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  • Coolest Blog Find of Recent Past

    I’m not sure where exactly I found the link to the More Stuff 4 Less Bargin Blog, but whoever I got it from I’ll have to thank them. This blog lists all kinds of sales/rebates/coupons for snopping online. Some of them are pretty impressive, for instance:

    Outpost.com – Western Digital 160GB WD1600JBRTL UATA100 8MB Buffer HD $159.99 After Rebate.
    Outpost has the WD 160GB 72000 RPM special edition hard drive with controller card & 3 year warranty selling for $259.99.  A $100 rebate brings that price down to just $159.99 plus shipping.  Sales tax for AZ, CA, CT, OH, TX and NV. [More Stuff 4 Less Bargain Blog]

    Quite a bargin I must say.

  • QOTD

    H. L. Mencken: “To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true!” [Quotes of the Day]

  • Video Game Madness

    Dave Hyatt is finding himself completely sucked into Xenosaga. I can so sympathize. I was really torn between grabbing that or Dark Cloud 2. In the end I picked up Dark Cloud 2 because I really enjoyed the first one. The second one is amazing. So many little bits and pieces to the game that all fit together quite well. I’ll be writing a mini-review in a while. And knowing that Xenosaga is waiting for me when I’m done makes me happy.

  • Gregory’s Chili, Take 1

    The results are in and yow! It’s good chili! It’s a tiny bit too
    hot, but it tastes really really good. I think if I were to do a
    second batch I’d cut down on the cayenne pepper a little bit (but not
    much). Yum.

    Here’s the recipe This came about after getting a chili recipe from
    a friend online. As I was looking around to find out more about chili
    I decided to be more daring and try something that was my own original
    recipe.

    Ingredients

    3 strips of bacon
    3 lbs of lean meat (diced or ground (but diced is better))
    1 small onion, diced
    10 cloves garlic, chopped
    1 can diced tomatos (drained)
    1 tsp ground cumin
    6 tbsp chili powder
    4 tbsp paprika paprika (for color, but also adds flavor if good
    paprika)
    1 tsp red pepper (I used ground cayenne pepper)
    2 Tbsp honey
    3 Tbsp flour
    6-8 Tbsp corn meal
    32 oz of beer

    1. Cook bacon in the pot you will be using. I was using a dutch oven.
      Cook it down till it’s almost crispy. Scoop bacon and put aside for
      bacon bits.
    2. Add garlic and onion, let cook for about 2 minutes, stirring the
      whole time, till the onions start to soften.
    3. Add the meat, saute it till it gets grey, but not really browned,
      add tomatos, and beer, bring everything to a boil then simmer at low
      heat for 30 minutes.
    4. Add spices, and simmer for 1 hour.
    5. Add honey and simmer for 30 min more.
    6. Remove a bit of the hot liquid (or, use
      approximately 1 cup of water) and mix the flour and corn meal until
      blended. Add to chili pot and cook 5 minutes more to determine if more
      water or more thickening is needed. Stir to prevent sticking after
      adding the thickening.
    7. Serve with whatever chili condements you like. I personally like
      lots of cheese.

    So there goes. Warning for anyone making it, it’s pretty hot. I
    recommend a beer with it to help cut the heat some.

  • Cookin Away

    I decided to go ahead with making chili today. I’d gotten a recipe from a friend of mine online a week or so ago and it had been kind of tugging at the back of my head. Unfortunately I started browsing around online. My big question was about the different kinds of chili peppers. There are a number of different varieties, and I wanted to make sure I used something good for this. In the end I decided to go kinda simple and use just a basic chili powder, though next time I’d like to try using actual chilis. So far it’s been on the stove for around 40 minutes. I figure it’s got around an hour and a quarter left to cook. Dinner will be late tonight. Once I’ve tasted it and decide that it’s acceptable I’ll post my recipe.

