I kinda wanted to write about today’s TotD, but I think I’ve already covered the subject (favorite restaurant) ad nauseum. (For the record, my current eatery-of-choice is Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Though today actually feels more like a pad thai kinda day (which I prefer Noodle Ranch for). Or maybe a I Love Sushi kinda day. Yeah. Not that I’d turn down a medium-rare bison ribeye if one came along.) Eh, guess I wound up writing about the TotD anyway.

I got a haircut this morning. Brett and I always get ours at the same time so it’s less of a hassle. And today it was his turn to pay the bill, so that’s always good. (BTW, Elaine’s is kind of a ripoff — $25 for a basic men’s cut? She only charged $15 last time. And we even had appointments.) Here’s a pic (ignore the palsied left eye):

I saw this nifty site on Digg about making your offline life easier… Who knew the US had “forever stamps“? Fantastic idea. Apparently the first one (with a picture of the Liberty Bell on it) just became available like six days ago. They’re 41 cents apiece right now, but that’ll be the new postage rate come May 14th anyway, so it’s not too unreasonable.

I was getting really tired of the 300 references that have been so common on web forums and imageboards lately (especially the “This is Sparta” meme), but the latest VG Cats strip still made me smile. Speaking of imageboards and comedy, here’s a surprisingly invulgar 4chan/b thread that gave me significant lulz (warning: linked image is 2.18 MB):

If you do much web surfing, you’ve probably seen these “Snap shots” things that pop up when you mouseover a link on an uglified blog. Here’s a screen cap so you know what I’m talking about:

Exactly what useful information does that popup provide? Well, I guess it tells you whether or not the page is 404′d. Did you really need to know that? Was it worth the annoying spammy popup? No? Oh well.

So what’s the real purpose of the “Snap shots” popup? To hawk their lame Google-ripoff browser, of course. It’s main appeal is supposed to be that it generates large previews for each link in your search. But these seem to load slower than the page itself. This feature (the previews, not the slow load times) might have been kind of handy in the days before tabbed browsing, but, right now, what’s the point? Not that it really works anyway — most of the time you see something like this:

But wait, there’s more! Snap has features those other search engines don’t. It says so right on their “Why Snap is Better” page. One of the super-useful features listed on that page is the “SNAP Map,” pictured here:

Oh wait… that’s just a Google Map. But the “find business” and “get directions” search buttons must use that innovative Snap engine, right? Nope, those are external links to Insider Pages and Google Maps. So what makes it a “SNAP Map”? I guess all web content’s fair game — you can just stick it in a frame and brand it as part of your site.

On an unrelated note, what you think of my new “HANK News” feature?

Bottom line: Snap sucks. Disable their popups, don’t waste time with their terrible search engine, and, for the sake of websurfers everywhere, please don’t deface your site with their hideous, annoying mouseover popups.

Last night, after I made the chicken-pocket things, I made a really nifty chicken risotto. I got some extra virgin olive oil smoking hot, then put in two large breasts seasoned with S&P (as Ming Tsai calls it). Once they’d browned a little, I took them out, added two tablespoons of butter, and threw in some chopped mushrooms and minced garlic. After those cooked a bit, I added the rice (1 1/3 c. unwashed basmati). Once that started browning/getting translucent, I added a like amount of liquid, equal parts water and 1% milk. I can’t believe how much liquid this stuff sucked up… I think I must have added like four more cups over the next 45 minutes. I seasoned the amalgam with the general Italian herb mix, pepper, minced & dried onions, balsamic vinegar, and very small amounts of Frank’s Red Hot and worcestshire sauce. After a while, I added half a yellow bell pepper (diced). Then, later still, the chicken (now chopped up) went back in with a handful of grated cheddar and a little parmesan (like a tablespoon or two).

It took a really long time to make (relative to the stuff I usually cook), but I really liked it. I think the mushrooms were especially important in forming that pseudo-gravy that held everything together. I try not to use them much though because Brett really hates ‘em. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: I also added some fresh parsley and green onions towards the end.

The local IGA had a deal on obscure sodas last time we were there — 5 for $4. I was very pleased to find this included my favorite hard-to-find soft drink: Moxie Cherry Cola. I had a bottle earlier tonight while playing 90s Trivial Pursuit (which I borrowed from my sister) with Brett. (I lost, but just barely. Stupid golf questions.)

I’ve been talking to this local Magic player (Jaime) I met on craigslist. We’re going to try to get together for a game on Wednesday. I’m really looking forward to it — I haven’t played M:tG or GURPS in four months.

I had a really vivid, bright dream last night where I was buying fruit in a shopping mall grocery store in Coos Bay. There were video cameras everywhere, recording everything. Oh yeah, and I was wearing a crimson apron. I wonder if that means anything.

I’m trying something a little different with today’s post. I think it’ll appeal more to people with extremely short attention spans.

This is superbly disgusting, yet I couldn’t stop watching. Damn you, MetaFilter.

I read about this Mafia game Tim’s been playing, but I still can’t really figure it out. I mean, the rules are fairly clear, but I just can’t imagine it being very fun. I must be missing something. I’d like to try it sometime though.

Ever wonder how tattoo artists practice? Okay, to be fair, I don’t think that’s typical. But it’s a pretty amusing sight.

I just saw the Ebert & Roeper review for Hot Fuzz. I wasn’t super-psyched for it before, but I am now. I mean, I was always going to see it on principle, but now I’m really enthused. Don’t you think the title sounds kind of dirty? I suppose that was intended.

