The US national debt should hit that mark, sometime today.

Just thought I'd mark the date. I mean, how often do you get a whole new digit?

http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/09/national-debt-to-exceed-10-trillion.html

Edit: and we made it! That's $10,024,724,896,912.49, folks! Talk about some good ole American can-do spirit. Break out the confetti!

FYI in case you or anyone you know needs an ACL wristband, I need to sell mine. Asking $170.

Edit: Sold, huzzah!

One of the amusing things about moving in with someone you have known for 18 years is that they can probably dig up really old pictures of you.

I forgot how positively anemic I was:



( More Ancient History )

...I realized, after my shiny new copy of We <3 Katamari arrived at the door, that it was the first video game I have ever personally bought for myself. I managed to roll up the sun over the weekend, but there's still levels to unlock, if I can only track down all the cousins.

That's how long it took me to run 6 miles earlier today. Run 6 miles, for the first time in my life, I should say. I suppose that's worth breaking a month or two LJ hiatus for, Thank you elovlance for inspiring me to this feat.

A terribly interesting New Yorker article about itching. Just hope you never have some of the afflictions described therein.

Go ahead, try not to scratch at all while you read it.

I suppose it is no surprise that there is a non-vanishing market for selling blatantly fraudulent products to people with more money than sense. Still, every time I read about something like the exorbitantly expensive Monster audio cables that sound as good as wire coat hanger. Or recently the buzz over the Denon digital audio cables which are—no joke—$500 segments of ordinary Cat-5 cable. (Seriously, read the Amazon reviews, some of them are hysterical!) But recently lexicalunit pointed me at the HIS iClear Card which purports to improve the signal to noise ratio of your video card signal. That's right, your digital video card signal. It makes all those ones that much one-ier and all those zeros that much zero-ier.

I am reminded of a former coworker who half-jokingly wanted to market "starlight water" which would be water "infused" with the light of different constellations. The idea would be more funny if not for the fact that there would almost certainly be some takers.

If only I could get rid of my scruples maybe I could cash in. Wait.. maybe I could sell my scruples. How about it: For the low-low price of $1000, you get to give me $1000 for the privilege of having me taking $1000 from you. It's perfect!

I guess lots of people like Gnarls Barkley's Crazy. If you're one of those people, you've probably already seen this neat theremin jam version. But maybe you haven't yet seen this awesome cover by the Violent Femmes.

And who even knew the Violent Femmes were still around. I so used to have the hots for Gordan Gano.

I guess I am late to the party, and lots of people already knew about this guy Matt and his jaunts, but it was all new to me. Anyway here is his new video, which I find to be completely and unreservedly brilliant. I am supremely envious of this lucky young man.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)
from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I just discovered about 30 photos and 4 movies that somehow never got downloaded from my camera after returning from Brasil. In particular, I thought I would share this short clip of tender turtle fucking.

It seems that their delightful, tender turtle fucking noises are not very audible on this video, alas.

Last night we cooked some froofy food with a few friends [*]. I happened to have some leftover leeks that I wanted to get rid of, but I wasn't sure what to do with them. I decided to try and caramelize them and the results were fantastic. I just want to save the recipe here for posterity. I highly recommend this, it would be tasty as a garnish or maybe in a salad!

Caramelized Leeks

Ingredients:

• 1 lb leeks (white and pale green parts only)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tbsp vermouth
• 3 tbsp vegetable or chicken broth

Directions:

Halve leeks lengthwise and thinly slice crosswise. In a large bowl of cold water wash leeks well and lift from water into a large sieve to drain. Cook leeks in butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until some begin to turn golden, about 40 minutes. Stir in sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir in vermouth and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated and most leeks are golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Deglaze kettle with the broth and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes more, until liquid is evaporated and leeks are deep golden.

---

[*] Lemon, Ginger, and Kaffir Lime Soup; Spinach and Arugula Salad with Strawberries, Blueberries, Pecans, and Orange-Miso Vinaigrette; Lime-Cilantro Rice; Roasted Salmon with Tomato-Avocado Compote, Basil Oil Dressing, and Caramelized Leek.

NSFW, I suppose, just in case...

If I worked at an edgy local news publication, those two words would comprise my entire review of M. Night Shabblebabble's latest offering.

Here is the fifth and final installment of photos from Brasil, taken in and around Foz do Iguaçu. As usual, in case there are folks who like looking at photos for their own sake, the full Flickr sets can be found here (any comments appreciated):

• Foz do Iguaçu (701 photos)

Foz do Iguaçu, the city itself, is not that interesting. It is definitely geared towards catering to tourists. Mostly Brasilian tourists, but also other folks from all over the world. And why do people come here? Because here lies not only one of the greatest engineering marvels of the world (Itaipu Dam) but also one of the greatest natural marvels as well (Iguaçu Falls). Either alone would be worth the trip.

( Pictures! )

Here is the fourth installment of photos from Brasil, taken in and around Recife and Pereira. As usual, in case there are folks who like looking at photos for their own sake, the full Flickr sets can be found here (any comments appreciated):

• Recife (82 photos)
• Pereira (63 photos)

( Pictures! )

Here is the third installment of photos from Brasil, taken in and around Rio de Janeiro. As usual, in case there are folks who like looking at photos for their own sake, the full Flickr sets can be found here (any comments appreciated):

• Rio de Janeiro (643 photos)

Also, here is a teaser photo before the lj-cut, since there were no replies to the last installment! Or maybe it just left everyone completely speechless? :P





( Pictures! )

Here is the second installment of photos from Brasil, taken in and around Brasilia and the Island of Santa Catarina (also referred to by the name of the largest city on the island, Florianopolis). As usual, in case there are folks who like looking at photos for their own sake, the full Flickr sets can be found here (any comments appreciated):

• Brasilia (366 photos)
• Ilha da Santa Catarina (214 photos)

( Pictures! )

Here is the first installment of photos from Brasil, taken in and around Salvador da Bahia and Fortaleza. This is just a small subset, since we went fairly crazy with the camera. In case there are folks who like looking at photos for their own sake, the full Flickr sets can be found here (any comments appreciated):

• Salvador (162 photos)
• Fortaleza (154 photos)

( Pictures! )

I think most people know, but we are home from Brasil. The trip was amazing and tiring. I will hopefully be done with the arduous task of uploading and tagging 2400 (!) photos today. Then I can pick out some small subsets to write about here in the next few days.

I guess it's good I don't start my new old job until next week.

...stuck in the Rio airport, is the price you pay when you miss your TAM airpass flight. I'm not sure which is more painful. This was especially sucky due to the fact that it was the first time in my life that I ever missed a flight due to my own stupidity. Not to mention, I was all looking forward to impressing Andrew with my portuguese kung-fu, and my sauve, got-it-all-together, international traveller side. Riiiiight.