short takes

Thursday when we were at my parents' house they showed us their new George Foreman grill. It looks like it would be really handy! It's sloped so the grease automatically rolls out the front (they provide a drip pan), and it's double-sided (like a waffle iron) so the food cooks from both sides at the same time. They said it cooks chicken breasts (on the bone) in 5-7 minutes. Five to seven minutes! I could do a lot with that. I don't often get tool envy, but I think I've got it this time.

Since I wasn't home for the first two nights of Chanukah, the latkes had to wait until last night. Dani walked into the kitchen while I was grating potatoes and said "You know, latkes are not biblically mandated". Yeah, sure, whatever; I like latkes, and once a year I try to make them. This was my best batch so far, and Dani even complimented me on them.

"Andromeda" has been very spotty this season. About this weekend's show I can say only this: stupid, stupid plot (don't they have security protocols in the far future?), but very pretty incidental music. It sounded similar to some of the music in "Earth: Final Conflict"; I wonder if it's the same musicians. (It's the same studio, so it could be.)

Tomorrow night we are getting together for "D&D Smackdown" -- no role-playing, no consequences, just combat. It's a way of helping both the players and the GM explore options in a safe environment. It should be fun. (Ralph did this once before, but Dani and I couldn't make it.)

According to the nutrition information printed on the sides of most food packages, a generic person should consume 2000 calories, 50 grams of protein, 60 grams of fat, and 320 grams of carbs per day. I wonder if those are actually reasonable target proportions; I don't really know anything about stuff like this. (Lately I seem to be coming in a little high on protein, somewhat low on carbs (but not anything like Atkins levels), and more or less right on fat.)