Pink Slime ... WHAT?!?!?!

I've slowly been changing my diet to eat better food. Two "things that grow" a day... check. Cut out beef entirely... check. Cut waaaay back on potatoes (a particular weakness) ... check. Cut out soda, artificial sweeteners, and things dyed weird colors... check, check, and check.

Things took another turn recently when I saw photographs and read about "pink slime" ... the mechanically-separated meat byproducts that are bathed in ammonia to make them "safe for human consumption" and sold as ground beef, pork, turkey, etc. etc. If your butcher didn't *personally* grind the meat, it was done in a factory using this disgusting process. Not only is the process disgusting, but god knows how many cows are represented in your pound of beef... I saw a package at the grocery store the other week that was labeled "Product of USA and Canada." What the hell?

I like ground meat... you can make yummy things with it, like burgers, meat loaf, chili (I've been substituting critters other than cows for these... chili made with ground pork is pretty good). But I can't bring myself to eat industrial ground meat anymore... so, I bought a little hand-powered meat grinder on Amazon. It works like a charm! I found pork chops on super-sale, ground them up, and made enough chili to last me 5 weeks of Monday lab sessions.

Grinding pork. It makes a disturbing sound, but works like a charm.
And yes, I'm short on counter space.

RBOC: November Edition

I'm in holy-shit-where-did-November-go-end-of-semester-full-hunker-writing-writing-writing. Survival, and even successful survival, of my first semester of doctoral studies seems likely! I'll let you know in a few weeks once I've dug myself out (and been graded)...

Some random bullets of crap:

• Back in August 2009 (omg two years ago; I've so completely lost track of time) I posted a post on time-to-Google-Scholar and reported that posting papers to Selected Works was the fastest at one month. That time span has shrunk: I posted a paper to Selected Works on October 25-ish after a conference, and by October 31 it was listed on Google Scholar.
• I found a link via Canada-Supporting Women in Geography (lots of good stuff not limited to geographers or women) to DiRT (Digital Research Tools Wiki). Tons of tools to help you work; worth at least a few minutes of your time!
• Speaking of tools and time, I apparently lose vast amounts of time screwing around on the Internets... checking mail, scrolling Facebook. It only takes a few seconds each time, but very inefficient (and the risk of a Complete Sidetrack). I found a little tool called Freedom that disconnects me from the Internet for a set period of time (from a few minutes to a few hours). You *can* bypass it before the time is up, but that requires restarting the computer, which is too much trouble. Result: I can be really quite productive when I'm not screwing around. There are some 'net jonesing issues for me while it's off, which brings up a whole 'nother set of issues... I'm finding that using Freedom means that I quickly check the 'net in-between sessions (often to get info I needed while I was writing... and to check FB...) but am eager to get back into what I was working on.
• What I wear when I'm writing: sloppy and comfortable. What I wear when I'm writing in public: less sloppy and slighty less comfortable. Teaching clothes: tidy and not terribly comfortable. I like the scarf-as-swiss-army-knife, but can't quite figure out how to incorporate one into my wardrobe. Douglas Adams is more my style, but I'm also not sure how I can incorporate a towel into my everyday wear-in-public outfit without looking like I'm carrying a blankie...
• I keep setting off the smoke alarm in my apartment by cooking. The threshold seems to be setting the oven at anything over 350. Unfortunately, there are lots of noms that require higher temperatures. :(

Still alive...

Holy crap, it's been 18 days since I last posted. Needless to say, much is going on. The cold is gone, the deadline is now past (it made a lovely whooshing sound on its way by) and the project is now overdue. At least it's overdue on an internal deadline, and not a to-the-client deadline, though that is starting to become an issue. Some very, very cool stuff in this report, though. It has been very challenging to work through and to write, but very rewarding. There are bits and bobs to mull over here; I'll get to it.

In the rest of life... well, 'tis a roller-coaster. One minute I'm feeling very tall and together (h/t Clio); the next, the rug is gone and I'm free-falling. In an unpleasant sort of way. Much change is afoot; I may post more about it in the future. This is one of those "you can't go over, under, or around it, you must go THROUGH it" situations, and it does feel a lot like a brick wall sometimes. To those who've listened to me kvetch, or asked how I've been... truly, you've been more support than I can properly describe.

While I continue to pull myself together (or hold myself together, depending on the moment), here are some links:

Tired of Tea Party shenannigans in the media 24/7? Bully Bloggers presents The Cocktail Party, "a barstool-roots movement for left wing urban homosexuals and the people who love us." Sign me up! When do I get my membership card and copy of the agenda?

The University of Pennsylvania museum has an "Anthropologists in the Making" summer camp. How cool is that? They're hiring counselors.

The Promise is a multi-media presentation of the Civil Rights movement from the New Yorker. I was captivated.

Old is the New New posts a blog entry about Kymaerica, an alternate public history project that makes Places out of no-wheres, and Significant Events out of thin air. If you think historical markers are a little silly and irrelevant (or even if you think they're an important part of Public History and Public Memory), have a look.

