Diary of a Network Geek

Let’s not get into a discussion of how to pronounce “GIF”.

All I’ll say is that the creators of the format pronounced it like the peanut butter brand.
Either way, my purpose this week is to share two things from the same source. First, there’s the super cool, trippy animations from Etienne Jacob, aka Necessary-Disorder.

An animated GIF from Etienne Jacob, aka Necessary-Disorder

Just look at that incredible GIF. It repeats, but it seems to just run endlessly. It’s amazing. Hit the linked site for more of them.

But, if you’re feeling a bit more ambitious, head over to his other site necessary-disorder tutorials where the young Frenchman shares his process and tools for making these amazing works of animated art.

Another animated GIF from Etienne Jacob, aka Necessary-Disorder

I’d share more, but it’s been a crazy couple of weeks at work and I’ve been super busy there, and on a little something I’m keeping under wraps for now. Hopefully, though, there will be some good news to share with you, dear blog readers, before the end of the month.

From bean to your mouth, how delicious chocolate is made.

I grew up in the city, but I had relatives who farmed, so I’m not one of those people who thought that food magically showed up in the grocery store. I was pretty aware, for instance, that steaks used to walk around in a pasture before they got carved up into bite-sized chunks. And, yes, I was always okay with that. But, also from that experience with my family’s farm, I learned to be curious about just what goes into food and food production. Frankly, what we do and have available to us in our amazing, modern, global economy is nothing short of miraculous. I’m old enough that I remember oranges being extra expensive and a great treat at Christmas, for instance. So what does all that have to do with chocolate? Well, until recently, I only had the vaguest idea how chocolate bars were made. I knew it started with a bean somewhere in the tropics and involved a process like roasting until the beans could be ground up into what is essentially cocoa powder.  And, that cocoa powder becomes chocolate. But, beyond that, the process was a bit of a mystery to me. And, I’d imagine, to you, too, gentle readers.

Well, thanks to a podcast from Seth Godin, titled It’s Not About The Chocolate, we don’t have to wonder any more. That link will take you to, among other things, two videos showing the process of taking cacao beans from the tree to an actual chocolate bar for your delicious consumption. And, yes, global warming is, in fact, putting my favorite sweet in danger. No matter how you feel about all that, the videos are fascinating and deliciously educational. Though, I do absolutely recommend that you listen to the full podcast. It’s even more educational than the videos.

And, there’s your entertaining video for Friday, with a steaming side of social consciousness.
Enjoy!

This post originally appeared on Use Your Words!

Remember how I wrote last week that this month was going to be a little random?

This is what I meant.

So, people who know me well know that I love instant ramen noodles.  In fact, just back in January, I was going on about the joy of ramen and how much I loved it in all its reconstituted glory.  Well, once upon a time, I thought I would share my love of ramen with the world by rating all the different…
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Readers from my other blog will know that I love both ramen noodles and infographics.

It’s almost a kind of sickness, I’ll admit, but I really love ramen.  I don’t care that they aren’t necessarily the healthiest thing for me to eat, because I know there are worse things, and I love them.  The past two weeks I’ve linked to things that will help you eat healthier and help you eat less.  This week, I figure you’ve about given up on…
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I love energy bars, but, at heart, I’m a cheapskate.

Besides, most of those store-bought energy bars aren’t even really all that healthy for you!  I love them for a lot of reasons.  They’re quick, easy, portable and can easily be thrown in a bag when I head out on an adventure.  But, like I already mentioned, there are downsides.  The store-bought ones generally aren’t cheap, or all that good for you.  So, what to do?
Well, naturally, make your own!

Let’s start with one from Men’s Health magazine; Peanut Butter and Chocolate Energy Bars.  Not bad, but that’s just one recipe and I tend to like a lot more variety than that.
So, here are FOUR very different recipes for energy bars from Chow.  One of the things I like about these four is that they’re inspired by some of my favorite mass-produced energy bars, so I have some idea what I’ll be eating even before I make them.  Also, more variety!  Yea!
And, then, there are three from Alton Brown, which he featured on Good Eats at the Food Network.  These include protein bars and granola bars, for even more variety!

I don’t imagine these will keep too terribly long, but if you use them regularly, making your own can really save you a lot of money.  And, of course, controlling the ingredients means that you can keep them healthier!
Now, you have a project for the weekend!

I love leftovers.

I typically have a small group at my house for Thanksgiving and yet still cook an enormous amount of food.  I’ll generally munch those leftovers through Christmas.  People tell me that it’s probably not good for me and that I’ll get food poisoning or whatever.  So, you know, I started to wonder; how long are leftovers good?

Well, if you’ve wondered that very thing along with me, wonder no more.
Instead, go to this article at StillTasty.com about how to store your Thanksgiving leftovers.  (Hopefully, you haven’t made an terrible errors already and refrigerated anything you weren’t sure about.)
So, now you know how long you can enjoy that leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast!
Also, I hope all my readers had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Did you know that they make “musk” from pig testicles?

For real.
So, you know, if you’re a manly man out there trying to attract a future mate, why not skip the “middle man” and just wear a little Barbeque Cologne Que?!
No, seriously.  It’s cologne that smells like fresh bacon and barbeque.  For real!  Frankly, it sounds delicious!  Though, it does kind of sound like it might be more attractive to guys than to girls.
Also?  You may want to make sure when you wear it that the girl you’re about to hit on isn’t a vegetarian!

Though I rarely post twice in one day, and frankly I post more than once a week these days, I present this link:
Extruding Chicken Nuggets at Gizmodo

Go look, and remember, that’s not bubble gum they’re making.  That your future chicken nuggets and chicken patties.
Enjoy your lunch!