Once again, the divine Jane is the inspiration for this post!

1. Are your parents married or divorced?
   Divorced since I was … hmmm … ten? I forget.
2. Are you a vegetarian?
   No, I’m an omnivore. I love veggies, but I couldn’t give up meat.
3. Do you believe in Heaven?
   No.
4. Have you ever come close to dying?
   Truthfully? Every time I get in my car; but seriously? Nah.
5. What jewelry do you wear 24/7?
   Nuttin’. I even take my watch off when I sit at my desk.
6. Favorite time of day?
   Between getting home from work and bed.
7. Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
   Oh, absolutely! They steam up beautifully.
8. Do you wear makeup?
   Um. No, I’m a traditional sort of guy in that regard.
9. Ever have plastic surgery?
   Nope. There isn’t enough plastic to fix my body, anyway.
10. What do you wear to bed?
    Depends, but not Depends!
11. Have you ever done anything illegal?
    Just being who I am is illegal in most states, thanks to boneheads running this country.
12. Can you roll your tongue?
    Yep. I can also do a great imitation of a frog. Wanna see?
13. Do you tweeze your eyebrows?
    Only when they’re getting a little to Isaac Asimov-y.
14. What kind of sneakers?
    Generally none. I hardly ever wear trainers.
15. What is your hair color?
    What’s left could be charitably described as “grey-brown.”
16. Do you snore?
    I probably wake the dead the next county over.
17. If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?
    Europe. Egypt. Central America. Where wouldn’t I go?
18. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
    No. They can’t give consent!
19. If you won the lottery, what would you do first?
    Assuming the amount was sufficient? Wipe out my and my mom’s debts.
20. Gold or silver?
    Silver!
21. Hamburger or hot dog?
    Both. Silly.
22. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
    This is a trick question, isn’t it…
23. City, beach or country?
    If those are my ONLY choices… city.
24. What was the last thing you touched?
    My keyboard. How else am I writing this?
25. Where did you eat last?
    My desk.
26. When’s the last time you cried?
    February 1, 2010, when I had to put my sweet cat Máire to sleep.
27. Do you read blogs?
    Um, no. Why would I want to do that? (Where do you think I got this post from in the first place? )
28. Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?
    Only if I wanted to kill people with laughter.
29. Ever been involved with the police?
    Define “involved.” And yes, I plead the Fifth.
30. What’s your favourite shampoo and conditioner?
    Garnier Fructis, I guess, because it’s two in one and works well enough.
31. Do you talk in your sleep?
    Are you offering to find out?
32. Ocean or pool?
    Ocean. If I’m going to drown, I at least want to sink into sand.
33. Who would you take on a ménage à trois for a dirty weekend?
    Move along, there’s nothing to see here.
34. Window seat or aisle?
    In an airplane? Aisle.
35. Ever met anyone famous?
    Yes. Oh, you want to know who? That’ll cost you extra.
36. Do you feel that you’ve had a truly successful life?
    No. My life peaked in about 1992 and has largely been going downhill since.
37. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
    Yes.
38. Basketball or Football?
    Why would I want EITHER?
39. How long do your showers last?
    About fifteen minutes. It takes time to clean this much real estate!
40. Automatic or do you drive a stick?
    Automatic. I have better things to do with my hands while driving than constantly hold that shift lever.
41. Cake or ice cream?
    Again: Yes.
42. Are you self-conscious?
    Yes, that’s my photo next to the definition in the dictionary.
43. Have you ever drank so much you threw up?
    Once, and never again.
44. Have you ever given money to a beggar?
    Yes, I pay my taxes every year…
45. Have you been in love?
    Yes.
46. Where do you wish you were?
    At home.
47. Are you wearing socks?
    Yes.
48. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
    No, and I hope to avoid that thrill, thank you.
49. Can you tango?
    No.
50. Last gift you received?
    They were on Christmas, and I don’t remember which one I opened last.
51. Last sport you played?
    Golf? No, wait, archery, in College 1.0, in the previous millennium.
52. Things you spend a lot of money on?
    Food, computers, my mortgage, my credit cards.
53. Where do you live?
    In a small townhouse in a small town outside of Washington, DC.
54. Where were you born?
    Manistee, MI.
55. Last wedding attended?
    My sister’s, in 1994.
56. Most hated food(s)?
    Olives.
57. Can you sing?
    Not while anyone sober is listening.
58. Last person you texted?
    Konstantin.
59. Last place you went on holiday?
    Syracuse, NY… though it wasn’t exactly on holiday.
60. Favourite regular drink?
    Coke.
61. Current Song?
    “Bachelorette” has been going through my head a lot lately.

