Test: Verbosity

Test: blogger verbosity

Lag kills

I'm wondering how long it's going to take for Posterous to post my bread recipe to FB.
It's been half an hour so far...

Posted via email from madbadger2742's posterous

Science Friday Archives: How Cooking Made Us Human

via sciencefriday.com

Fascinating interview. I'm going to go find this book at my library!
Just a couple of thoughts:
1) Processing food frees up calories, moving them from digestion to brain development.
2) Processing food frees up calories, moving them from digestion to cellulite development.

Posted via web from madbadger2742's posterous

Make Your Own Damn Sports Drink

via instructables.com

Cool!
*Facepalm*
Why didn't I think of this?

Posted via web from madbadger2742's posterous

The Great Flu

via thegreatflu.com

Be the CDC and stop the flu before it stops you!

Posted via web from madbadger2742's posterous

Untitled

FB status update test

Posted via email from madbadger2742's posterous

Don't get me wrong...

... I hate the Big 2 (3? Not really.)
I think they've coasted on their success for no less than 50 years. I think they've refused to innovate, refused to utilize their domination of the auto industry to push us into greener transportation systems, refused to research new technologies, all because then they wouldn't be able to coast. They'd have to work at it. Now, here they are, (and when I say "they," I should say "we," as I live in Detroit, and if/when the auto industry dies, so does everything else around here. I'll post the "Why I hate Detroit" post later.) Now here we are, in a position where there's been no innovation, no real push for public transit, no help from the auto makers to move us into a more energy independent future (even though the 1970's Energy Crisis should have pushed them over the hump,) and *gasp* they're having trouble surviving? unforeseen horror of horrors!

Now, I've said all that to say:

If Detroit asks for $34B in LOANS, and gets 15 in strings, I don't have a problem with that on its own. But when an entire blue collar industry asks for less than one BANK got to save its a$$, and only gets half as much as they asked for, with the caveat that if the government CAR CZAR (i.e. ONE MAN) doesn't like what they're doing, the whole rug can get pulled out from under them, pretty much at any time, for any reason, I start to call "foul."

What, we "absolutely, positively, have-to got-to save the banking sector NOW NOW NOW or all of western civilization goes down and the terrorists win!" but God forbid we give the US manufacturing hub loans to the tune of 5% of the TARP fund, just to be able to go back to work after singing "Auld Lang Syne?"

Come ON, ref! You're blind as a bat! Hellen Keller would have made that call better! Throw me a bone, here!

Look, I live in Detroit, so I'm used to disappointment. I've got the Lions and Tigers, the Big 3, ... Detroit. But this is a little ridiculous. Let's just sit down and get a little perspective here. Citi CEO demands his $2M annual bonus (not kidding,) Detroit execs earn $1/year. Financial sector gets $350B in CASH (Yes, a "capital infusion.") Detroit gets $15B in LOANS that can be revoked at any time, if Detroit doesn't "get its act back into shape." Fairness, anyone? Fight Club finale, anyone? And, yes, I am repeating myself here, because I still can't believe it.

Yes, Detroit failed to innovate and evolve, and failed to produce the cars that the voices in the wilderness demanded they make, mostly because those voices couldn't be heard over the focus groups' calls for "more cup holders!" However, the current crisis in both the financial sector and in Detroit is not the fault of the auto industry. It was created by Wall Street Sooper-Geniuses who thought they could trade toxic debt with impunity, therefore crushing the credit market for everybody; bankers, manufacturers and consumers alike.

Including me. And that's where this all gets personal. Because if this all falls through and we end up with most of the US auto industry failing (I really, really hope Ford doesn't come through the sole victor...)-- I digress. Let me regroup for one last charge to the end...

If the auto industry fails, Detroit collapses. Detroit collapses, my home devalues to 1980's levels, the job market super-saturates, wages fall to 1970's levels, mass exodus from Michigan, thereby flooding the job markets of many other states (we're talking many millions of jobs here, folks!) So when I say that it gets personal, I'm not just talking about me. I'm talking about you. No matter where you live. Detroit's comin' t' get ya.

So, before you bitch and moan about the Detroit "bailout," consider that the Wall St. bailout is twenty times bigger and still ongoing, and Uncle Sam ain't never gonna see that money again.

(I feel really weird defending the US automakers... Did I just become a populist Democrat?)

T -1

So about a month back, The Wife and I decided to host Thanksgiving this year.  'Tis a small affair, only inviting my mother, sister and brother-in-law.  For the past week or so, I have been cleaning, planning, collecting all the recipes I need, etc. i.e. getting my mise in place. ;)  Monday I did the bulk of the shopping,  Tuesday I made the eggnog and baked an experimental bread loaf, and today, ... Today ...

Today was a bit of a mess.  

Iain had the day off and I had some more shopping to do, so I got to drag the kids around all morning.  Got home at about 11.  No problem, I'm only like an hour behind schedule.  Okay, get the breads together, start the spinach dip -- make lunch.  Clean up lunch, bake the cornbread, punch down the bread (aren't they both supposed to rise?  owell...) 

And so, I, the brilliant one, declare to all the fates who happening to be listening, that I am "pretty much done for today."  Idiot.  

I think it was about half an hour later when the bearings on the motor in the blower of my furnace decided to make interesting noises.  (Note to homeowners out there:  If your furnace is making sounds similar to your two year old making a poopie, your furnace is also making a poopie.)

So I, being the do-it-yourselfer (and cheapskate) that I am, diagnosed the problem as a burnt out starter capacitor, and ran out to get a replacement (after wasting about an hour awaiting call-backs from my HVAC uncle and the parts dealer.)  

At the parts shop, I was told that yes, the cap was bad, but a burnt-out motor would burn out a cap.  So I also purchased a replacement motor (owie-ow-ow-ow in the checkbook!!)  

Long story short(ish), I blow $200, 3 hours, and a loaf of bread (over-risen? dunno.) on this stupid furnace that, oh no, couldn't have blown when it was only needed for a couple of degrees overnight, and set my T-day prep back so far that as I am typing this, I'm waiting for my brine to cool enough to put the turkey in, though it should have been soaking from about an hour ago.  Woo-hoo!  

All this to say that we need the new congress to pass a law that major appliances can not break down immediately before or during any overtime-eligible time period.  :))  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow

I suck at blogging.  
Here are some possible reasons why:
1) My life sucks and I don't want to inflict it on anybody not already affected.
2) My life is boring, and I see no reason to write about it.
3) I hate writing.
4) All the blog niches that I could fill have been used, and I don't know what else I could write about where I would be in the top 50th percentile of expertise.
5) I just don't care.
6) You just don't care.
Hm  I wonder...

Well, I downloaded the blogger widget, so now I can even more easily ignore my blog.