Science!

I'm having trouble getting back up to speed on my programming project, as no doubt is clear. Today I'm going to stop by the library to pick up Andrea Palladio's 16th century book on architecture. I've heard that it lays out a shape grammar for villas which would be useful in my project. That may be a 20th century paper by Mitchell and somebody else, though; I won't know until I can get my hands on some of it.

In the meantime science marches on:

Epazote: My wife tried making identical batches of pinto beans, one with epazote and one without. I could not really tell a difference, so either we had weak epazote or it doesn't add significantly to the flavor of beans. At least not in an unmistakable way like, say, chorizo.

Head On: A product with one of the most memorable no-budget TV advertising campaigns in recent history. We picked up a small tube the other day when we were at the pharmacy. It turns out to be a homeopathic headache remedy! Who knew? Of course it's got menthol in it: that's how you know it's working. I have an idea for a product of my own: a special lamp with a row of switches for enabling various rays which will cure headaches, insomnia, constipation, etc. It would make use of advanced LED technology and the unseen portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Cheesy Chipotle Chicken Chorizo Chili: How does this sound for a Taco Bell special?

Avatar, the last Airbender: I stayed away from this Nickelodeon series for a long time because of the cheesy name and four-elements premise (don't get me started on the four elements!) but enough people sang its praises that I finally borrowed the first season from the DVD library at work. It's a great show!