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21 Jul 2008
In case you're wondering whether my propensity to being pleased by the appearance of puzzles and mathematics in everyday life is learned or genetic, I present you with the following story from my Uncle Wes:
I was mixing up a batch of waffles when I made a mistake. I thought the recipe was 1 cup of mix to 2/3 cup of water. After stirring in the water, the batter looked too thick. Sure enough, upon checking the recipe I saw that I was supposed to use 3/4 cup of water.
I briefly panicked. 3/4 minus 2/3?!! That's not easy! Where was I going to find a measuring cup that was calibrated in 12ths?
You've probably already figured out what I did to fix the problem.
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19 May 2008
Low-carbohydrate diets predate Robert Atkins' eponymous phenomenon by more than one hundred years. The theory behind the diets goes like this: Food contains starches, which your body very quickly converts to glucose. When glucose levels spike right after a meal, in order to prevent blood sugar levels from getting too high, you convert them into triglycerides for storage (usually in fat). When your blood sugar gets very low, said fat stores (ideally) get converted to ketones, which your body can use like glucose. Low-carb diets work on the theory that the modern American diet never allows blood sugar to fall low enough for step 2 to occur.
On a whim, M and I are trying a one-week low-carb diet. Lunch and dinner we can handle. But what do you eat for breakfast when cereal and fruit and bagels are off limits? I can only eat so many hard boiled eggs before I go nuts.
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11 Apr 2008A satire on the "No videos on Flickr" wackjobs has resulted in Flickr actually offering donuts to members who show up.
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28 Feb 2008Opened this week!
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30 Jan 2008Can you find three foods such that all three together is gross but every pair of them is fine?
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30 Oct 2007Taco Bell is giving everyone in America a free taco from 2-5pm. Since the time is bad and the prize is tiny, petition Taco Bell to donate yours to the Red Cross relief effort in California.
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24 Oct 2007Like Jason Kottke says, it's like "The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Movie". Looks good.
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18 Aug 2007
Dear Plutor of the future: I know that the crumbling economy, skyrocketing gas prices, and warming climate trend has likely made the world of 2008 a bleak Mad Maxian landscape. If the grocery stores are even open anymore, the selection is likely poor -- jicama and tomatillos being among the very few surviving produce. But I have good news for you. I know of a place where, ideally in August, you can pick and eat delicious ripe blackberries until you explode. I will leave the task of fashioning a boat out of household materials to you[1] -- I'm certain that as the world spun towards chaos, the last issue of Make Magazine was particularly helpful. You'll need to boat straight out from the end of South Boston to Spectacle Island. Once there, hope that the trails have not yet been completely overgrown, and follow them to the north drumlin. Along the path, you'll see the plants, but the mother lode is just before you get to the hilltop, on the left.
Bring a few containers. And good luck.
[1] - I don't envy you this task. In 2007, there was a Ferry that you could pay $12 to bring you to Spectacle Island and the many other harbor islands. It was fun for a number of reasons other than the fruitful bounty.
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30 Jul 2007
Last week, New York Times published a list of 101 summer meals.[1] Some are lame (#1, for instance) and some use meat (#3, 9, 10, et al). But there are a lot of simple and fast meal ideas there. Urban Vegan took the list, removed all the meat and dairy recipes, added her own, and presented a list of 101 vegan summer meals[2]. Even for us omnivores, there are a load of good ideas in that list, too. I've already got gazpacho and salad niçoise on the menu for this week.
[1] Yes, this is a working link. Thanks to Mari for the tip.
[2] Thanks to Shaun for the tip. -
17 May 2007The average of 12 submitted chocolate chip cookie recipes. Cooked at 354.17°F for 13.04 minutes.