Friday, February 25, 2011

Car Fancy

As you know, I appreciate cars. Some anonymous auto journalists I know just started a car humor site, complete with original memes (the first of which is "drunk guy who still wants to give you a ride home" or something like that).


It's car-fancy.blogspot.com, and it's a hoot. Follow these boys, comment, and generally have a laugh courtesy of some snarky insiders. In the meantime, you can continue to enjoy my admittedly not-as-funny reflections on autos, games, food, and random lulz here.

Friday, February 18, 2011

TSA, unions, and security theater.

I heard today that republicans want to block TSOs from unionizing because it would be a threat to national security. That's so many shades of stupid that it gave me an instant headache. We can just go ahead and dismiss that one. First of all, the TSA doesn't keep us safe. It's a farce. Secondly, national security has nothing to do with why the Republicans don't want a TSO union. Why lie so blatantly, especially with such an absurd comment?

Now, I'll admit that I'm not really familiar with the politics of unions, never having been in one or worked with one. That said, I'm going to have to go ahead and say I'm against the TSA unionizing. That's not because I'm against unions; like I said, I don't know enough to come to such a broad conclusion. No, I'm loath to the idea because the TSA is a farce, and, as far as I understand, it would be more likely to stick around if it was legitimized by organized labor. Union fighting for the rights of workers that do more harm than good doesn't strike me as ideal. I'd rather the TSA just go away altogether.

Sort of related, but not directly: I opt out of the x-ray scanners. Why unnecessarily expose myself to radiation (and to whomever is looking at me through the screen) that might be harmful if I don't have to? I'm not saying those machines will kill me, but I'd rather have some nervous TSO feel me up than roll the dice on something that has absolutely no benefit for me or anybody else.

Um, they're all suckers?

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Less than slash three.

Apologies for not posting anything in a few days. My heart has been busy breaking.

I have been fostering two dogs for a few months, and it is almost time for them to move on. This being my first time fostering an animal, I underestimated my defenselessness to becoming attached. If I didn't already have more than my fair share of pets, I would have adopted these sweethearts, but I knew coming into this that I couldn't. In fact, early on, I couldn't wait for these little rascals to leave. Now, though, they've become such loving companions, and I find myself loving them back, despite my attempts to remain objective.

I haven't felt a sense of loss like this since my mother died. I should have known I'd likely have trouble letting go. It was the right things to rescue these pups, but now it's so hard to say goodbye, knowing that I'll probably never see them again.



This fucking sucks. </3

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Beautiful evil.

So, my layout for this blog depicts a hummingbird feeding on a flower (look to the left of this text). That flower is from a tree common in warmer climes in North and South America. That tree scares the crap out of me.


It belongs to the genus Datura. It's better known as jimson weed, angel's trumpet, or more appropriately, devil's trumpet. The plant Datura stramonium contains a chemical called scopolamine:


Scopolamine has practical uses, for instance, preventing motion sickness. But, more importantly, it's a really dangerous drug that basically makes a person totally obedient to suggestion, while still appearing lucid, and not remembering anything while under its influence. In Columbia (and elsewhere), scopolamine has been used to get people to give over their money, belongings, and their body, all "willingly." Vice has a couple riveting videos, where Ryan Duffy visits Columbia to learn more about the nefarious uses of devil's trumpet.

Part One:



Part Two:



I was in Florida earlier this year, and came across some sort of Datura. I took a flower, and showed it to a local at my hotel. He called it "angel's trumpet," and told me about how it was recently in the local news. Apparently, some teenagers made a tea out of it to try to get high. It ended up killing them.

Beautiful flower, though.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Exhausted, and I'm not even drunk yet.

Today was a really long day. Got up early to be on the radio, then spent the afternoon doing a photo shoot (which involved spending a lot of time outside in the freezing cold). In a few minutes, it's off to the boutique for a few hours. There, I'll probably get a head start on drinking. Afterward, unless people twist my arm enough to go out, I'll come home and play Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

I completed Fallout: New Vegas in just one of the many possible ways, but I'm gonna lay off that one for a while. I'm looking forward to a game where I don't have to make so many decisions, and I can just pick it up and play it for a few minutes at a time if I want. A game where nobod— OH MY GOD A PUPPY IN A BLANKET!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Chevrolet revealed the Camaro ZL1 today.


The 2012 Camaro ZL1 just bowed in Chicago. It has a 6.2-liter supercharged LSA V-8, good for 550 horsepower. Six-speed manual with a racing clutch. Dual-mode exhaust, like the Corvette. Magnetic Ride suspension, like the Cadillac CTS-V. Brembo Brakes.

Sounds pretty damned hot, but will it cannibalize CTS-V (or even Corvette) sales? I guess my answer is, "Who cares?" as long as I get to drive it.


Mullety muscle!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

A-ha! I knew I had it somewhere.

Earlier, I posted my recipe for fried hominy, but I couldn't find a photo to go along with it. Well, I found one. This is what it looks like when it's just about done:


Mmmm, mmm! Goes down great with a cerveza and a shot of tequila.

For this recipe, I used a couple of those hot cherry bell peppers, and left some of the seeds in for extra heat.

Play around with it. Let me know if you find any tasty variations.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Moments earlier.


This is what he looked like before I turned his head into a chair.

Dog, I love this game.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Anyone else play Fallout?


In the future, chairs are a lot different.

I'll just leave this here.

Come on babe!

Foodies, take note. This guy is awesome:



I love his truck too. Gonna go home and make some damn spaetzle now.

Makin' biscuits.



Check out those creepy/cute paws!

"Hominy, hominy, hominy, hominy, num, num, num"

That's a Nelly Furtado quote, I think.


Anyway, I was messing around in the kitchen and made up a really easy vegetarian Hominy recipe. It makes a great starchy side dish, or a light, filling meal.

Ingredients:
-1 big ass (I think it's like 29 oz.) can of Hominy, drained & rinsed (I use Juanitas, found in the Mexican aisle)
-2 Hot peppers, diced (or sometimes i use one of those tiny cans of green chiles)
-1/2 to 1 (depending on how much you like onion) red oninon, chopped
-Olive oil (non-veg, traditional recipe uses bacon grease)
-Salt
-Pepper
-Chili Powder (optional)
-Lime juice (optional)

Instructions:

Heat up some olive oil in a big ass pan or wok. Toss in hominy. Let that simmer real low and heat up. Add more oil to lightly coat the kernels.

Toss in onions and peppers. Stir until you get the onions just how you want them. I like 'em a little transparent, a little caramelized.

Add salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste. Splash a little bit of lime juice in there if you want. Mix it all up, let it soak in.

Put it on a plate and nom.

The leftovers are really good, too. Like chili, the flavors really mature overnight.