Posted by Barron • Living • Memories • Personal • Random Thoughts • Comments • Permalink

Hot on the heels of my last revelation, this morning I figured out that Gnip Gnop’s name is Ping Pong spelled backwards. It only took 30 years to come to that realization. Another step closer to enlightenment, I guess.

Posted by Barron • Living • Food • Comments • Permalink

Last night we went out for my Birthday dinner. Usually it’s something like sushi or (when I ate meat) a big juicy steak, but this time I went for something a little different. We went to Red Lobster! I recently saw the commercial for their “Endless Shrimp” dinner and thought it would be tasty, and it was actually pretty good! You get your choice from five different kinds of shrimp, plus one side and a salad. Here’s a quick summary of the shrimp offererings, ordered from least favorite to favorite:

• Breaded: Just a basic type. You need some kind of sauce with this. Breading fills you up.
• Coconut Shrimp: Sweet, almost candy-like breading. Can’t eat too many of these.
• Cajun: A little spicy, and lots of flavor. Too much salt, though.
• Shrimp Scampi: Garlicky and oily. Very tasty but a little too salty.
• Teriyaki Grilled: Nice grilled flavor, and tasty sauce. Very much reminiscent of yakitori. Shrimp seemed a little more plump too.

A nice glass of Samuel Adams oktoberfest accompanied the meal, which was perfect. I ate so much shrimp, maybe about six or seven orders so I think I am done with shrimp for a good long while!

Posted by Barron • Living • Food • Comments • Permalink

My entire life I have enjoyed eating eggs. Scrambled, omelettes, Eggs Benedict, over-easy (or is that easy-over?), hard and soft-boiled. It’s all yummy! But up until this past year, a thought has always been with me: “How come I’ve never seen any evidence of a baby chicken in any of these eggs?” It’s been in the back of my mind every time that I cracked open an egg that just this once, I’d see a partially-formed chicken embryo or something. It was only when I visited a farm for a friend’s son’s birthday party that I found the answer. I picked up a book in the little gift shop where it describes raising chickens. I discovered that the hens lay eggs whether or not they are fertilized. What a revelation! This actually explains why some people who do not eat meat, still eat eggs.

From Wikipedia:

Most commercially produced chicken eggs intended for human consumption are unfertilized, since the laying hens are kept without roosters. Fertile eggs can be purchased and eaten as well, with little nutritional difference. Fertile eggs will not contain a developed embryo, as refrigeration prohibits cellular growth for an extended amount of time.

I wonder if this is common knowledge or just something people don’t think about. I am guessing everyone but me knew this.

Posted by Barron • Creativity • Books • Comments • Permalink

I love reading. A good book is a friendly retreat or a safe, comfortable place you can go back to at a moment’s notice. I’ve got a lot of books on my reading list, several of them at my bedside. This is kind of the problem I’m having at the moment. The only time I have to read (and it’s the most enjoyable time for me) is when I crawl into bed. Unfortunately, I get so comfortable that I will quickly fall asleep, usually within only two or three pages. It doesn’t matter if the book is super-exciting or not, my eyelids will get heavy, I forget what I just read and have to reread paragraphs, and then the book will slip from my hands. I really want to get a nice chair and maybe a table to read at, but I’m not sure where the best place in the house to read would be. I’m pretty sure that this setup will buy me at least 20 pages of quality reading. I think it’s time for a trip to IKEA to see what I can get!

Posted by Barron • Creativity • Film and Video • Personal • Funny • Comments • Permalink

Elwood: I bet these cops got SCMODS.
Jake: SCMODS?
Elwood: State County Municipal Offender Data System.

(Thanks, Lopan, for conjuring up that good memory from The Blues Brothers)

Posted by Barron • Personal • Rants • Comments • Permalink

For the past week my skin has been really itchy, and there are small red dots appearing on my thighs and arms. The kind of look like flea bites, but only become bothersome and distracting in the evening. I thought I was having an allergic reaction to something I ate, but my diet has been pretty typical since the onset of this. I am hoping it goes away soon, because sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and end up scratching my legs and then I force myself to stop, but then it feels like my legs are on fire. Today I put some Walsporin (Walgreens flavor of Neosporin) on my right arm, and it really helped. I’d rather not use medicine, but if it doesn’t go away soon, it looks like a trip to the doc is in order. Ok, that’s it for this TMI post!