Via
Friday, March 26, 2010
7 Hidden Dangers In Your Fridge
Fruits & Vegetables
Now here are some foods that don’t have to be in perfect condition for you to enjoy them.Produce is the easiest to tell if it is starting to rot, because it won’t look good enough to eat! Squishy, slimy, or stinky produce needs to go in the garbage.
However, greens that are wilted can still be used in soups and stews; they have simply become a little dehydrated and started the aging process.
To avoid having to throw out expensive fruits and vegetables, grocery shop more often. Buying enough for 3-5 days at a time will help ensure you don’t lose money.
Mold
Moldy foods can be tricky and are sometimes a matter of preference. If cutting a green fuzzy corner off a block of cheese doesn’t gross you out too much, then you can save and eat the rest.However, mold can also be dangerous, depending on how much and what food it appears on. If mold is covering the majority of the surface of the food, be safe and throw it out. Any meat in your refrigerator that has any sign of mold should go in the trash right away.
Watch out for mold on bread, jams, yogurt, nuts, and most pre-cooked leftovers. With these foods, it is better to say goodbye than to get sick.
Meat
The best way to judge if the meat in your refrigerator is safe, is to check the expiration date. Even meat that looks, smells, and tastes fine could be dangerous. Steaks and other red meats should not be consumed more than four days past the date on the package.Frozen meat lasts longer, but never thaw and re-freeze it.
Use common sense. If meat is slimy, smells funny, or has a strange color, it should definitely be thrown away.
Freezer Burn
Freezer burn does not make foods unsafe, but it does change the taste and quality of the food. Having food in the freezer too long makes the water molecules extract and freeze, which can make it taste dry and lose flavor and color, even when thawed.Everything from freezer-burned meat to ice cream can be safely eaten. The freezer burned sections of the meat can be trimmed off before or after cooking. Ice cream from the top of the tub, which can have heavy freezer burn, can be scraped off and the remaining ice cream should taste fine.
Fish
Wondering whether you should throw away ‘fishy smelling’ fish can be irritating, because of the expensive price tag in most grocery stores.Fresh raw fish has a very short shelf life, lasting only 1-2 days in the fridge. Cooked fish leftover from a night at your favorite restaurant should last 3-4 days, but make sure you heat it thoroughly before you finish it.
If you can’t remember how long it’s been since you bought it, a sure sign that your fish has gone bad is a strong smelly odor in your refrigerator. Fish should smell like fish, but should not be overpowering.
Eggs
If the sale at the grocery store allows you to buy a lot of eggs at a time, go for it! The term ‘rotten egg’ has led people to believe that eggs are inedible much faster than they really are. Eggs last up to five weeks after purchase.
And does anyone know the verdict on eggs that happen to freeze?
Dairy
Milk is one of the more straightforward foods to tell if it is past its prime. If it smells sour, then toss it. Still not sure of the smell? The consistency should give a clue-any lumps or flakes means it needs to go.Cream, cottage cheese, and sour cream can be a little tricky, but generally stay safe for about 10 days past the date stamped on the label.
Yogurt can still be eaten a few days past the expiration date, but loses its flavor and nutritional value as it gets older, so it is probably worth throwing out.
Cheese and butter last the longest, but it is best to finish them before they are four weeks old.
Via / Via
Rusty In A Bag
I've mentioned it previously, but Rusty loves to climb into things to sleep. Laundry baskets.. a pile of clothes.. pillows.. Unlike Harley, Rusty's not a burrower. Harley burrows under a ton of stuff.
This time Rusty chose Steph's overnight bag to get in.
Blogger Dump
Please pardon my lack of posts right now - I think blogger is not functioning properly.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Introducing: Just Cause 2
A review by Alex Bauman.
'Just Cause 2' is a whole lot of fun. Boasting 400 square miles of open sandbox to play in, roughly 3000 collectibles, 350 locations (to decimate), 200 missions, and 100 vehicles to choose from; there is no shortage of things to do. Most of the stuff you can do is really fun, the stuff you have to do however...
