randomlife

November 13, 2009

Elusive Flavor

Cuisipro Accutec Razor-Sharp Stainless-Steel Deluxe Dual Microplane Grater

Aside from the name of the product (which looks like it was created with a grater), I found this sentence in the product description odd: "Unlike other graters that are dull and tear food, this grater features incredibly sharp blades that virtually glide through food, preserving its fresh flavor."

Does tearing food instead of slicing it really change the flavor? Is flavor skittish? Do you have to sneak up on it or it'll fly away?

Still, I do really want one of these. It just looks a lot easier to use than other graters and zesters. Santa, are you listening?

Posted at 10:05 AM | Comments ( so far)

May 26, 2009

Boo, California!

Fact: The CA Supreme Court ruled last year that defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman was sexual orientation discrimination.

Fact: The CA Supreme Court ruled this year that CA voters have the right to amend the state constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

Conclusion: The CA Supreme Court believes that it’s okay for CA voters to legalize sexual discrimination.

The system is broken.

Posted at 01:41 PM | Comments ( so far)

January 05, 2009

Roulette

Do any of you have a fun system for playing Roulette? I'm always intrigued by the game, but I've never found an interesting way to play. I'm not asking for a winning strategy, of course -- there aren't any. The house always has that nice little edge. I'm talking about a certain pattern that you like to sprinkle the chips in, or a certain way that you calculate how many chips to play.

I have two requirements for this system. One, that it not be boring. I could sit there and play Red all day. Whee! No.

Two, it should have some chance of making some big bucks. If I'm just sprinkling $1 chips on 2-1 odds all the time, that's not very interesting to me. I'm up $5, down $6, up $3, down $5, etc. I want people to scream in envy when my $20 bet on 8 pays off at 35-1!

An example of a fun system would be to sometimes arrange the chips in a smiley face pattern, with the nose being the big money. Or place the chips in a straight line that hits some numbers and also the little side bets.

I'd like to just chuck the chips over my shoulder and see where they land, but I don't think they'd let me do that.

Posted at 04:59 PM | Comments ( so far)

October 30, 2008

Consequences

Okay, here's my question to proponents of California Proposition 8: What are some of the bad things that could happen if couples of the same sex are allowed to marry? I've heard people express the opinion that it shouldn't be allowed, and I've even heard them give reasons, but I've never heard anyone speak of any consequences of allowing same-sex marriages.

I think this is an important question. It's fine to express a dislike of something, but if nothing bad will ever come of it, I would have a hard time justifying enacting legislation to stop it.

I did read an article that expressed the feelings of a married couple who felt that marriage should be about having babies. They claimed to not have any problems accepting gay couples, but they felt that marriage should only be between a man and a woman because its purpose is to create offspring. I don't agree with that opinion, but I would still like to hear them word their opposition to gay marriage in terms of possible bad future consequences.

If the purpose of marriage is to create offspring, then maybe they are concerned about the human population? If so, do they really think that the human race will be wiped out if some married couples do not produce children? I just don't get it.

Please name some bad things that could happen if gays are given the same opportunity to marry as everyone else.

Posted at 03:53 PM | Comments ( so far)

October 29, 2008

How to Meet Your Older Self

What do you think of this time travel scenario?

I would like to see what my life might possibly be like 20 years in the future. I invent a time machine, set it to the year 2028, and go there. When I arrive, I find that no one has seen me for 20 years. I realize that I have skipped all of those intervening years with the help of my time machine, so no wonder they haven't seen me.

In order to be able to meet my 61 year old self, I go back to 30 minutes before I left and watch my younger self prepare the time machine for the trip to the future. When he isn't looking, I sabotage his time machine so that it no longer works.

He is visibly upset, but eventually he leaves the room, presumably to continue on with his life.

I set my time machine for 2028 again and look up my 61 year old self. We have a conversation about how the past 20 years have gone for him. Things have gone well, but he's upset that he never got a chance to time travel. I tell him that I'll set that right -- I just wanted to meet my 61 year old self once and learn about a few of the pitfalls I need to watch out for.

I thank him and head back to 35 minutes before I had originally left. I wait for 5 minutes until I see a previous version of myself show up -- the saboteur.

I sneak up on him and tap him on the shoulder. He's surprised to see me, but I tell him that I've already gone into the future, and met the 61 year old version of ourselves. I tell him about the things I learned.

"So now you don't need to sabotage his time machine," I say. He agrees and we both watch as that version of ourselves gets in his time machine, and disappears, on his way to 2028.

Posted at 05:04 PM | Comments ( so far)

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