Black holes

Seems like if the big bang was not the first big bang, and it's a cyclical event, then black holes may become unstable once they run out of matter to consume. Once all black holes have consumed their galaxies, and all the available ISM, and each other, and there is just one, and it runs out of all matter to consume, all gravity is consolidated, all EVERYTHING is consolidated, then a new reaction begins to occur, like an engine that has run out of coolant. The reaction reaches a critical point and an explosion occurs that is proportionate to the mass of the object.

Of course, this depends on the assumption that the Universe will stop expanding, and that the weak force known as gravity will gradually mop up.

Thus spoke The Armchair Physicist.

Brain dump

"Well Rebecca, get your basket, let's go down to the wood,

You might not pick any berries but you'll come back feeling good." (Fiery Furnaces)

The Fiery Furnaces are going to be here on Saturday. 'Nuff said.

My boss has an agenda incongruent w/my own. Sixty hours gets me fifteen minutes of face-to-face on the phone, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't really listen to me then, except to determine how to stay a step ahead.

The secret to Szechuan dry-fried beef is to fry it twice. The first time draws out excess moisture. The second fry gives you chewy, delicious strips of beef. Add a Thai twist by dry frying with nam prik pao!

I'm taking one class this semester: Probability. The classes are from 11-12, two days a week. There's an unsophisticated pun it there somewhere.

Cold beer.

I have a couple of really great ideas per year. It's fairly exciting when it happens. Someone with initiative could get rich on these ideas, and maybe change the technology landscape. I document them thoroughly, and stuff them away.

CC's Depot Dogs

I actually went to Home Depot today just to get two fully loaded hot dogs and a Diet Coke. The hilarity of that is just now setting in. At the time it seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do. I was really craving one of those hot dogs, so I went to Home Depot for lunch. Yep, yep.

I think I'm addicted. I could eat two more right now. The combination of that celery salt and the hot and sour sport peppers (pickled peppers) cutting through the warm, meaty flavor of the hot dog is divine. A cold Diet Coke washes it down... man. It's only 1:50pm... I could still get out there and get some more...

Thomas Grandi's amazing turns

Put this on loop, lie down, and let your brain melt right out your ear...

Awesome New Asian Fusion Recipe

I've been working on it for about a week now. I think it's one of my best ever for three reasons: First, it tastes like nothing else, and it tastes wonderful. Second, it's impossible to not get right. Third, it's versatile.

• Heat three to four to five tablespoons of peanut oil in a sauté pan over medium to low heat.
• Add a good, healthy portion (like say three forkfuls) of Tianjin preserved vegetable. (If you've never heard of this stuff, you should be able to find it at your local Asian market. Warning: it's addictive.) This portion gets bigger every time, but I think four forkfuls may be the upper limit.
• Add a hefty amount of fresh ginger - like a whole thumb, including the fleshy part attached to the palm, cut into slices of approximately 200 micrometers. (That's 1/5th of a millimeter. It's easier to get thin slices of ginger if you slice WITH the grain. You don't really have to use the digital calipers, but thinner is better.)

Heat until the ingredients become fragrant. This is the base. From here there are two variations, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're just making rice, then...

• Shred 1 whole fennel bulb into hearty, slaw-like pieces w/a knife, add to sauté

Or, if you're making pork chops, then...

• Add 1/2 tsp of anise seeds

If you went the fennel route, you need to cook that fennel for a few minutes until it's tender. Keep the heat no higher than medium. These ingredients can burn. If you went the anise seeds route, then you just sauté for a minute more. Either way, the next step is...

• Add 1 tsp of fresh minced garlic

Heat until garlic is cooked, like maybe 1-2 minutes, then remove everything from the pan, except for any excess oil.

The next step would be to either 1) cook your chops in the leftover oil until done, and then at the end turn up the heat to give them a nice browning, and then serve w/the mixture on top of them, or 2) fold the mixture into a heap of cooked jasmine rice.

It's really, really, really, really good. I mean really good.