Let's start with the good. Grappling hook, awesome. Climbing, zip lining, and double tethering all provide for hours of enjoyment. The unique double tethering ability is especially good. You are given the ability (desire not included) to grapple hook an enemy then hook, oh lets say a car, jump in the car and drive away with senior rag doll following. Maybe you haven't dragged him far enough to kill him, that's alright hit the hand brake jerk the wheel and fling his sorry ass into a building, or over a cliff, or off a cliff into a building. When you play this game make sure to tether one helicopter in flight to another, it hilariously explody.
If there was one word to sum up the overall experience that is 'Just Cause 2' it would have to be funsplosion. You've got to love a game who's central driving force is you absolutely destroying the crap out of everything. From military com. towers to gas stations in po-dunk fishing villages; the island of Panau is a fire sale... Everything must go. Explosions are literally the center of the game. You must cause chaos to progress the story; that is to say your chaos meter must be sufficiently full to activate the next story mission.
This south east Asian island of Panau looks fantastic. Environments such as snow topped mountain peaks, lush tropical rain forest, sandy beaches, and the rest here on Panau island; are all rendered with style and grace. Pop-in is a non issue, seeing a cluster of lights emerge from the forest below as you're flying to a destination gives that good feeling to the player; that "hey that's a place I can go" living environment feeling. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Avalanche 2.0 engine getting some use in the future based on it's performance in 'Just Cause 2'.
Several options are available for traversing this huge lush island. Sadly this is where some of the bad in 'Just Cause 2' comes out. Car, truck, helo., plane, and boat are all options with some faring better than others. The aerial vehicles handle nicely but your ground transports are very awkward and basically feel like you're driving a sack of piles of poo. A big sack. This is however a simple problem to overcome... don't use them. Instead use the super nifty grapple hook infini-shoot combo. You see Rico Rodriguez (you) is equipped not only with a kick ass grappling hook but also a parachute. Not just an ordinary parachute, as the infini-shoot moniker would imply, but an open/close at will infinitely reusable super shoot. This combination makes overland travel both fun and interesting. Hook the ledge of a tall building and three quarters of the way up open your shoot to soar over the top. While in the air grapple a tree or helo. or plane, zip line toward it, pop your shoot again and sling shot yourself across the jungle. Or go the semi vanilla route; grapple a car on the road and go parasailing down the road.
Gameplay, graphics, mechanics, and innovation are great. Where the game stumbles is in the game part of the game. The story is pretty bare which is forgivable in a game like this; who cares what this guy is saying to that guy when all you want is to try for that pinata achievement (hang several dudes with the grapple hook then melee him to death). What isn't so excusable are the missions. They just don't live up to the non game part of the game. It's all go kill this dude, go protect that dude, same old same old. In addition to the been there done that feel of the missions they also never seem to challenge you to use the tools and abilities at your disposal.
Bottom line: Forget the missions, use them as a break from finding new ways of destroying stuff. If you like games that are both fun and hilarious buy 'Just Cause 2'. If your more a fan of games that suck, give 'Just Cause 2' a rent maybe the funtastrophy contained within that game box will be enough to change your mind... or you could just stick to those Barbie horse games.
Meaningless completely arbitrary numerical score: 7 exploding Havok fueled rag dolls out of 3.75
Aesome review and pics via
'Just Cause 2' is a whole lot of fun. Boasting 400 square miles of open sandbox to play in, roughly 3000 collectibles, 350 locations (to decimate), 200 missions, and 100 vehicles to choose from; there is no shortage of things to do. Most of the stuff you can do is really fun, the stuff you have to do however...
Let's start with the good. Grappling hook, awesome. Climbing, zip lining, and double tethering all provide for hours of enjoyment. The unique double tethering ability is especially good. You are given the ability (desire not included) to grapple hook an enemy then hook, oh lets say a car, jump in the car and drive away with senior rag doll following. Maybe you haven't dragged him far enough to kill him, that's alright hit the hand brake jerk the wheel and fling his sorry ass into a building, or over a cliff, or off a cliff into a building. When you play this game make sure to tether one helicopter in flight to another, it hilariously explody.