Have you seen that Discovery show How It’s Made? They totally stole my idea. When I was six I’d watch those Mister Rogers segments where he’d fire up Picture Picture and show kids how crayons, pretzels, etc. were manufactured. And I remember thinking “Jeez, this is the best part — they should just make this into its own TV show.” Anyway, I’ve been TiVoing those like mad lately.

I made some “chicken pocket” things from this recipe Brett’s mom sent him. They’re basically just bits of chicken in a cheesy sauce (a seasoned roux, some milk, and a handful of grated cheddar) ensconced in biscuit dough, then coated with a little beaten egg and dredged in crushed corn flakes. I had to make ‘em cuz I lost a bet with Brett about actors from The Office (I’d confused Ed Helms with Jason Sudeikis and didn’t think Pam was in Blades of Glory).

SNL had the funniest bit during Weekend Update last night. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a YouTube link. Brett and I have been quoting lines at each other all day though — “It’s called flirting,” “I’ll always have a little Princeton in me,” etc.

Okay, I think I’m done.

I downloaded the Wicked soundtrack a couple days ago. Originally, I only snatched a couple songs (love that μtorrent feature), but I found myself listening to them so much that I decided to go back and grab the others as well. My feelings about the musical have changed a lot since I saw it; I remember not liking it much right after the performance back in February, but now it seems like it was actually pretty enjoyable. After listening to the OST a couple times, the music’s really growing on me. I especially like the song Dancing Through Life. And the storyline seems more… I don’t know what. It was clever of course, but there are some things in there that seem particularly authentic — like how Elphaba kept wearing the black hat she’d gotten from Galinda (who meant it as a form of humiliation), and how it came to symbolize their genuine fondness for each other, then their feud, and finally Elphaba’s simultaneous love for Galinda and the acceptance that she was also someone who couldn’t be trusted.

I really like that theme in books, movies, and so on — where two very close friends become enemies but continue to observe some strange courtesies out of respect for their past friendship. Like, in X-Men, how Magneto and Professor X can still be polite to each other while (basically) trying to destroy one another. Or the camaraderie Laura Roslin and Tom Zarek share just before their execution in Battlestar Galactica. I’m skeptical about whether that sort of nobility really exists, but the mechanic feels especially true-to-life regardless.

TotD:

What is the nerdiest thing about you? What is the least nerdy thing about you?

The nerdiest? That’s hard to say, seeing as how there’s so much to choose from. A brief selection of possible answers: I own all seven seasons of ST:DS9 on DVD, my collection of graphic novels/TPBs takes up more than two shelves, I build my own computers, I’ve played characters in at least four different official D&D campaign settings, and I can recite the OSI layer sequence and T568B wiring standard from memory. The least nerdy thing about me: I frequently wear a Texas Longhorns hoodie. (I’m like 90% sure they’re a football team.)

I had a weird dream last night. One of the stranger things about it was that the whole thing was in muted reds, yellows, browns, and grays. Oh, and it was always sunset, even though the whole thing seemed to take place over days or weeks. I think I was some kind of civilian employed by this Indian captain named Sirhan. We were on the coast of India, fighting a war against these other Indians who’d allied with some European country (I think it was Prussia, but it might have been France or Austria, I can’t remember). Sirhan had a small fleet, but his men were well-trained so we didn’t have a problem holding off the enemy. But then the Europeans sent more sailing ships and Sirhan couldn’t compete with that. They ended up boarding his ship and killing everyone, but he escaped by diving over the side and swimming to the shore, even though it was miles away.

At some point in here, I ceased to be a character. Maybe the Europeans killed me. Anyway, the dream became more of a movie about Sirhan. When he got to the mainland, he sort of assumed control of his side’s remaining forces and ordered them to delay the enemy as much as possible by hiding in the woods and using guerrilla tactics. Then he journeyed really far inland, totally on foot, and returned a long time later wearing a dark red turban and accompanied by some old men. He said they were swamis who would help defeat the enemy.

That’s when things started getting pretty weird. The swamis explained that the whole war was chronicled (and now existed) in a twelve-volume set of books, and that by praying they could change the text. What was stranger was that Sirhan actually had the first volume with him, but wouldn’t say how he’d gotten it. And the swamis seemed to agree that it was impossible for someone in this world to have one of the books since we were all sort of in them.

Some stuff might have happened around that time that I can’t remember, but then the swamis were destroying the European’s ships. I could see the text in the books changing (like, sections being cut out or new text being pasted over old), and each time that happened, a galleon would start sinking or catch on fire. Towards the end of all that, I think Sirhan tricked the swamis and did something that let him skip ahead to the last volume. I got the impression that he was motivated by greed, but I don’t remember anything specific.

It was pretty neat. I wish I’d been able to continue it, because it was getting more interesting at the end. But that’s when I woke up. Upon reflection, I think Africa didn’t exist in the dream… I remember seeing maps in the books and it seemed like the Europeans had a pretty straight shot to India. Oh, and at some point, Sirhan was talking about the “five oceans of India.” Not sure how that actually worked.

TotD:

If you could pick a way to die, what would it be?

Cheerful question for Friday the 13th, right? Well, preferably, I’d like to bite it while doing something really fun. Like during an especially exciting GURPS game or something. As for the exact mechanism, I’d want something quick and relatively painless. Brain aneurysm, stroke, something along those lines. No one ever says “I want to get stomach cancer and linger on in horrible pain for months and months,” right? Of course, ideally, I’d kick the bucket while getting my brain scanned in a destructive upload, à la Transhuman Space. But I rather doubt that kind of technology will exist within my lifetime.