The Great Peanut Butter Explosion
Firstly, I'm going to briefly give my two cents about the recent LJ Deletion Fiasco. LJ and their supporters are saying, basically, "Hey guys, you agreed to the rules when you signed up, so you don't really have a right to complain." And those who are protesting this are basically saying "This is overkill, and it's unnecissary, and it's hurting a lot of decent people."
As usual, being a post-dyslexic virgo dog earth-type mediator personality, I agree with both sides of the issue. Except that to a certain extent, I think they're both wrong: LJ's main defense of their actions is that they were acting within the limits of the rules that they had established, and that it's a private company and they can do what they want. However, everyone knows that when it comes to laws, there is the letter of the law, and the spirit of the law. And LJ had nothing to lose by keeping the journals it decided to purge. No amount of sketchiness or illegality could land them in hot water, since there is pre-existing legislation that makes forum-hosters not liable for the content posted within said forums. Their own rules, regardless of letter, are not being followed in spirit, no matter how you slice it.
On the other hand, no one said that LJ would be fair, and people who attach a lot of importance to their journals, probably should have made more precautions against them being lost, either through deletion, or through a simple server-side error.
Personally, I think the whole thing sucks. Mainly, because it irks me to think that LJ would cave to an special interest group -- no matter how wholesome the spec. int. group's mission statement. LJ is a private company, sure, but I had liked thinking that it was a private company with a spine.
Now, on to the peanut butter.
Today, I was intent on making a peanut butter and honey sandwich when it occurred to me that I should use up the last of the Skippy that's been sitting in the cupboard for the last few years. The Skippy wasn't something Maddy and I purchased (we're much to snobby about food for that) -- it was something that showed up after moving from one place to another. Who knows how old it was, or which former housemate it once belonged to.
I looked on the lid and it said it was best if used before sometime in 2005. Hmm, I thought to myself, but peanut butter doesn't ever really go bad, does it? Especially not when it's made by a company like Skippy... right?
Well, the answer is, it doesn't really go bad, per se, but it does become something that's no longer peanut butter. It had the right color, but it smelled nothing like peanuts. It smelled more like some kind of solvent. And the consistency had changed as well (it was homogenized, so there was no oil-separation). Rather than being sticky, and goopy, it was really sticky, pasty, and greasy. It stuck to my fingers, and the knife, and a plate, and eventually, to quite a few objects around the kitchen. And it didn't stick in the way peanut butter usually does -- you can usually wash PB off with some water, and maybe a little soap. But it showed no signs of dissolving in water, and though soap got rid of the bulk of it, it left a thick greasy sheen that was sticky and slightly opaque even after a vigourous scrubbing with soap and water. Vinegar had no effect on it. I found myself wondering if it would have stuck to the insides on my intestines in a similar manner after my stomach acid proved useless... Glad I didn't have to find out.
Eventually I found a solvent that got rid of it. It was a bit like a citrus degreaser, but stronger.
So.... there really was no explosion. Though it did manage to get all over the place during that phase where I was discovering how hard it was to get off my fingers. I have to admit, "explosion" was only in the title of this post because it sounded more interesting that way.
As usual, being a post-dyslexic virgo dog earth-type mediator personality, I agree with both sides of the issue. Except that to a certain extent, I think they're both wrong: LJ's main defense of their actions is that they were acting within the limits of the rules that they had established, and that it's a private company and they can do what they want. However, everyone knows that when it comes to laws, there is the letter of the law, and the spirit of the law. And LJ had nothing to lose by keeping the journals it decided to purge. No amount of sketchiness or illegality could land them in hot water, since there is pre-existing legislation that makes forum-hosters not liable for the content posted within said forums. Their own rules, regardless of letter, are not being followed in spirit, no matter how you slice it.
On the other hand, no one said that LJ would be fair, and people who attach a lot of importance to their journals, probably should have made more precautions against them being lost, either through deletion, or through a simple server-side error.
Personally, I think the whole thing sucks. Mainly, because it irks me to think that LJ would cave to an special interest group -- no matter how wholesome the spec. int. group's mission statement. LJ is a private company, sure, but I had liked thinking that it was a private company with a spine.
Now, on to the peanut butter.
Today, I was intent on making a peanut butter and honey sandwich when it occurred to me that I should use up the last of the Skippy that's been sitting in the cupboard for the last few years. The Skippy wasn't something Maddy and I purchased (we're much to snobby about food for that) -- it was something that showed up after moving from one place to another. Who knows how old it was, or which former housemate it once belonged to.
I looked on the lid and it said it was best if used before sometime in 2005. Hmm, I thought to myself, but peanut butter doesn't ever really go bad, does it? Especially not when it's made by a company like Skippy... right?
Well, the answer is, it doesn't really go bad, per se, but it does become something that's no longer peanut butter. It had the right color, but it smelled nothing like peanuts. It smelled more like some kind of solvent. And the consistency had changed as well (it was homogenized, so there was no oil-separation). Rather than being sticky, and goopy, it was really sticky, pasty, and greasy. It stuck to my fingers, and the knife, and a plate, and eventually, to quite a few objects around the kitchen. And it didn't stick in the way peanut butter usually does -- you can usually wash PB off with some water, and maybe a little soap. But it showed no signs of dissolving in water, and though soap got rid of the bulk of it, it left a thick greasy sheen that was sticky and slightly opaque even after a vigourous scrubbing with soap and water. Vinegar had no effect on it. I found myself wondering if it would have stuck to the insides on my intestines in a similar manner after my stomach acid proved useless... Glad I didn't have to find out.
Eventually I found a solvent that got rid of it. It was a bit like a citrus degreaser, but stronger.
So.... there really was no explosion. Though it did manage to get all over the place during that phase where I was discovering how hard it was to get off my fingers. I have to admit, "explosion" was only in the title of this post because it sounded more interesting that way.