If there was one word to sum up the overall experience that is 'Just Cause 2' it would have to be funsplosion. You've got to love a game who's central driving force is you absolutely destroying the crap out of everything. From military com. towers to gas stations in po-dunk fishing villages; the island of Panau is a fire sale... Everything must go. Explosions are literally the center of the game. You must cause chaos to progress the story; that is to say your chaos meter must be sufficiently full to activate the next story mission.This south east Asian island of Panau looks fantastic. Environments such as snow topped mountain peaks, lush tropical rain forest, sandy beaches, and the rest here on Panau island; are all rendered with style and grace. Pop-in is a non issue, seeing a cluster of lights emerge from the forest below as you're flying to a destination gives that good feeling to the player; that "hey that's a place I can go" living environment feeling. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Avalanche 2.0 engine getting some use in the future based on it's performance in 'Just Cause 2'.
Several options are available for traversing this huge lush island. Sadly this is where some of the bad in 'Just Cause 2' comes out. Car, truck, helo., plane, and boat are all options with some faring better than others. The aerial vehicles handle nicely but your ground transports are very awkward and basically feel like you're driving a sack of piles of poo. A big sack. This is however a simple problem to overcome... don't use them. Instead use the super nifty grapple hook infini-shoot combo. You see Rico Rodriguez (you) is equipped not only with a kick ass grappling hook but also a parachute. Not just an ordinary parachute, as the infini-shoot moniker would imply, but an open/close at will infinitely reusable super shoot. This combination makes overland travel both fun and interesting. Hook the ledge of a tall building and three quarters of the way up open your shoot to soar over the top. While in the air grapple a tree or helo. or plane, zip line toward it, pop your shoot again and sling shot yourself across the jungle. Or go the semi vanilla route; grapple a car on the road and go parasailing down the road.
Gameplay, graphics, mechanics, and innovation are great. Where the game stumbles is in the game part of the game. The story is pretty bare which is forgivable in a game like this; who cares what this guy is saying to that guy when all you want is to try for that pinata achievement (hang several dudes with the grapple hook then melee him to death). What isn't so excusable are the missions. They just don't live up to the non game part of the game. It's all go kill this dude, go protect that dude, same old same old. In addition to the been there done that feel of the missions they also never seem to challenge you to use the tools and abilities at your disposal.Bottom line: Forget the missions, use them as a break from finding new ways of destroying stuff. If you like games that are both fun and hilarious buy 'Just Cause 2'. If your more a fan of games that suck, give 'Just Cause 2' a rent maybe the funtastrophy contained within that game box will be enough to change your mind... or you could just stick to those Barbie horse games.
Meaningless completely arbitrary numerical score: 7 exploding Havok fueled rag dolls out of 3.75
Aesome review and pics via
Instapocket
Instant Pocket -- Keep valuables safe anywhere.
Peel-and-stick Instant Pocket gives you a pocket so you can mingle with crowds, go for a run or work in the yard, and keep important things safe.
No need to carry a purse -— just put a self-adhesive pocket in place on a T-shirt and tuck cash, ID, credit card and more inside. 100% cotton & 3½”x4”.
Click the banner pic, or HERE for more purchase information.
Especially for you, Dad.. since they don't seem to be making as many shirts these days with breast-pockets!
Via
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
It's All In The Value
ViaThe next time you see a news report that shows a "huge marijuana bust," pay attention. They always mention the quantity of weed they confiscated, and sometimes they mention a bunch of money that was also confiscated, but when they mention the "street value" of their bust, take a moment and think about this.
By the way, the above is a very small example. What would you think if they said the street value was $7 million??
What if, instead, you saw a news report of a guy who was found with $2 million dollars worth of jewelry in his suitcase that he packed before his move? Or what if the guy was a doctor and he had a bunch of vials of extremely valuable anti-venom? Maybe a huge truck from one of those air conditioner companies was stopped with a lot of that very valuable copper tubing that tons of people are being arrested for these days? Or sugar? Or wheat, or cotton?
The point is the value. What happens to the millions and millions of dollars of value that all this marijuana has once the police confiscate it?
Sunday, March 21, 2010
World's Largest Meatball
Chef Matthew Mitnitsky cheers after his meatball weighed in, breaking the world record for the largest meatball, in Concord, N.H., Sunday, Nov. 1,2009. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)More record-setters here at the Big Picture, including 1,800 Santas, 15,000 Thriller dancers, and the world's largest mug of hot chocolate.
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