Engadget has an interesting article on the computing concept called Locus OS by Barton Smith. A short vimeo-hosted video shows the latest demo concept:

The software is designed to run on something called the “Stream adaptive computer system,” a modular computing platform optimized for mobile work.

Smith has apparently been working on the concepts for some time, which explains their polish. He claims they predate existing mobile computing platforms (iPhone, iPad, Windows mobile, etc.), but it’s pretty clear from the video that he’s enamored of Microsoft’s Zune and their design philosophy. Nevertheless, it’s a nice approach that takes the old Desktop metaphor and more or less throws it out the window in favor of location and task orientation. Parked at home on your “big” system, Locus would organize its interface along the lines of common home tasks: accounting, console games, media player. Take the Locus-running device with you on a jog and its interface might shift to playing music, recording time, or even interfacing with biology-monitoring devices to give you feedback on your workout.

It’s an interesting concept, and something I think all computing-experience devices will eventually trend toward. Computers are migrating away from the stand-alone tower in the study or laptop in the living room and toward “cloud-connected” mini-devices that are increasingly like consumer products than geek playgrounds. Where are we headed next? Does Locus have a place in your pocket?

New York Magazine’s Is ChatRoulette the Future of the Internet or Its Distant Past? is an interesting tour of a new-ish and probably soon to be popular-ish Web site that engages visitors in anonymous instant webcam-based chatting—sort of like Skype on random dial, as it were.

The service sounds interesting and scary at the same time. As the author points out, the demographic is predictably young and hypersexualised (thanks, Tiger Woods) and graphic. Rejection stems from whatever the viewer’s prejudice or fetish drives. You can have “serious” conversations, but they’re quite rare.

Ever despair at what to make with a limited amount of ingredients on hand? Supercook: recipe search by ingredients you have at home comes to the rescue!

typetaste-small2.jpg 600×1015 pixels.

The Washington, DC area is in its second major blizzard of the winter. Where I live we’re expected to receive at least 65 cm (about two feet) of snow—and as of posting time, I think we’ve already surpassed that amount.

Some photos:

2010-01-04-snips21_web.jpg 520×642 pixels.

Microsoft warns of IE flaw, turns PC into public file server. Just in case you’re still running a dinosaur of an operating system and using a dinosaur of a Web browser…

PFR for Healthy Choice Hearty Vegetable Barley Soup

Rating

★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Cons

1. Mostly tasteless
2. Sits in the stomach like an unpleasant glop

Pros

1. Reasonably healthy
2. Convenient

Details

• Serving size: 250 g (one bowl)
  (Likely true serving size: 250 g [one bowl])
  Note: values below are based on manufacturer’s stated serving size.
• kCal: 140
• Fat (saturated): 1 g (0 g)
• Sodium: 430 mg
• Carbs (fiber): 30 g (4 g)
• Sugars: 6 g
• Protein: 4 g
• Whole ingredients? Mostly
• Hidden sugars? Maltodextrin
• HFCS? No!

Worth It?

No!

Final Words

If you want a hearty vegetable barley soup, this is not the product you’re looking for. The texture of the soup was perturbingly viscous from an excess of barley (or barley-lookalike) and tasted largely like waterlogged pieces of cardboard. There was very little color in the cardboard as well, and the only thing that saved it at all was a large box of tasty crackers I had on hand—which, of course, negated any supposed health benefits from the soup. My opinion? If you want a good soup, get the real thing instead of this so-called “Healthy Choice.”