November 9, 2011

           Biscotti. I finally investigated those Starbuck tidbits that I formerly equated to bread crusts. Here’s what I found. At 90 calories and all natural ingredients, these are a wise alternative to cookies. I learned they are meant to be dunked into liquid, such as wine, which partially explains why I never knew anything about them. My north European upbringing plants an aversion to dipping anything except bread into soup. I never saw chip dip until I was 16 and still consider it an overpriced con.
           I bought a package, biscotti means baked twice, something I used to think strange. One concession I made was to buy the most expensive brand (shown here) I could find on a regular market shelf. The stock at Starbucks must be past the best before date since the ones I got were considerably better. Opt for quality, it is worth the extra dollar. I now accept Biscotti and include it in my diet.
           Have you ever noticed that “Christians” like to annoy people with advertisements in the wrong section? I was looking for my Facebook music ad only to find “Christian” this and “gospel” that. What is it with those people? You never see them post “Christian forklift” or “Gospel junk removal”, but only those categories where they can shove their philosophies in your face. Interesting, I think. Useless, but interesting, partly because I cannot think of a single identifiable group in all of Miami Beach or San Francisco from whom they may have learned this sordid tactic.
           But while we’re on the topic of posting, I see that someone else has finally, after six years, learned the trick to clearing the flags off your posts. If you ever noticed some ads seem immune to flagging, I’ll tell you how it’s done, since the other party stupidly went and posted it. Go to edit, and repost the same ad. It resets the counters. There is software available to do it for you. You want to know something else that has gone totally downhill? Try doing a search with Yahoo! these days and look at the results.
           Trivia, this time spontaneous combustion. I’m still not buying the tale of the grain elevators that burn down a week before the inspector arrives, but I know about exothermic reactions. TIL that pistachios are 40% oil and they really can catch fire when packed closely. I suspect it is due to a fungus or oxidation process rather than actual self-generated heat, though scientists disagree. I am a physicist, not a scientist, that is, I believe more in seeking cause and effect than I do in collecting and interpreting statistics.
           I was researching the “Pistachio Effect”, thinking it was related to the topic of fire. Instead, it means the process of having to shell the pistachios one by one meaning most people actually eat less of them. The theory is that slow eating triggers the “full” feeling sooner. It must be true, I verified it on Wikipedia. That’s a joke, son. Here’s a photo of a fresh pot of rice, with the evenly spaced steam holes I’ve described that some folks say doesn’t happen. On the contrary, it is the mark of perfection. And anybody can make a big pot of rice. It is the small batches like this that spell e-x-p-e-r-i-e-n-c-e.
           On the way back from the library, I saw this lady, Monica, miss the bus. I gave her a lift home on my scooter. Nothing happened but it was like the good old days. Just going for a ride with a friend. But time catches up. I went home, made a pot of Salada tea and found some peach cookies. Anon ( I like that word), I settled down, fell asleep in the swivel chair beside the computer and didn’t wake up until past 10:30PM. The tea was cold.