Blogma

Computical Physicing

Week 16

Cooking can be fun, but I'm wary whenever I see recipes that include steps such as "pat dry" or "mince finely" or "let sit for 45 minutes".

I don't mind stirring until well-mixed or chop into large chunks - coarse violence is fine, I just don't like steps that require precision.

My favorite recipes include the word 'dump', as in, "Open can. Dump contents into bowl."
'Pouring' suggests some amount of care, while 'dump' means it doesn't matter if some falls on the floor, if you leave some in the can to eat later with a spatula.

The latest humanoid robot (from Japan, of course) is named Qrio (pronounced 'queerio'? 'curio'?). It's dancing isn't too good, and although the makers claim it can run, it runs as slowly as it walks, so no big advance there. It can through a ball pretty well, and that's amazing.
But - all of this kind of work is the same as the mechanical automata from a few hundred years ago in Germany and Switzerland - it's all mimicry and while it helps to understand movement, it doesn't seem to bring us any closer to a real intelligence.

Short story idea: A petty criminal(A) becomes a thief of identity (of person B). He gets in trouble when it turns out the person whose identity he stole(B) is being pursued by a mysterious person(C).
Despite trying to undo the credit accounts he has in the other(B) name, he(A) cannot convince the assailant(C) that he isn't really the other person(B).
He(A) gets a note from someone(D) looking for this other person(B), and says he(D) has money for person B - an inheitance from the sister of person B.
Person A again pretends to be person B and meets person D, who is really person B and had been pretending to be person C as well.
And then hilarity ensues, or maybe someone dies.

My new favorite snack: fish sticks with Japanese mayonnaise

Game idea: first-person perspective in 3D-environment. You and a few other people are on some planet - you're competing with them. There are lots of resources, but you alone can't do much. However, there are loads of robots hanging around, and you can walk up to them and program them to gather wood or food or whatever. So, pretty soon, you can lie back and watch your minions serve you. But, you can also hunt down the other players' robots and either destroy them, or better yet, hack into them so that they carry the goods back to your house instead.

I haven't made a gingerbread house in a while, but I remember the one lesson I learned all those years ago: Have a theme (of flavors)

It's no good to bite into it and have the taste of licorice, gum drops, nonpareils, ginger, and frosting.
If I were to do one now I would go for all chocolate (haven't seen that before), all fruity, or all spice (cardamom, cinnamon, etc.)

Also, if you're not making a spice-themed house, I would make the ginger part of the gingerbread rather mellow. I don't think ginger plays very well with chocolate or fruit.
Which makes me wonder why we don't just abandon gingerbread altogether and go for Rice Krispy squares - that's a good building material, and makes for a better 'flavor canvas' on top of which you can add other flavors.

And thirdly, it wouldn't hurt to take the notion of 'bite-size' into account.
If you're putting snowmen or shrubbery in the yard, make sure they're designed in terms of size and flavors to make good one-off pop-in-your mouth treats.

- Avoid the use of Hershey's Kisses. While they are a decent candy, their real purpose is to satisfy you when there's no other candy around. If you're standing in front of a whole building made of candy, you want to quickly swallow the slow-masticating varieties of treat and move on!

In conclusion, you may be better off just looking at the house while digging into a pint of Ben & Jerry's.

Have you ever been in a tight spot and wondered, "What would Jared Subway do?"
Don't fret. I'll tell you.
He would get a pack of Top Ramen (any flavor, but watch out for the 'Muy Picante' packs!) and break up the noodles while still in the plastic.
Then, he would open the wrapper along the seam and eat the dry noodles right out of the bag.
Then, he would take the little flavor packet and put it in the cupboard, 'just in case'.
Ahh. Now, don't you feel better?

"The Way Things Go," is an awesome movie, and it inspired a guy to make a toy called Cat-A-Pults that is like dominoes cascading onto each other, but is a series of catapults. He calls his work 'gestural engineering' and is a 'specialist' in chain reactions. I like all that Rube Goldberg stuff.

The article, like the recent one in the New Yorker, describe how difficult it is to market original toys when the industry is dominated by packaging and instant gratification.

Suppose I took a career as toymaker? Suppose the only outlet for my work was the little plastic gew-gaws in McDonald's Happy Meals? Would I be satisfied?

Many cooks make light work but too many hands spoil the soup.

I feel like Stuporman!