Sunday, February 28, 2010

Why can't I own a Canadian?



I love typing in random things on Google and seeing what other people have searched for. Today I simply asked "Why?" I was now want to know "Why can't I own a Canadian?"

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Pretty straightforward bread.


I saw this at the store last night and it reminded me of the straightforward names for food made for The Dharma Iniuituve in Lost.





Ancestral Territorial Imperatives of the Trumpeter Swan


This may be one of the most amusing things I have come across in awhile. I work with computers everyday and more specifically I try to teach people how to use them. Most of the time, I find it hard to help people who have no jumping off point. To most folks, computer lingo is nothing more than hodge-podge of made up futuristic terms that have no real meaning to them. However, they are constantly confronting issues where understanding their computer would be helpful. For instance, backing up is a must for any person that owns a computer, but to someone who has never even opened an email attachment or even powered on a computer, backing up seems like an irksome and impossibly convoluted process. Generally I work exclusively with Apple computers, and whether you like them or not, Apple does a pretty good job at making the computing process approachable by even the layman. However, even the helpful tutorials on Apple's home page are still talking in "computer speak." I found this post at a blog called Ironic Sans, and found myself chuckling at this amusing computer manuel, and impressed by it. I could only imagine a world where the technology community spoke with such frankness. Here is the original link.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

They are not really called snow speeders.

I fell asleep on my way back from Denver and I woke up and saw that I was flying over Hoth(nerd post and I just had to).



Sunday, February 21, 2010

Kiddy Titanic disaster play thing.

I saw this in a play place in Atlanta when attending my girlfriends little cousins birthday. I think they should call it little tykes disaster play places.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Meat may cause cancer?



On my last night in California, I accompanied a work mate to meet some friends at a California chain called Armadillo Willies and saw this sign at the front of the restaurant. I actually don't know how I feel about this. I assumed this is due to how they cook barbecue in California, but I was still alarmed. So after doing a little on line research I have come to the conclusion that the restaurant was probably warning me about PAH's (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) HCA's (heterocyclic amines); cancer causing compounds that are the result of charring your food. What makes this all the more alarming is that this is probably not limited to California. So I did a little more digging and learned that anytime you charr your food, like burning a piece of toast, you create PAH which is an imperfect combustion of smoke and burning material. Percivall Potts, a 1700's English surgeon, discovered a link in his patients with scrotal cancer and their history as chimney sweeps. PAH's would be the cause in this link and are strong carcinogens. HAC's however are a more recent discovery. This combustion can take place in meat, and it can happen even when not charring. It is actually caused by a chemical reaction in the muscle meat when it is being heated. The cancer causing effects has been very strong in rats, but no humans have shown signs that HAC's cause cancer. After digesting all of this, I have to say that my decision that night to eat my delicious meal at Armadillo Willies would have remained unchanged. California appears to require BBQ restaurants to display this information, but I am probably still at risk here in Alabama. For the lack of having anything better to say about the matter, and a surge of apathy, what doesn't cause cancer? BBQ is a delicious Southern delicacy, and I will continue to take my chances with beef briskets cooked to their smokey goodness.