deLemos.net

Warning: Contents May be Hot

marc — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:26:59 +0000

I am considering the idea that one of the drawbacks of civilization is that it encourages the flourishing of stupidity. Even without explicitly endorsing a “survival of the fittest” viewpoint, it’s seems reasonable that surviving as a stupid person was a much more difficult task, say, a hundred years ago. Whether from a medical, legal or re-productive standpoint, I’d say that’s a fair argument.

Medically, the price for stupid escapades was much higher in the early 20th century (of course, the human ability to heal has always lagged behind it’s abilty to commit mayhem. Gunpowder showed up in the 13th century. Anesthesia and antiseptics, about 600 years later). The state of medical science was such that many injuries or self-destructive behaviors were far more fatal than they are today. Clearly, any “hey guys, watch this!” episodes that ended in trauma or mutilation would have been more likely to occur further from a big city with a good hospital simply because there were fewer big cities and fewer good hospitals. Even assuming that the fool could be transported to a healing center (by horse-drawn cart), the skills of the physicians and the tools available to them were far more limited than they are today. Post-accident result: greatly reduced lifespan at best, death at worst. Self-destructive behaviors such as over-indulgence (in alcohol, tobacco, food, etc) were more self limiting, as transplants and staplings were unheard of. Since it was not possible for medical science to patch up the offending organ, people just dealt with the consequences. Again, the end result was far more likely to be terminal. In short, the stupidity gene pool was kept lower because science was less able to effectively combat all of the creative ways that humans continue to create to harm themselves.

From a legal standpoint, idiot protections were pretty much non-existent. Don’t get me wrong, I can see that in some ways the more complex life we lead requires supplying consumers with more information and protection. It is reasonable to require producers to label what’s in their products (whether they be foodstuffs or financial instruments) and meet certain guidelines for freshness and quality. I’m not advocating a full caveat emptor economy, but I think it’s a bit much when my coffee warns me that the contents may be hot and my wife’s hair dryer has a warning label saying not to use it in the shower. Has anyone ever considered the cost in planning and packaging that is drained from our economy just to tell people things that they should unquestionably already know so that companies can avoid litigation? I’m sure it pales in comparison to the cost of litigation brought about by stupid people (warned and unwarned) who take umbrage at their stupidity having bad results and want someone else to pay for it.

From a re-productive standpoint, this a golden age for Stupidity. The Information Age is a goldmine of resources that allow stupid people to find other stupid people more quickly and efficiently than ever before, meet them, and (planned or not) reproduce. Getting in the time machine once again, a person considered a less-than-desirable mate would have a much more limited scope of opportunity in the early 20th century. Even in most cities the possibilities for finding a willing partner were circumscribed, and outside the cities (which is where more than half the population was) it was even worse. Exhaust your possibilities in your town, and you could look at possibilities within a fairly small radius, and that would require time and travel. Back in the present day, the internet provides a vast world of opportunity, connecting lonely idiots from coast to coast (and beyond!). Yes, one of the great developments of the ubiquity of the internet is that it allows all sorts of people to have all sorts of lascivious communication (with pictures, sound, and video) without ever having to leave the comfort of their homes. Left at that, it’s actually a great thing because it’s not a very effective method of transferring genetic material. But when it is NOT left at that, well, once again civilization is aiding and abetting the ability of the stupid to mate.

So in short – civilization has drastically improved the odds of the survival of the stupid, created additional rules to protect them from themselves, and made it easier for them to find a date. If we could find an equally good way to encourage the proliferation of intelligent and effective legislators, we might be on to something.

Re-visiting the Gouty Weasel

marc — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:13:16 +0000

My cantankerous alter ego, the Gouty Weasel, has been around for many years. Just the other day I was asked where he had gotten to. And the answer is: he hasn’t gone anywhere, really, and he’s just as foul as ever. Perhaps I can cajole him into producing some new material in the future.

Meditation on the Aspects of Relationships

marc — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:45:14 +0000

There are four aspects in play with romantic relationships - emotion, physical closeness, having someone find you interesting, and orgasm. If you take care of the last one sufficiently, it’s much easier to think clearly about the other 3. Keep in mind that it is often difficult to find all four of these aspects in one person, and if encountered, this should be embraced as the special thing that it is. Since it is a rare occurrence, setting out in pursuit of the person who embodies all aspects is fraught with frustration and disappointment. Do not go down this path. Why?The accumulation of frustration from an extended failure to find that rare person can actually reduce the possibility of finding that person over time. Worse yet, hyper-focus on the ideal prevents you from being able to enjoy relationships which embody only one aspect, as increasingly over time anything less than the ideal is unsatisfactory. When this spiral of disappointment and frustration begins, it is necessary to escape it before it becomes an obsession.

The better path is to seek only to do that which truly interests you, rather than doing what you believe you should do in order to attain the goal. Doing what you believe you should do is un-natural and un-productive. How are you most likely to attract the one who delights in who you really are? By being who you really are. In this way you are most honest with yourself and with others. If you are not being true to your nature, you will encounter only those who are attracted to who you appear to be – not who you really are. In the mean time, the person who would delight in the real you will mistake you for something else, fail to be interested, and walk away. You will lose the opportunity.

Pursue what delights you, and happiness will follow.

Always take the straight route to obtaining any one of the aspects, or you will get lost.

You don’t go in search of orgasm by encouraging emotional attachment – that is dishonest.
You don’t go in search of emotion though the path to orgasm – that will leave you feeling empty.
You lose the fun of having someone find you interesting if you spend the whole night calculating that person into bed.

