The Importance of Being Aware

I went to the grocery store again. And as usual I had a great time. Every time I go it seems like there is something new there. That's what I love about the grocery store, it is full of unlimited possibilities for culinary creation. But are they content to merely sit back on their great haunches? No! Every time I go in there, they've got something new! Remember green ketchup? The grocery store is the most amazingly innovative store on the planet.
I've never bought anything from the back of a box before. But now I can finally check that off the list. The only reason I bought these cheese-its was to get that sweet, sweet Captain Kirk T-shirt. Little kid Jeff (and frankly adult Jeff) would be extremely proud of this decision. Man is that thing gonna be awesome! Quick, what's wrong with this picture?
Yeah, Raisin has 2 i's. It's important that you be aware of the world around you. Otherwise you might miss a totally wicked offer for a Captain Kirk T-shirt or accidentally buy Raisin Bran without real raisins. At least the guy who designed the front of the box got it right.

Exploring other cultures

I found myself at the local Asian market on a recent quest to purchase sushi ingredients. Walking through aisles filled with live eels, dried Rambutan, and hundreds of other unknown food products reminded me how narrow my culinary experiences have been. And also how easily I get lost.

Luckily someone discovered how to extract the "flavour" from a potato without all those pesky nutrients

I have decided that I should make a more concerted effort to expose myself to other cultures, especially their cuisines. I suppose I could delicately sample strange dishes and foreign flavors. But why try something new in a safe and sane manner when you can do it in a flamboyant and potentially disastrous manner!?
I think it's a good idea to spend an entire week eating only food I've purchased at the Asian market. I'll need a little time to try and research some recipes and convince my wife that this is a good idea, or at least one that won't kill us. But sometime in the future, look forward to "Asian Food Theme Week". In fact, I'd like to try and incorporate more theme weeks into my life. Nothing says adventure like crazy theme weeks. If anyone has ideas for fun theme weeks, please let me know.

Robots Invade the Super Market

Today's trip to the supermarket left me feeling, as usual, conflicted. But today's conflict was not caused by the usual culprits of unruly taste buds and health conscience brain cells battling it out. No, this day's conflict was fueled by technology. It seems our local grocery store has installed hand held scanners that let you scan your food as you shop, thus outsourcing the checkout clerk's job to the customers.
I won't lie, it was certainly fun running through the aisles pretending to scan alien life forms and shouting Captain Kirk quotes. Checking out after our trip was also quite speedy. But as computers expand into every aspect of my life, my love/hate relationship with technology grows larger.

Set phasers to stun!

How many years do we have left before the coming robot revolution? They can already beat us at chess and build our cars. Now they follow me through the grocery store showing me digital coupons and begging me to buy more Oreos while I do the same job the use to pay a person to do. Not to mention I almost accidentally stole four items when I forgot to scan them. I've seen the Matrix enough times to know what happens next. All too often we seem to be blinded by the coolness of new technology to notice it's downside until it is far too late. I guess I'll just go home and blog about it on my computer.