Waking Up Isn’t Always Easy

Ashley Bischoff1 Comment

This morning started out fairly ordinarily:

  • The alarm goes off with the usual high-strung DJs yapping about something or other inconsequential…
  • I pull back my sheets and roll out of bed…
  • I then walk over to my desk and take a drink from my glass of water…
  • I stretch a bit and start wandering over my closet to pick out my clothes for the day…

Then, my alarm goes off and I wake up for real. Ugh. At least the radio wasn’t playing “I Got You Babe”. I’m not a morning-hater, but those first few moments of consciousness where I’m still trying to convince my brain that I’m no longer sleeping can be trying at times. And now I had to go through all that again? Silly meta-brain, tricks are for kids!

Making Your Own Bacon?

Ashley Bischoff2 Comments

I was browsing through Ask MetaFilter and came across a thread on the weirdness of non-American pork (at least, in from the poster’s perspective). The thread is interesting in itself in some ways, but then about halfway in, a guy who goes by “obiwanwasabi ” busts out with a make-your-own bacon recipe:

Make your own bacon — it’s dead easy. Buy a couple of pounds of pork belly. Rub the pork all over with salt, sugar/dextrose and sodium nitrite (pink salt), then put it in a ziploc bag for a while. The liquid comes out of the pork, making a brine that cures the meat. When it feels firm in the centre (about a week), pop it in a low oven til it reaches an internal temp of 150°F / 65°C. Take it out of the oven, remove the skin while it's hot, chill it &mdsah; voila, bacon. I can post a more detailed recipe from this book tonight if you like, along with a couple of recipes for sausage.

Bacon is tasty, to be sure, but it does seem suspiciously easy to make. I don’t think I’m courageous enough to try this, but I could see some of my meat-adept friends giving this a try (yes, this means you, Ru & Roger).

“Tintin and I” on PBS’ POV This Evening

Ashley Bischoff3 Comments

PBS describes their show POV as “television’s longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films” which premiers “14-16 of the best, boldest and innovative programs every year on PBS”. And, I’ve just recently learned that tonight’s episode / short-film is “Tintin and I” As they describe it:

Who was Tintin? Indeed, who was his creator, Hergé? Tintin was the determined and resilient hero of a comic book series that took him on thrilling adventures around the world — and on some voyages not quite of this world. Actually, though Tintin is not as well known in the U.S. as in Europe, his distinctive tuft of ginger hair and Hergé’s no less distinctive drawing style will ring a bell with many Americans. Appearing from 1929 to 1982, the series took Tintin to the planet's most exotic places to confront all sorts of danger, treachery and political machinations, with an emphasis on the fast-paced visuals of trains, planes, cars, bombs and other new technologies. […]

For those not familiar with the series, The Adventures of Tintin could be thought of as a set of graphic novels, though they were each about 11" x 14" (?) and about a quarter inch thick. They were written from the ’30s through the ’70s by a Belgian fellow named Hergé. As you might guess, they’ve also been translated into English.

This nugget of trivia might help describe the series — apparently the “atmosphere and main character in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones-trilogy was inspired by the Tintin comics”. I hadn’t heard about “Tintin and I” until just today, but I’m rather looking forward to it.

“The Shield” is Coming Back For a Seventh Season!

Ashley Bischoff9 Comments

Back in March, I wrote about reports that series creators Shawn Ryan and David Mamet were unsure whether they’d continue with another season of The Shield. Basically those guys had been working on a new show for CBS, The Unit, and if that had taken off, the two of them might not have had time to work on another season of The Shield. It looks like luck has prevailed, though, as Ryan has decided on continuing:

He’s decided. It’s coming back.

However, if you’d been led to believe that the 10 episodes currently in production would be available later this year … think again. Season “six,” or “season 5.5” as it’s informally been called, will now be delayed until 2007. Season “seven” won’t even go into production until next summer. But truly — better late than never. […]

I can’t say that I’m overjoyed by the Sopranos-like pace at which the upcoming seasons appear to be scheduled, but I’d rather that than not have the show continue at all.

Laws Don’t Apply to Bush, According to Bush

Ashley Bischoff3 Comments

The Boston Globe is reporting that Bush has chosen that several hundred laws don’t apply to him, including elements of the USA PATRIOT Act, immigration regulations, and others:

President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, “whistle-blower” protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

[…]

Former administration officials contend that just because Bush reserves the right to disobey a law does not mean he is not enforcing it: In many cases, he is simply asserting his belief that a certain requirement encroaches on presidential power. […]

Well, with that out of the way, I’ve come to realize that speed limits are encroaching on my transportation throughput and shouldn’t apply to me. Oh, and FICA taxes are encroaching on my ability to frivolously purchase Take 5 bars for the periodic afternoon snack. Whew — who knew the law was so flexible?