  • I Liked It

    Jen over at What’s Brewing was talking about going to the movies at The Brattle this weekend. It’s one of my favorite places to see movies because they always have such a wonderful selection of things. There were a few things that looked interesting this month, but the next month they’re showing a new print of Lawrence of Arabia. I’ve never seen it on a big screen of any kind, so I really want to go see this one. I’ve put it into my calendar.

  • Hmm, I Don’t Know if the First Few Count

    Technorati recently introducted a feature called Top 50 Interesting Recent Blogs With Context. I took a glance at it this morning and notice that the first four entries were for BackBlog and HaloScan. Both are services that provide a comment systems for blogs (lots of people who use Blogger use it). I’m kind of wondering how these appeared in there because they really aren’t blogs. The interesting blogs section is still fairly new and experimental, so I’m sure things like that will get filtered out eventually.

    Here’s a listing of the first six entries on the list (yes the first two are dulplicated also).

    1. backBlog – 231 new blogs 814 blogs 10954 links
    2. backBlog – 231 new blogs 814 blogs 10954 links
    3. HaloScan.com – Free Weblog Commenting – 640 new blogs 2619 blogs 35356 links
    4. HaloScan.com – Free Weblog Commenting – 640 new blogs 2619 blogs 35356 links
    5. Weblogs at Harvard 13 new blogs 80 blogs 146 links
    6. Exploding Cigar – 19 new blogs 74 blogs 168 links

    Notice the huge difference in number of sites linking to the comments system. Which makes sense because there’s probably that many blogs out there using them as a service. It’s an interesting little glitch in the system, though one I’m guessing will disappear soon enough.

  • QOTD

    Penn Jillette: “Channeling is just bad ventriloquism. You use another voice, but people can see your lips moving.” [Quotes of the Day]

  • Feeling Better?

    I must be feeling better. I woke up at my typical time this morning, though I’m kind of fuzzy because I went to sleep really late. I think I’m going to quickly zoom over to Rosebud when it opens and grab some breakfast. Something that’ll put me into a bit of a food coma so I can crawl right back into bed and pass out.

    I also have a hankering for chili and want to make some. The only problem is that I don’t have a big pot to make it in. I’m thinking of picking up a cast iron dutch oven to give it a try. The only problem is I’d have to season it before using it. On the other hand the price on a 5 quart one is just right (around $20, I’d actually really like a Le Creuset one, but those are more like $170). It would also mean I’d probably have to do a half batch of chili, since the full batch calls for a 6 quart pot. Of course I’m making this for just myself, so a half of the normal should be just fine.

  • A bit of catchup

    So what’s Gregory been watching lately? Here’s a quick rundown.

    • Noir – Of the shows I’ve watched fansubs of, this is definitely one of my favorite. I was so happy when I saw that it had been picked up. Even though I’ve cut down my DVD buying for the moment this is one that I made sure to pick up the first disc of (so that I could get the box for the set). ADV has done a wonderful job with this. It really shows how amazing DVD can be.
    • UFO Princess Valkyrie – What to say about this show. It’s kind of random, not too original, has quite a bit of fanservice. Oh yeah, and it has catgirls (and a gun that turns girls into catgirls). I’m really not sure why I like this show, but I do. Maybe it’s a bit of wanting some light mindless fun after watching more serious things like Noir and Wolf’s Rain. The theme song also kicks ass. Fun to check out if you want to let your mind take a vacation.
    • Kiddy Grade – A show I’m sure people are sick of me gushing about. This show just continues to keep me on the edge of my seat. I just took in episodes 17 and 18 and want more. We seem to be into the home stretch now storywise. But I have the feeling it’s still going to be quite the rollercoaster ride for the rest of the show. The hardest thing to do is get people to sit down and get through the first few episodes. Maybe I’ll see if I can get my friend Chris to download and watch this one.
    • Wolf’s Rain – Only up to episode 6 on this one. I’m still liking this a lot. This is a show that seems to be really about character development. Though, I will agree with Lyn that this show is just oh so gay.

    That’s it for now. Stay tuned for next time when I talk about Naruto, Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto, .hack//legends, and Stratos 4.