Random Ramblings

Today while browsing my various feeds, I stumbled across the welfare food challenge. It's a campaign run by Raise the Rates, a BC-based community organization trying to get welfare rates increased. The idea behind the challenge is to spend no more than $26 on food for one week, as this is the amount allocated for food by the BC government.

I've always been a fan of lifestyle experiments (reading about them, not conducting them), so I'll be very interested in seeing how the participants on this one turn out. It's all the more interesting because I've seen this type of experiment done before. Twice. With vastly different results.

( More on that behind here. Somewhat long. )

Today's YouTube performance is another piece for Casa Bardicci, entitled A New Home (lyrics here). It commemorates the Casa's 2008 move (Pennsic 37) from it's native Bologna to Venice. In other words, the Casa's campsite was moved from its traditional spot to one a little further around the lake, that happened to have a river running through it. But they pulled it off! In fact, they placed the dance hall directly above the river! This, I thought, was surely deserving of poetry. Enjoy!

Today's Pocket Bard original performance is The Sign of the Duck. (Lyrics here.) It's a fable-like piece describing the creation of Dione Sidhe's kitchen house at Pennsic. The poem was commissioned by Mistress Brid, co-head of Dione Sidhe, and features Lord Geoffrey, the other co-head. For those who are interested, you can see a picture of the kitchen house here. Enjoy!

1. Three tricks for solving problems faster and better -- the short version: imagine it's happening to somebody else.

2. Epic meal time parody (3-minute video) -- an extremely well-done parody of Epic Meal Time, done by an elementary-school boy and his younger sister.

3. Bad translation generator -- type in a phrase and watch how it comes back to you after it's been passed through Google translate a few dozen times. Fun stuff.

4. Roll a d6 (4-minute video) -- this has been stuck in my head for at least a week and a half. If you're a D&D gamer, go watch this video.

5. Periodic table of storytelling -- a fun and handy resource for the storytellers and bards on my friends' list. Sorta based on TV Tropes.

6. If classic fables actually told the truth -- sometimes, when you look back at some of those classic fables from your youth, you realize how full of shit they are.

7. Now THIS is how steampunk is done -- I want this computer room. A lot.

1. Rainbow cupcakes -- I promise that if someone buys me food coloring in the appropriate colors, I will attempt to duplicate these cupcakes. They're awesome.

2. King Philip IV (3-minute video) -- King Philip IV of Spain decides to sign autographs in honor of the restoration of his Velázquez portrait. The King looks remarkably spry for a 400-year-old. (From Improv Everywhere)

3. Sesame Street: Make it so Number One! (2-minute video) -- Patrick Stewart helps the Count keeps his numbers in order. A blast from the past for fans of ST:TNG.

4. Thorn dice set -- I want this dice set. That is all.

5. The The Impotence of Proofreading (3.5-minute video) -- if you've ever been an editor or a teacher, you will find this utterly hilarious.

6. Is there anything good about men? -- a long but highly thought-provoking article. Worth the read.

7. Where Baghdad at? (1-minute video) -- having trouble keeping track of geography of Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan? This is your video!

Way back when Marc and I first moved in together, I had a harrowing time trying to cook a chicken-and-lentils dish. I didn't really know what I was doing, and all sorts of small mistakes added up to a very stressful experience. One of those mistakes (which you can read in my post) was that after undercooking some chicken, I tried to cook it in a second pot, and it wound up sticking to the bottom. For the longest time, I had no idea what I'd done wrong: pot too hot? Or too cold? Or the wrong material? Not enough oil?

Enter rouxbe.

I discovered this site last week, and it's amazing. It offers professional-quality video cooking lessons. And it's all on basic stuff that I wish I'd learned. Stuff like knife skills. Or how to properly make sauce. Or choose a cut of meat. Or steam vegetables. Or learn the difference between poaching, simmering, and boiling, and where each one is appropriate.

One of the free sample lessons is on pan frying, and this is where I discovered the answer to the mystery that's vexed me for a year. The lesson demonstrates how to tell when a stainless-steel pan is the correct temperature for frying, and shows how a too-cool pan results in the food sticking to the bottom. Ta da! Problem solved!

I'm in love with rouxbe and saddened it's a pay site. When I have money, I'm super-tempted to buy myself a few months' subscription. Because even the three free lessons I've watched have been *tremendously* helpful.

1. Ben Goldacre talks bad science (18-minute video) -- I really liked Goldacre's book, but I had no idea he was so hyper (and so funny!) in person.

2. Senior moment, a 98-year-old woman writes to her bank -- this woman is great. I want to be this with-it when I'm nearly a centenarian.

3. Global warming (1-minute video) -- a parody commercial detailing the difference between "climate" and "weather." Know it, love it.

4. How to hack a marathon if you aren't a runner -- I admit, I'm probably never going to run a marathon. Still, I wonder whether this would actually work.

5. Mama merit badges and Nerd merit badges -- why should boy scouts have all the fun?

6. Learning to cook (xkcd comic) -- as someone teaching myself to cook, this comic hit way too close to home.

7. The poverty line in China (pictures) -- an interesting photo set showing what you could buy on 3.28 yuan (49 cents) a day in China. (Entire series here.)

Today, just on a whim, I decided to calculate how many calories I eat for breakfast. My standard breakfast is two slices of whole wheat toast (flax!) with peanut butter, and a glass of orange juice. I never knew how much peanut butter I was putting on my toast, so I decided to pull out my kitchen scale and do a before-and-after measurement, which revealed that I was putting about 20g of peanut butter, about one and a third tablespoons.

Looked at all the packages, figured it all out... 500 calories.

What?!? Crazy! It's two pieces of toast and a freakin' glass of orange juice! That works out to 500 calories?!?

Maybe it's time to start hunting for a new standard breakfast...

( A few interesting calorie-visualization sites )

1. 7 fast food homemade recipes -- When you absolutely need that Big Mac or Wendy's Frosty, now you can make them at home! Cool stuff, not that I think I'll ever actually make them...

2. aM laboratory (online app) -- Make music! See waves! Guaranteed to be your next 5-minute obsession!

3. Jenga pistol (1-minute video) -- Oh, man, I wish I had this when I was a kid! An engineer designs a "pistol" designed specifically to shoot out Jenga blocks.

4. Order of the Stick #763 (comic) -- As a bard and a storyteller, I approve of this strip of Order of the Stick.

5. What harms do polygamy laws prevent? -- I'm not poly, but I have friends who are. I think this article makes a clear, reasoned case that anti-polygamy laws prevent freedom without the benefits they claim to produce.

6. Walk Score -- How walkable is your neighborhood? Mine's a highly respectable 90%. It's not perfect (there are a lot of shops missing in my neighborhood), but it's still informative and fun.

7. Bill Maher lays waste to global warming deniers (5-minute video) -- I've never really watched Bill Maher, but this is an awesome video. Truly.

I ran across an interesting article yesterday, arguing that 3rd edition D&D is actually quite accurate to real-world abilities, and that the most exceptional people (Conan, Aragorn, Einstein) are about 5th level. I'd be interested in hearing peoples' thoughts.

(Incidentally, I like a lot of the other D&D articles posted on the site as well.)