Some time when I wasn't paying attention, Boston apparently became home. This fact was made clear tonight when I found that I am now on a first name basis with the owner of the Chinese restaurant near our house who told me the name of the dish I should order next time that isn't on the menu. Basically the only thing missing from the Charlottesville experience is to recognize half the patrons of the restaurant when I go in to eat.

Not too shabby for only being up here for two years.

Current Mood: cheerful

I stopped by CVS this evening to snag my prescription and found a few people ahead of me in line. The gentleman ahead of me was picking of several prescriptions, one of which was a highly controlled substance and thus required a photo ID to obtain. He informed the pharmacist that the prescription wasn't for him, he was picking it up for his husband. He was told that wasn't a problem, they just needed a photo ID so they had a record of who picked it up. That was it, no muss no fuss. I cannot overstate how much that entire exchange made me smile. I realize the rest of the US isn't there yet - which pains me - but it's really nice to be living in one of the states that supports equal rights for everyone. So yeah, thanks for being one of the cool kids Massachusetts.

Current Mood: optimistic

Interesting article from The Escapist

Addicted to Pizza - Written by Lauren Admire

I like pizza. I mean, I really, really like pizza. I'd even go so far as to say I'm addicted to pizza. It's delicious, it smells great and it reminds me of my childhood, when my Dad, then working as a pizza delivery guy, would bring home fresh pizzas all the time. I crave that greasy, cheesy goodness nearly every day. Thankfully, instead of blaming my nearly non-existent willpower and the development of the Pizza Hut iPhone app, I can just admit the secret, horrible truth: My name is Lauren Admire, and I'm addicted to pizza.

Whew, feels good to finally say it.

This week, scientists have found that rats that consumed a diet high in junk food had brains which mimicked the brains of those addicted to heroin. In the study, one group of rats was fed a reasonable, low-calorie diet. The other group of rats was fed a diet consisting solely of Ho-Hos, cheesecake, bacon and pound cake. (Guess which group I'd prefer to be in.) The rats offered the plethora of junk food quickly became compulsive over-eaters and obese, corroborating recent findings that eating fatty foods cause your body to ignore appetite-suppressing signals.

Researchers Paul Johnson and Paul Kenny decided to test if the over-eating was affecting the pleasure centers of the brain. Rats from both the control and the fast food group ran on an exercise wheel while the researchers stimulated the pleasure centers in their brain. The more they ran, the more stimulation their pleasure centers received. The group of rats on a junk food diet ran the most, which indicates that they needed more brain stimulation to get the same level of "good feelings" that the control group received while running for less time. This is a basic example of habituation. The more junk food, cocaine or sex you receive, the quicker your pleasure centers become used to the stimulation. Once this happens, the pleasure centers require ever increasing amounts of stimulation in order to achieve the same level of pleasure that they received when eating or running less. This is exactly why drug users begin to take larger doses of drugs - they aren't receiving the same "high" that they did before, and they need more of the drug to get the same high.

After five days of eating the junk food diet, rats were acting like druggies on their fifth year of meth (puts the character of Templeton into a whole new perspective, don't it?). Their pleasure centers had been dulled to the point that they needed to eat even more food in order to get the same stimulation that they had when eating less. They became addicted to junk food.

To test exactly how addicted these rats were, the researchers performed another test. In order to get to the delicious piles of junk food, rats would have to endure a shock. Rats from the healthy diet group stopped eating entirely in order to avoid the unpleasant shock. The junk food rats, on the other hand, endured the shock over and over again in order to get to the delectable, tasty treats. Even more alarming, when the junk food was taken away and replaced with salads, the junk food rats refused to eat. "They starve themselves for two weeks afterward," Kenny says. "Their dietary preferences are dramatically shifted." So, the next time you're trying to decide between an apple or a slice of pizza, think twice. Pizza is the gateway food.

Current Mood: thoughtful

On this somewhat disgusting looking day (which appears to be clearing up even as I type this), I offer some sunshine. After numerous applications of heat, yoga, and anti-inflammatories, my back cracked today and is now feeling damn near perfect.

What rays of sunshine succeeded in brightening your day today?

Current Mood: busy

Apparently PopCap and Square-Enix teamed up to make a puzzle-solving RPG. This seems like a horrible idea in a "let's combine heroin and cocaine" sort of way. I've seen first hand how much time I can sink into one of the Final Fantasy games. I've also seen how mind-numbingly addictive games like Peggle, Bejeweled, and Plants vs. Zombies can be. I see two paths. This could potentially be an atrocious game that captures the worst aspects of both game genres. Alternately, people will starve to death because the two companies made a game that was so addictive that people actually forget to stop playing the game to go eat food. I'm not certain there's going to be a middle ground of mediocrity here, but I suppose it's always possible. Your thoughts? Have any of you played the Japanese version?

Someone just gifted me with Left 4 Dead on Steam. If that person happens to be on my f-list, thanks for the Zombie-tastic action!

Current Mood: cheerful

It turns out that making poached pears is actually quite easy. I had seen someone do it once and decided to try it out tonight, which was met with much success. Inadvertent candy may have been produced as a result of it (komos or faux_eonix will have to let me know).

Recipe (yes, I actually remembered what I did this time):

4 bosc pears (peeled)
3 cups red wine
2 cups sugar (possibly cut back to 1 1/2...depends on how sweet you like it. I think the two cups pushed this over the line from wine reduction into soft candy)
1/2 stick of cinnamon
juice of 1 lemon
rind of one lemon

Throw it all in a pot (except the pears). When it starts to boil, add the pears. Turn them every few minutes. When they're tender and a deep purple, they're done. Remove the pears and simmer the liquid until it has a sheen and looks like it's thickened (sorry, best way I can describe it). Strain the solid matter and reserve the liquid.

To add to the general unhealthiness of the dish, I made a butter rum sauce. I'm cutting it in half here because the amount I made was *way* too much.

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick butter
1 tbsp rum

Add everything except the rum. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by half. Remove from heat and stir in rum. No rum was on hand tonight so I used blackberry brandy, which apparently works just as well (and is delicious).

The painmagic of this video should not be limited to just me, so I pass it on to you my wonderful friends.

( He Puts it in the Wrong Place - mildly NSFW )

( The Internet has officially jumped the shark - NSFW unless you have a very understanding employer )

I have been on a serious cheese kick the last few weeks; more so that my usual cheese-loving binges. When faced with a lack of d'Auvergne bleu at the local Whole Foods, I took the cheese monger's suggestion and tried the St. Agur. It was delicious. Since then I've been on the hunt for other cheeses that might sate my inner dairy overlord. What are you fine folks eating these days that you'd want others to try?

Current Mood: hungry for cheese