The Chain is Broken!

When I first started at my new job in March, I had a problem finding places to eat lunch at. Most of my coworkers would "brown bag" in lunches from home, which I am not a fan of. (I usually don't even prepare my own dinner these days.) At my old jobs, there was a cafeteria in the building, which afforded everyone quick, easy access to good food. However, here I only knew of one restaurant in the area (Panera). I ate there the first day and thought, "Unless I do something, I am going to end up eating here every single day." So the next day, I got onto Google maps and searched for restaurants close to Panera, and I found a whole bunch on the same street. After about a month, I moved onto another street. And I kept going. Sometimes I would find an outdoor mall that would "last me" for an entire week by itself. Sometimes, the restaurant I found would be closed during lunch, and I would end up scrambling. Sometimes, time constraints would force me to pick a cheap fastfood restaurant. And sometimes, I would have a noon-meeting or some such that would feed me at work and preempt needing to find a place to eat. But every day that I went out, I found somewhere new.

That was in March. It's now November. I've eaten at well over 100 restaurants. I never would have guessed I could last this long. I probably could keep going, too, if I wanted to utilize downtown restaurants, but I hate dealing with parking and with long lines, so I finally threw in the towel. To commemorate it, I even ate at that first Panera that I started out with. Overall, I would say the whole project was a huge success--I had to make continuous effort to keep that streak going, and I learned about a lot of restaurants that I didn't know existed and tried a lot of things I probably wouldn't have otherwise in the process. I highly recommend everyone try a similar project where they push themselves to do a little something new continuously over a long time period.

WotLK Release Party

The new World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, came out last Thursday. They even had a midnight release--just like the previous expansion's release. However, unlike the last midnight release, which took place at most Game Stops across America. And to top things, four were announced as official Blizzard launch parties--one of which was in Austin. There was a big tent, Blizzard developers available to sign game boxes, and even Scott Kurtz of the PvP Online webcomic.

Now, I use to be extremely active in WoW, but I formally retired from the game. However, I still felt obligated to check this out given its proximity. I got there late, however, so I missed all the pre-midnight festivities. Post-midnight, all I saw were long, long, long lines. There was a long line for people who had pre-ordered their game, an even longer line for those who hadn't, and even a line to meet Scott Kurtz. I was forced to leave--I really wanted to meet Scott, but even that would take more than a hour of waiting, and there just wasn't much else to do. I'm sure the whole affair was an extremely memorable occasion for the avid fans who could make the trek and who endured the wait to participate; however, I think it begs the question whether the masses are in general better served with a limited release in a few select locations and long lines or a wide release with none of the hoopla but much shorter lines.

Veni, Vidi, Fodi

Sad news today. the Mars Phoenix lander's mission is officially over. Translation: communication from Phoenix has ceased, and it is not expect to resume. Phoenix is a stationary robot sent to Mars' North pole to dig for and analyze ice. The days on Mars growing drastically shorter due to the upcoming winter season, meaning that Phoenix receives little energy from its solar panels. Meanwhile, the temperature is dropping drastically. It is expected to reach -200F, at which point Phoenix will be encased inside carbon dioxide ice and the internal circuitry is expected to fail.

Phoenix has gotten a lot of attention on the internet due largely to a Twitter feed and series of Gizmodo blog posts (ghostwritten, of course). It's not the first such personification of a spacecraft through a Twitter feed, however, the predetermined fate of Phoenix--that he would quickly "die" from the upcoming winter--added a sense of noblity to Phoenix. When he first started nonchelantly describing shutting off the heaters on his arm to conserve power risking it freezing, there was a huge showing of sympathy. When he later blogged about how he expected to be eventually encased in ice and never resume operation, it was outright heart-touching. After a series of communication lapses, Phoenix "wrote" one last Twitter post yesterday, "01010100 01110010 01101001 01110101 01101101 01110000 01101000 <3">

You will be missed, our mechanical friend.

Peanut Butter-Banana Protein Smoothies

This is a favorite recipe of mine for making protein shakes. It's easy and quick. I usually prepare one after every workout to give myself a quick protein-heavy snack right before jumping in the shower.

1. Pour 1 cup skim milk into a clean blender


2. Add 1 cup of ice


3. Add 1 peeled banana


4. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of creamy low-fat peanut butter


5. Add 1 serving of chocolate-flavored protein powder


6. Add 1 tablespoon of honey


7. Blend thoroughly, serve

Here are some tips:

• There are different types of protein powders. Whey (animal protein) usually costs more than soy (plant protein) but is more effective at building muscle.


• Serving sizes for protein powder will vary by brand. Read the box for the recommended amount.


• Adding the peanut butter can be messy as it will stick to almost everything. Try using an ordinary butter knife and scraping it against the used banana peel over the blender. The peanut butter won't stick to the banana peel.


• Make sure to rinse off the blender quickly! It will be much more difficult to clean if the smoothie residue dries up.

Happy Post-Election Day

And the results are in! Obama wins the presidency, Austin loses millions in a sales tax subsidy, California loses gay marriages, San Francisco loses its last chance to name a sewage treatment center after George W., Minnesota may or may not gain a comedian for a senator (still to be decided!), and Alaska elects a corrupt convicted felon for senator. That last point is particularly disturbing and indicative of how messed up politics are, IMHO. Alaskans voted for Ted Stevens because they thought he did such a great job; unfortunately, this really just means they like how he appropriates national funds for Alaskan pork-and-barrel projects such as the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere". In short: they disapprove of how he corruptly abuses his political power to funnel money to himself, but this is counter-balanced by how he corruptly abuses his political power to funnel money to the state of Alaska.

I've been trying to stay on top of politics this election cycle, partially because I've irresponsibly shirked past elections entirely. I started by monitoring the bipartisan politico.com, then I started watching realclearpolitics.com and fivethirtyeight.com, but finally, I just started reading the very-trashy very-unPC but highly amusing wonkette.com. Unfortunately, I can't really say that I'm off any better for all the effort. :-)

"My Name is Bruce" In Limited Released

Bruce Campbell's newest movie was released in limited theaters this past weekend. However, I had the fortune to see its world premiere at the Alamo Drafthouse last week. And, to top it off, the man himself attended and hosted a Q&A with the audience after the showing.

Now, I admit, the fact that I consider Army of Darkness to be the greatest movie ever has probably biased my opinion about Bruce Campbell. However, he is one of those individuals who just becomes increasingly admirable the more you learn about him. First off, this film was essentially his child. Not only did he star in it, but he also directed and co-produced it. He even had the set built on his own property in Oregon. Second, he chose to premiere it at a (relatively) small venue like the Alamo in an isolated city like Austin because he loves alternative pro-movie-buff places like it and wants to support them however he can. Third...the man is one cool customer. He gave a hell of a Q&A. Such charisma!

If you enjoy any of Bruce's previous works, I highly recommend you check out "My Name is Bruce." Even without seeing the man in person, it's still a pretty enjoy way to spend 90 minutes.