Wired article about millions in diamonds still missing from a big heist. And I heard a story recently about King John of England - the one in the Robin Hood storied - who lost a big treasure once in a lake. It's never been found, but my idea is that with today's satellite imagery and such, it might be worth looking for. Off to google King John's treasure and see if that finds anything. Yup, here's the story. Others are already looking for it.
And here's a book about it.
But I don't really have any fresh content at the moment. Hope to replace this entry with something more substantive shortly.. tomorrowish.
Not that.. I mean, blogging's dead. All the cool kids now twitter, or something.
Thi space exists mostly as my personal portal - these are the webcomics i read, the blogs, the links. It's here in part because I never did get the hang of setting a feed reader, or whatever they call those.
Oh, it's Pi day, 3/14/2009. One of the first blog entries I ever read in one of the first blogs I ever read was Wil Wheaton's discussion of pi day, about 6 years ago.
Meanwhile, a couple of stories of buried treasure:
Wired article about millions in diamonds still missing from a big heist. And I heard a story recently about King John of England - the one in the Robin Hood storied - who lost a big treasure once in a lake. It's never been found, but my idea is that with today's satellite imagery and such, it might be worth looking for. Off to google King John's treasure and see if that finds anything. Yup, here's the story. Others are already looking for it.
And here's a book about it.
