Links posted on August 10, 2009
In the midst of this editorial from a conservative attacking health care reform, there is this gem:
One year in perfect health gets you one point. Deductions are taken for blindness, for being in a wheelchair and so on.
The more points you have, the more your life is considered worth saving, and the likelier you are to get care.
People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.
Great fact-checking there, guys!
Thanks to Top Chef, I know all about this apparent movement in food culture called "molecular gastronomy" which mostly entails using a little science about how food processes work to create unexpected tastes and textures that really hadn't been explored before. Or, to most people, it probably just means "foam" because that is mostly how it was used.
Anyway, I came across the very stimulating blog Cooking Issues run by some chefs at the French Culinary Institute in NYC. Their interests range far and wide but the topics never fail to be interesting. They answer questions like "What is the best apple to use for cider?" by going to a university/government orchard and trying 200 varieties. They answer questions like "Why do the parts of the cocktail shaker stick together?" by (gasp!) doing math...and then an experiment to see how close the math was. They ask "What can you do with a centrifuge (and which one should I buy?)" and then do a bunch of stuff with a centrifuge. Oh yeah, also foam.