Pick an aspect, take the direct route to obtain it, and don’t expect to find one of the other aspects at the same time.

A Movable Feast

marc — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:53:02 +0000

Nothing like a deep fried hot dog...

One of these days it will happen. I’ll be done with working, pack up a few belongings and hit the road. The goal? To eat my way across America, sampling the best of each region’s specialties. In an ideal world, I’d love to make one trip for each type of food – a chicken-fried steak trip, a barbecue trip, a hot dog trip, a hamburger trip…you get the idea. And when I do, I’ll need to know what not to miss. Yeah, I have my short list of places I’ll want to see again. Gotta have a hamburger at Louie’s Lunch in New Haven, CT. Gotta have an Italian Hot Dog at Jimmy Buff’s in West Orange, NJ. But I also know there are hundreds, if not thousands, of places that aren’t even on my radar. That is research that begins today, and I’m looking for input. What’s your favorite can’t miss food?

No Such Thing as a Stupid Question?

marc — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 19:41:54 +0000

I heard the most ridiculous statement today. “There is no such thing as a stupid question.” Don’t be foolish, of course there is! And the sooner someone stands up, points at the purveyor, and says “That, sir, is an exceedingly stupid question. Please shut up.”, the sooner we will be on the road to more intelligent and civilized discourse. If no one ever tells these idiots that they are asking stupid questions, they will never learn anything. I do not condone stupidity merely for the sake of saving someone’s feelings.

More Fun with Bacon

marc — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 14:28:46 +0000

In the continuing spirit of the belief that any recipe that begins with “take a pound of bacon..” can only end in a smile, I give you this fat-laden red sauce:

1 pound of bacon

3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

1 bay leaf

1 28 oz. can of tomato puree

1/2 cup of heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

take a pound of bacon and cut it into small dice
fry bacon up in a a large pan. Leave the bacon grease in the pan (yes, all of it)
sautee the garlic and bay leaf in the pan with the bacon until fragrant
off the heat (to avoid splattering) add the tomato puree and stir to combine
stir in the red pepper flakes, season with salt & pepper
allow to simmer over a very low flame for at least 15 minutes
add heavy cream, stir to combine

That’s it. Serve it over you favorite pasta, add parmesan cheese if you feel so inclined. Serve plenty of bread and a nice glass of wine.

Rock and a Hard Place

marc — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 14:15:13 +0000

Just thinking about the elections today and how there are no choices out there that truly ignite me. It’s a sad commentary on the state of our political process when people are more moved by what they’re voting against than what they’re voting for. There is a wave of people going out to vote to change the change they voted for two years ago. What no one seems to be saying is that none of the answers from either side truly satisfy or solve problems. All solutions are not couched in terms of an ultimate solution, but as a reaction against what the other guys are doing. Am I the only one who feels that our politicians are more interested in winning elections than actually doing anything?

Of course, the other factor which makes it so tough is that the coverage of public figures has become so pervasive, and so invasive, that no one in his right mind would want to run for office. Those with the best chance of making things better would have to be crazy to put themselves into campaign process that begins pretty much as soon as the last election ends, especially since the decisions of the electorate are driven by sound bites and mud-slinging as opposed to intelligent discussion of the issues. So if the only ones who run can’t be in their right minds, in effect the inmates are running the asylum.

Whahappened?

marc — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:31:32 +0000

Yeah, it looks a little different. And some of the content has gone away. After a dozen years, it seemed like it was time for a facelift, so I took the plunge. A lot of the content still lives in the Roadsend Archive, but some of it has just been put away until further notice. The upside is that I’ll be adding new content for the first time since my daughter was born, which could be a good thing. And you can make your comments right on the page, which seems to be a perq of this new-fangled blogging business. Have at it.

Oh, and if you really, truly need a fix of the oldstyle content, you can probably find it at www.delemos.net\oldsite

Super Fat Pasta Sauce

marc — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:45:10 +0000

I truly and deeply believe that any recipe that begins with “take a pound of bacon…” has got to be worth a try. This started out many years ago as an attempt to come up with an alternative to fettucine al fredo that would appeal to my wife, but has since grown into what can only be called the Ultimate Super Fat Pasta Sauce…

1 lb of bacon

2 boneless chicken breasts, split or pounded thin

4 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of chicken broth

1 lb of butter

1 pint of heavy whipping cream

1 lb freshly shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Take a pound of bacon and cut it into half-inch pieces
Brown the bacon in a large heavy pot, remove the bacon, and set aside
Saute the chicken breasts in the bacon drippings (Yes, ALL the bacon drippings), about 4 minutes per side. Remove
Add flour to the bacon drippings (Yes, I really mean all the bacon drippings) and stir to create a roux
Add chicken broth and stir while heating to a simmer. Allow the gravy to thicken a bit.
Add the butter and allow to melt
Once the butter is melted, add the heavy whipping cream. Increase heat to medium and until this mixture begins to simmer lightly. Let simmer. Whisk occasionally.
While butter/cream mixture is heating, cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes. Set aside.
Once butter/cream mixture has reduced and thickened slightly, begin adding the cheese. Whisk in small portions at a time to allow even melting.
Once all the cheese has been added, throw the diced chicken in as well.
Throw in the bacon too. Yes, the whole pound
Serve this whole thing over hot pasta which has been tossed in a little olive oil and garlic.

Yes, I eat this. No, I do not have a heart attack immediately afterwards. What’s really good is if you have brownies and ice cream for dessert afterwards….