Deep Fried Live

Some people say that British tv is far superior to American tv. My experience was that British tv, especially the BBC, was mostly awful. Most of it was so painfully bad that my wife and I ended up going out and socializing. There were a few exceptions to the general rule that British tv is far worse than US tv. A handful of comedies were brilliant, but the real gems were the cooking shows. Programming like Can't Cook, Won't Cook and Ready, Steady, Cook are entertaining, and taught people practical cooking. In contrast US cooking shows tend to resemble Xtreme sports events, or blood feuds. However, the other day I discovered the best North American cooking programme of them all, and it is only available over the Web. Deep Fried Live is all that a cooking show should be. Check out, for example, the episode about how to cook a steak. The show explains in a clear, entertaining way how to cook a steak with out the cow's sacrifice being in vain. And the host is cool.

The NHL's CBA Failure

The NHL is back! As much as I hate to admit it I am glad the National Hockey League is playing again. I missed listening to Canucks games. I missed Yahoo's fantasy hockey. I missed watching the Capitals reach for the bottom of the barrel, and overshoot. Unfortunately the recent collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players' union has not solved the underlying problem with the sport: hockey is a regional sport. It is highly popular in Canada and parts of the US, but in much of America hockey is as popular as a squid in a bathtub. Adding shoot-outs is not going to make hockey pay in Florida. Until the NHL is willing to face reality (and the new CBA suggests that that is not going to happen for a while) and let teams like the Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes go under the league is not going to be financially stable. The NHL needs to stop pretending that it is the NBA. There is simply no interest in hockey in some parts of the US, and manipulating the finances of the entire league to subsidize teams in cities where most people think that ice is found in a ring, not a rink, will just hurt the league in the long run. In a perfect world I would like the see the NHL in Florida, and North Carolina, and DC, and Arizona; but in the real world that is a pipe dream. My message to the NHL is to practice some tough love and let the 800 hockey fans in those states watch the game on tv instead of live.

Republicans Court Porn Stars

At first I thought that this was a joke. President Bush and the Republican Party invite an adult film producer and and adult film star to a GOP fundraiser. But, it is true. The GOP invited adult film producer Mark Kulkis of Kick Ass Pictures (the Web link is link omitted in good taste, but a quick Google will find it for you if you want) to attend a $2500 a plate fund raiser in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 15, 2005. Also on the guest list was porn star Mary Carey. President Bush was present at the fund raiser. Imagine if that had been a Democratic fund raiser. We would never have heard the end of it. Why is the right-wing media suddenly silent on this breach of good taste and family values? Where is the FOX News coverage? Where is the indignation from middle America? It is funny how right and wrong depend on who is involved.

Octopus Suicides

Today is the 4th of July, so I did not have to go to work today. However, I ended up drawing the short straw and spening the day on call in case Swift detected a gamma-ray burst. That means that I am tied to my laptop and internet connection. To pass the time I did some research on octopuses. One of the more interesting things that I found is an article about the apparent suicides of some animals. It sometimes bothers me when people assume that animals, by definition, can not be conscious. No one really know what consciousness is, so it seems a bit arrogant to say that it is a purely human phenomenon. Probably the best approach is to say that animal consciousness is simply not understood.

Swimming

Never mind swimming with the dolphins. For an Xtreme experience try swimming with the squid.

Lord Vader Knows All

So you think that you are a real tough dude. So you think that you were born to be a Sith lord. Well, know you can challenge Lord Vader to a battle of wits to find out if you realy do belong at the Emporer's side. It is silly, but amusing.

Swimming in Greenbelt

I went swimming yesterday after work. The local outdoor pool opened about three weeks ago and I have been trying to go two or three times a week. Splashing around in the water is one of the nicer ways to deal with 30 degree heat and 95% humidity. I can barely swim, so I tend to spend a lot of time sitting in the pool watching people, and I have come to the conclusion that thong swimwear for men should be banned. Greenbelt is not Rio de Janeiro, so why do some guys insist on dressing as if it was?

Star Trek: The New Voyages

Now that Enterprise has died a long overdue death Star Trek has been delegated to the world of syndication and reruns, just like it was during that dark era known as the 1970s. Or has it been... A group of Star Trek fans has decided that the original Star Trek needs to be revived, but with new stories and new actors. The future of Star Trek may be on the InterNet in the form of Star Trek: New Voyages. New Voyages tells the stories of the fourth year of the Enterprise's five year mission. The creators have gone to considerable length to ensure that these new episodes capture the look and feel of the original series, and they succeed. Once I got past the fact that Kirk, Spock, Bones, and the rest are being portrayed by new actors I found myself caught up in the story. It made me feel like I was watching an episode of the original series. Star Trek, for me, is wrapped up in nostalgia. The original Star Trek was my first exposure to science fiction, and almost my first exposure to television. It was also one of the first things that I remember liking that my parents had no interest in. And I have not seen an episode of the original series in donkey's ages. This makes it hard for me to make an objective comparision between Star Trek, the original series, and Star Trek: New Voyages. Do I like the New Voyages because it has intrinsic merit, or do I like it because it reminds me of seeing an episode of the original series for the first time? I do not know, or care. Star Trek: New Voyages is worth watching. This may be the future of Star Trek: not as high-budget tv shows or movies, but as fan projects. The trekkies who created Star Trek: New Voyages were able to do something that no-one else has been able to do since the original series was cancelled: capture the feel of Star Trek. Check it out.

Giant Squid Recipe

Here is a recipe for giant squid. I suspect that "begihaundi" is not really architeuthis dux.

A Day in the Life

0730: Wake up and realise that I have overslept. Take a quick shower and run out the door to catch the bus.

0800: Catch the bus and doze off for fifteen minutes.

0820: Get to my office and realise that I forgot the keys at home. The next ten minutes is spent trying to find someone who has a master key.

0830: I finally get into my office. I spend the next half hour looking at the data from last night's big, bright, exciting gamma-ray burst.

0900: The dreaded Mission Operations Control daily teleconference. I waste an hour on the phone when I would much rather be looking at data, or even getting a root canal done.

1015: The weekly Swift/UVOT (UltraViolet/Optical Telescope) science teleconference takes place. Everyone is all atwitter about the big, bright, exciting gamma-ray burst that happened last night (and kept me up until one in the morning). We decide to write a paper on it and I get assigned the task of analysing the way that the optical and ultraviolet light faded.

1130: I spend the next hour and a half analysing the data and having a grand old time. This is the best part of my job.

1300: Buy a sandwich at the canteen and take it back to my desk. No lunch hour for the dedicated.

1315: Spend the next three hours or so working on the gamma-ray burst data. It looks good!

1600: Yet another teleconference. We prattle on to each other for about an hour and accomplish essentially nothing. I spend far to much of my time talking to people.

1700: Work on the gamma-ray burst data some more.

1740: Get a ride home with the person a couple of offices down.

1750: Arrive home, change my shoes, and go to T`ai Chi class.

1800: Spend two hours doing T`ai Chi. All stress seeps out of me and into the ground, where I never need to worry about it again.

2000: Go shopping for something for supper. I buy an ham steak, a quart of milk, a loaf of bread, some breakfast cereal, and a small box of cookies. Junk food rules.

2030: Arrive home and make supper. I make a rosti (potato pancake) and fry up half of the ham steak. Serve it with a green salad and drink a couple of glasses of water. For dessert I pig out on cookies.

2100: Socialize with my roommate for an hour or so, and learn more than I ever imagined about artificial legs.

2200: Write today's blog entry.

2230: Go to bed and read a chapter or two of Neverwhere (a great book).

2300: Go to sleep.