Jon’s Corner of the Whirled

Lisa, Georgia and I ate at the India Grill last night. Neither Lisa nor I was feeling up to cooking (we both have some virus thing dragging us down), and Lisa was craving Indian food. Unfortunately, we won’t be going there again.

The food was decent, but there were several strikes against it: there were ants crawling around on the table, flies buzzing around our heads, and the food seemed expensive relative to other Indian places we have eaten. Georgia was a well behaved, which made things more pleasant, but Lisa was not at all happy about the critters on the table and wondered to herself (and out loud to me later) what the kitchen was like if there were ants running around the dining room.

I’m a little forgiving, the restaurant is in an older Portland home that has been converted, so I would expect a few idiosyncrasies. We had a nice selection of food, with three dishes, and an appetizer, a beer for me, and a mango lassie for Lisa all came to ~$50, which seemed a bit steep. Maybe I’m just getting old.

An article over at Live Science discusses a new study done that compares the diets of people with esophageal cancer with those that don’t. In a nutshell, there isn’t a link between increased esophageal cancer and soda consumption. In fact, there is some evidence of the opposite relationship.

The a good mitigator for this type of cancer might be as close as your local pharmacy. If you have heartburn 2 days or more a week, talk to your doctor about a PPI.

I have noticed my nose isn’t quite as sensitive as Lisa or other people I have gone wine tasting with. This translates into experiences where people smell and taste things in wine that I just can’t. I wonder if this is due to nasal abuse caused by previous employment. One summer job I had used bleach to kill mold and mildew. Every night, the floors and equipment would be hosed down (they processed berries and fruit in the place). Once a week using bug type sprayers, the cleaning crew would walk around and spray the equipment and the floors until the whole place reeked of bleach. I can’t image this helped my nose, or tastebuds.

A group of us went to the Noble Rot recently. I had the Italian Wine Flight (among other foods and wine). The “middle” wine’s nose (I was foolish enough not to write down the name of it and the lists on the website are old) was amazingly fruity. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I’ve been working my way through chardonnay of various regions and preparations. I can say that it varies a tremendous amount based on climate. I have found that some taste like green apples, others like a big stick of butter. The difference is pretty amazing. Lisa says they all smell like vomit to her. She doesn’t like them.

I’m still bummed about my nose though.

I found a solution to many parking problems at Fugin, a local chinese restaurant. Check out the last sentence.

If I just remember to carry a pair of chopsticks around with me, I should have no problem moving vehicles, children, or even buildings out of my way!

If you ever go to Fujin, I highly recommend the Crispy Eggplant. Even Morgan, who is normally a picky eater likes it!

Straight Dope comes to the rescue again… Ever wondered about that age old question:

If we were to suffer an apocalypse where most of the living became flesh-eating zombies, how long, assuming I survived, would I continue to receive hydroelectricity from my power company?

Well, here is the answer!