Book Notes: What Einstein Told His Cook- December 17, 2007 Robert l. Wolke writes a food column for The Washington Post in which he explains the science behind food, cooking methods, and so on. I read a collection of his columns, "What Einstein Told His Cook", and really enjoyed it. Here is a handful of the interesting parts, paraphrased: Caramelization is the heat-induced browning of a food that contains sugar, but no amino acids (which make up proteins). Onions contain amino acids, so technically one can't "caramelize" an onion. When a food with...http://www.1001words.com/2007/12/book-notes-what-einstein-told-his-cook.html Another Haircut- December 14, 2007 There is a hereditary rule for predicting baldness. I forget the specifics. If your Uncle on your Mom's side is bald, you'll be bald Or is it your mother's father, or your father's mother It doesn't matter. In my family, they're all bald.My hairline has rapidly receded for several years now. I'm reminded of this on occasion. I'll have a moment of consternation and self-pity, and then adjust to the new setback in the War on Forehead until the next reminder.The latest one was yesterday, staring...http://www.1001words.com/2007/12/another-haircut.html Rubber Thug- December 12, 2007 How did I miss this bit of marketing genius for so longI have had an old Rubbermaid "Roughneck" laundry basket for many years now. The label copyright is 1983. I just noticed two things about it today.1. The original product sticker is still on the bottom.2. The Rubbermaid mascot is a thug.The image quality is poor, but the message is clear: this guy is mad about laundry. His arms are crossed, his dockworker hat is pulled to the ridge of his forehead, and whatever is strapped to his wrist is...http://www.1001words.com/2007/12/rubber-thug.html Best Album of 2007- December 8, 2007 I could easily find 100 good candidates for Song of the Year, but Album of the Year is much different. I tend to listen to singles or will just download 2-3 songs from an artist rather than the whole album, so I don't have many candidates to choose from.My favorite album, which I'm surprised isn't even on most people's Top 10 lists, is All Hour Cymbals by Yeasayer. "2080" is crazy good and the rest of the album is repeat-worthy as well. I've listened to the entire album a few dozen times and am.http://www.1001words.com/2007/12/best-album-of-2007.html |