Games, Hurricanes, a New Manhattan Project, and Food
For the record, I do realize that putting thoughts on a terrible natural disaster and the future of the American economy right between news about video games and a wild game recipe is kind of strange.
Picked up a Tony Hawk game for the XBox in a local bargain bin. I've been a fan of the series, and it was cheaper then dinner at BWW, so it made sense to pick it up. Matt picked up Bloodrayne 2. I don't know if it'll have the same replay value as THUG, but it looks like fun.
Hurricane Katrina blasted through the Gulf Coast and left behind a third world nation. No safe water, no food, no real law. Kat's family down there got out OK, and are now on their way to Texas. It's a hell of a situation.
On a slightly more fun note, the price of gas went from 3.19/gallon to 3.49/gallon sometime between lunch and getting off of work. I know in the grand scheme of things, we don't pay all that much money for gas compared to the rest of the world. Hell, the 5-6$ they're paying in Georgia is what they pay for gas in Japan every day.
But the American economy runs on cheap fuel. We don't have the public transport in place to do anything else. And we can't. The US is just too big. Public transport works when you only have a handful of cities, or when population densities are high enough to support public transport to every little place.
So we need cheap, individual transportation as well as cheap energy. And oil isn't going to do it. It's finite, and it's valuable. So it isn't cheap, and isn't going to get any cheaper (in terms of the cost to remove it from the ground).
To briefly digress, I don't like Bush. I could write tons about how he makes bad scientific decisions, or just makes us look bad. But we need him. He's the president. What we need from him is an announcement. A new project to rival the Manhattan Project or the Apollo missions. The capacity for energy independence in 10 years.
It would take tons of cash. It might even be bad for the economy in the short term, even with all the jobs it would create. But I think it should be done.
Energy independence means independence from foreign sources, which seems to be the big thing in Republican circles these days. It also means renewable or clean energy sources, which makes Greens and Democrats happy. It should lead to more jobs, which makes everyone happy.
This isn't a new idea. There's some website out there dedicated to a 'New Apollo Project'. I'd throw my vote behind it.
Finally, below is a recipe for venison chili that is awesome and has served me well on those great occasions when I have ground venison around.
3 lbs ground venison
2.5 lbs ground beef (Or more venison with less beef)
1 lb chopped bacon
1 LARGE white onion, chopped
5 cans black beans
5 cans kidney beans
3 large cans petite diced tomatos
3 Tb ground cumin
1 Tb red chili flakes
1 can beef broth
salt and pepper
Fry the bacon in the bottom of the chili pot until rendered and crispy. Then add onion, and the rest of the meat to brown. Then add a the beef broth and maybe a cup of water and cook to deglaze the bottom of the pot and let the meat break down and become more tender. Then add teh rest of the ingredients, heat through, and it's done. But better if you wait longer. Or the next day...
Picked up a Tony Hawk game for the XBox in a local bargain bin. I've been a fan of the series, and it was cheaper then dinner at BWW, so it made sense to pick it up. Matt picked up Bloodrayne 2. I don't know if it'll have the same replay value as THUG, but it looks like fun.
Hurricane Katrina blasted through the Gulf Coast and left behind a third world nation. No safe water, no food, no real law. Kat's family down there got out OK, and are now on their way to Texas. It's a hell of a situation.
On a slightly more fun note, the price of gas went from 3.19/gallon to 3.49/gallon sometime between lunch and getting off of work. I know in the grand scheme of things, we don't pay all that much money for gas compared to the rest of the world. Hell, the 5-6$ they're paying in Georgia is what they pay for gas in Japan every day.
But the American economy runs on cheap fuel. We don't have the public transport in place to do anything else. And we can't. The US is just too big. Public transport works when you only have a handful of cities, or when population densities are high enough to support public transport to every little place.
So we need cheap, individual transportation as well as cheap energy. And oil isn't going to do it. It's finite, and it's valuable. So it isn't cheap, and isn't going to get any cheaper (in terms of the cost to remove it from the ground).
To briefly digress, I don't like Bush. I could write tons about how he makes bad scientific decisions, or just makes us look bad. But we need him. He's the president. What we need from him is an announcement. A new project to rival the Manhattan Project or the Apollo missions. The capacity for energy independence in 10 years.
It would take tons of cash. It might even be bad for the economy in the short term, even with all the jobs it would create. But I think it should be done.
Energy independence means independence from foreign sources, which seems to be the big thing in Republican circles these days. It also means renewable or clean energy sources, which makes Greens and Democrats happy. It should lead to more jobs, which makes everyone happy.
This isn't a new idea. There's some website out there dedicated to a 'New Apollo Project'. I'd throw my vote behind it.
Finally, below is a recipe for venison chili that is awesome and has served me well on those great occasions when I have ground venison around.
3 lbs ground venison
2.5 lbs ground beef (Or more venison with less beef)
1 lb chopped bacon
1 LARGE white onion, chopped
5 cans black beans
5 cans kidney beans
3 large cans petite diced tomatos
3 Tb ground cumin
1 Tb red chili flakes
1 can beef broth
salt and pepper
Fry the bacon in the bottom of the chili pot until rendered and crispy. Then add onion, and the rest of the meat to brown. Then add a the beef broth and maybe a cup of water and cook to deglaze the bottom of the pot and let the meat break down and become more tender. Then add teh rest of the ingredients, heat through, and it's done. But better if you wait longer. Or the next day...