And finally, a Food and Drink in Archaeology Conference. In April. In England. Add it to my list of conferences I'd love to attend, but won't be! Hopefully they post papers on the 'net, or publish a proceedings.


PS: I applied for the jobs. To quote the fine folks at the lottery, "if you don't play, you can't win." I'll worry about taking/not taking said jobs if they ask me if I want them :)

The Great Soda Divide

Back in the fall, I posted about Michigans and the Land of Pepsi. In the comments, folks wondered about the dividing line between places where you order a soda and places where you order a pop.

I am happy to report that, through no investigative ability of my own, I can provide an answer. Behold!

(Clickity for detail)

Much hat-tipping appreciation to DamnGoodTechnician for the image. And also for the link to the Dialect Survey. I now know what mumbledy-peg is -- something I'd heard about, but never knew what it was. Thankfully, I've never been asked to play. They should have called it Crazy Shit. I also now know a much, much better and descriptive term for doing donuts. Seriously, it should be called this EVERYWHERE!

Musing on Paper Archives

I've often argued that microfilm is better for long-term preservation than digital. Sure, they're not searchable (though I have no issues digitizing and searchabilifying microfilm), but the information is always available. If your digital file gets corrupted, or you forget to back it up, or forget to save it onto whatever the new storage media is, or the world ends*, your information is GONE. With microfilm, all you need is a magnifying glass and a light source to get at the information.

I do have to admit, however, that I wouldn't want to roast marshmallows over microfilm. If nothing else, this should be a good reason to keep paper libraries.

* I don't actually believe we are in the throes of the apocalypse, but you know, stuff happens.

Local Eats: Great White North Edition

I'm north of the border visiting family for the holidays. I'm not in Quebec, though I do have childhood connections to La Belle Province. I miss it terribly. [Mental note: really, there isn't anything stopping me from running up there for a few days; maybe in the spring.] Much of the food I think of as Canadian is Quebecois. The three I think of most are poutine, sugar pie, and tourtiere. I was also offered another very Canadian food over the holiday -- Nanaimo Bars. I really don't like them, but it was very homey to see them!

Poutine: Fries. With gravy. And cheese curds. The best poutine comes from snack trucks on the side of the road, with the fries fried in lard. The cheese curds must be FRESH. I mean, so fresh they squeak (unfresh cheese curds do not squeak. Never eat a cheese curd that doesn't squeak; they get gross). Is it a heart attack on a plate? Yes, it is. Is it a hella delicious heart attack on a plate? Yes, it can be (really good poutine is worth it, imo). Is it the same as fries with cheese and gravy? Not even close.

Sugar Pie: Not the same as shoo-fly pie. So sweet your teeth will hurt. I don't have a sweet tooth, but, as horrifically sweet as it is, I will eat more than one piece.

Tourtière: A traditional meat pie, served mostly around holidays. I've tried making it, but haven't found a recipe as good as I remember the pie of my youth. Pork, beef, onion, spices... the recipes I've linked to don't include them, but some recipes include nutmeg and cloves. I will have to try again, when I finally get an oven that has enough temperature control that I can bake in.

Nanaimo Bars: These are so Canadian. I would love to like these, but I just don't. They turn up on all holiday cookie platters up here though... and every time I see them, I wish I liked the damn things.


I am trying to schedule some time with a dear friend before I leave; it will involve poutine; photos may follow.


Edit: thanks, lephysiologiste, for the spelling correction!

Local Eats: Michigans

There is a thing in Northern Upstate New York called a Michigan. All I was able to sort out was that it involved some sort of sauce and a hot dog. If the nice folks at the local eatery in the crossroads town missed the out-of-state license plates on my car, they sure knew I wasn't local when I ordered 2 Michigans (thinking I was so smart by not being redundant and ordering Michigan Hot Dogs), then didn't understand the presentation options.

"You want those buried?" (The server actually asked about at least 2 additional variations, but I was stuck at buried, and didn't register the other two).

"I don't know what any of those mean..." (OH HI! I AM SO FROM OUT OF TOWN RIGHT NOW!)

"Oh. Well, they're usually served with mustard and onions, and usually served buried, so everything is under the sauce..."

"Um. Ok, I'll take them buried. With a Diet Coke."

"Pepsi ok?" (As well as being the Land of Michigans, Northern Upstate New York is also the Land of Pepsi).

What I got was a steamed hot dog on a white-bread bun. Underneath the dog were mustard (I can't recall if it was yellow or deli, but I think it was deli mustard) and chopped raw onions. On top of the dog, burying everything, was a tomato-based meat sauce with lots of chopped beef. It wasn't a chili dog... there was no chili spice or anything like that, and it wasn't like a spaghetti sauce, either. Served with pickles and potato chips on the side. Very tasty.

If you're ever out by Keeseville, New York... Tuesdays are 99c Michigans at the local joint. Have one for me (but hold the onions!)