RSS DVR BSE

I've added a link to my rss feed. Once I got it working, I was horrified at how the standard orange XML button looked with my color scheme, so I made my own button using an interface to Bill Zeller's button maker application.

Thanks to Karl, who sent me a link about plans to offer HD TiVo for Direct TV. It sounds as if it will be a little pricey, ranging from $699 to $899. Do I really need a clothes dryer? Now I just have to think about getting that view of the southern sky. I'll have plenty of time to contemplate that while I'm waiting for the price to come down.

My family has spent a lot of time recently worrying about the food supply and what we're going to eat, especially after reading this article. I think we're just going to continue to avoid eating beef and try to only eat free range meat, whenever we can. Well, that's what I'm going to try to do at least. One of the things argued by the article is that other meat, such as pork, isn't safe, because the animals are slaughtered when the pigs are young, years before the spongiform encephalopathy would be expected to show up. Hearing about high levels of pollutants in farmed salmon doesn't inspire confidence about the alternatives either. I'm just going to live on smoothies.

The Last Day of Freedom

Today was my last day of vacation. I'm not looking forward to going back to work, which is actually a good sign. I thought I would be sick of staying home this long, but I have found more than enough to do. There are many things I didn't get to!

This evening, we went to ACME Food & Beverage Company, my favorite restaurant. They consistently produce what I think is the best overall meal in the Triangle. It's about a 35 minute drive from Hillsborough, but it's worth it. This evening, I had a rare tuna steak over their French fries, with a wine butter sauce. For dessert, I had a chocolate bourbon bread pudding topped with a caramel sauce and whipped cream. Recently, they've been serving rolls before the meal that are just heavenly.

Some of you may think that I spend too much time talking about food and what I've eaten. While, as I've already mentioned, I've always wanted to be a restaurant critic, I am also thinking that I will want to look back on the blog archives in the future and revel in memories of food that I no longer eat. Already, I am eschewing beef, due to the mad cow scare. I just worry that I've already eaten contaminated beef, undetected due to the shockingly small percentage of animals that have been tested. Even if I limit myself to free range beef, there's no guarantee that the animals were not given contaminated feed before they went to the farm to be happy cows. As the Bush Administration continues to slacken food safety regulations, I will probably limit the types of food I consume even further. I am already mentally preparing myself for the eventuality of becoming a pesco-vegetarian, if necessary.