Random thoughts and questions

Did I mention that before I used the water from the bacon to make soup, I used it to boil cabbage. YUM.

I only wish I'd set some of it aside to make tea :-(

*sarcastic yay*

After a week of being unemployed I've finally found one job I'm qualified to apply for!

You know, they do sell bacon coffee...

Is it a bl...

never mind.

I love that this was in the plural. When madkevin writes his tell-all memoirs, I'm buying a copy.

National Geographic has a show about Sandy already. Spoilers, now you too can share in that moment where I saw a giant blue flash and immediately felt the need to post in fear.

Apparently the Fabulous Sports Babe, a sports radio legend, is in her 60s. I had no idea she was that old.

no one told me that RPG maker is so great
why not

We were scared.

...first episode...Battlestar Galactica...three hours of emotion-jerking...why...must watch rest...so say we all!

Holy shit I'm tired. So say we all.

Hostess may liquidate its entire business by the end of the week. I sort of feel like I should be stocking up on Twinkies before they are gone.

Man, I haven't purchased a Twinkie in probably thirty years.

It's lasted me this long.

My co-workers were surprisingly uninterested in my idea for a Thief-2 style home invasion game.

I was trying to watch my roommate play Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but got distracted imagining it as a high-budget porn film. I don't think we'll ever finish the game now. >.<

being at work since 6.30 am; finding out today that there's a demo next week for one of our biggest customers; that we have a huge amount of things to have ready and configured by then; that some of my colleagues are sick and that somehow their work has also to be finished/tested/configured;, that my boss is going on holidays beginning of next week; that there are project coordination meetings over an entire day just before the demo (wtf why, I didn't get yet ...maybe we don't have enough to do) ... is just too frustrating to handle without CAKE. So, after lunch just went and got all the devs. some cake. it helped :)

My boss has managed to be on vacation for the last three major change events at our work, including a three-week trip to China while we re-opened our library after physically moving. None of this was deliberate; she had had the China trip planned way before we found out we were moving. But it sure was inconvenient.

Here's a question that I'd like to post in the Nerd Rage thread, but it's sort of a reverse nerd rage: our IT guy asking me to do something I don't understand.

One of our IT guys came to me yesterday and asked me if I ever use Google. .....

After a few seconds fighting the impulse to say the first thing that came to mind, I said, "Why yes, I do. Why do you ask?"

He informed me that I should always type https:// before using google because hackers/security/something I didn't quite catch. (We have a slight communication issue due to English as a second language issue.)

OK so wtf is he talking about? Has there in fact been a recent attack on Google that means I should always use the SSL version? I'm logged in to it pretty much full time, but despite that it is not automatically https:// ing me, so I would have to type it manually I guess.

Google already does this for you if you're signed into it while searching.

There is a Google account setting which defaults it to the SSL version. I forget where to find it - whether it is under Advanced on the homepage or under account settings in the dashboard - but it exists somewhere. Edit: kerzain might be right, they might have changed it to a default auto-on if you are signed in.

As to why? Corporate IT paranoia? General IT paranoia? Maybe he thinks you're typing your credit card into Google search? Maybe he's incompetent and knows the network is insecure? Who knows. It's a good idea to secure the connection, but tin-foil hatters who think there are hackers waiting in the wings to use your Google searches against you are pretty crazy, even by fringe standards. Just look up Daniel Brandt.

the initial pages seem to default to non-SSL and for at least one of the services I use regularly (scholar) the results are not SSL, although for most they do seem to be. I figure it's safe to ignore him since (as I say) I'm signed in full time, but I informed him of that and he said it didn't matter.

Based on prior interactions with him, I am not sure we're communicating. Also, I'm not sure he knows what he's talking about, although he is very good at keeping our servers running and such.

Also, I'm posting this from home, so even if he's monitoring me he won't see this :) I have the day off.

You can't use https with Scholar, don't ask me why (Firefox and Chrome will just ignore the designation and switch to http, and IE will give invalid certificate notifications -- and then flip to http anyway).

How can a company that makes something as magical as Twinkies be going out of business? NOW I know the world is going to hell.

No worries. someone will buy the rights in the bankruptcy. The brands are way too well known to just disappear. I anticipate plenty of Twinkie opportunities in the future.

They may discontinue (or at least re-name) Ho-Hos though.

I guess those comic book ads couldn't save them after all.

You forgot to ask? You forgot to say please? I had no idea myself? :)

<shrug>

Now that would be an actual genuine goddam national disaster. Ho-Ho's RULE.

Oh my god it's already too late! I stopped by Wegmans to get a box of Twinkies, and they are GONE. It's ALL GONE. There was a run on Hostess products, and the shelves are cleaned out.

This is what the Mayans foretold. The end times are upon us.

I stopped at the smaller Wegmans near my house, since I was driving by anyway. They are cleaned out, too.

Me:

You people that live outside of the Tastykake Distribution Zone have my pity.

We can get Tastykakes here, but only if we are willing to set foot inside a Tops or Walmart.

And they are still no Twinkies. Twinkies are an icon, man. Our kids are going to watch the "That's a big Twinkie" scene in Ghostbusters and ask "Daddy, what's a Twinkie?" Then after that we can all go back to scavenging for edible insects and bits of flammable refuse in the decaying rubble of human civilization.

Not to mention that they won't understand one of the classic Family Guy episodes at all now. "Who's Randy Newman?" will now be joined by "What's a Twinkie?"

Your pity is misplaced. Tastycakes are dry, inedible lumps. They are Hostess cakes with the fun sucked out of them. They are to snack cakes what Mummers are to sane human beings.

You are a silly, silly man.

Please to be posting the Kickstarter link and take my money.

On the upside you can then "Tell him about The Twinkie."

"What about... The Twinkie?"

So, Twinkies. Description from "10 Worst Foods You Ate As a Kid":

3. Hostess Cupcakes, Twinkies, Ding Dings, Ho Hos Serving Size: 1 Twinkie || Calories: 150 || Fat: 5 g || Carbs: 27 g || Sugars: 19 g || Protein: 1 g

What makes these sweets freaky is their ability to withstand a long shelf life (~25 days, compared with the average 2-3 days of a freshly-baked version). Amongst Twinkie’s 37 (yes, thirty-seven) ingredients are partially hydrogenated oils (trans fat), beef lard, high-fructose corn syrup, chemicals, dyes and preservatives including petroleum. The “cream” in the center has no cream (or dairy), and is instead comprised of strictly shortening. I’m all for the occasional sweet treat, but I’d prefer one that won’t outlive my boyfriends.

Bleah

Oreos also use shortening for their filling. Lots of homemade baked goods also call for shortening. It's definitely not "bleah," though it's obviously not good for you and should be consumed infrequently.

It's the "beef fat" that gets me. Also petroleum product as preservatives, though I use Vasoline as lip balm from time to time so I guess it shouldn't bug me.

Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Tastykakes...

None of these things exist where I live. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not.