Fun Stuff

Berries: not so miraculous

/ Shane / 3 Comments

And now the berries finally ARE in my grasp.  A co-worker bought some tablets from ThinkGeek.

Unfortunately I didn’t have anything prepared to give them a fair try, so I will probably need to try this again.  This is what I had with me:

1) Oatmeal Cream Pie – It tasted about the same, I really didn’t notice a difference.  I was warned it could be super over sweet, but I didn’t notice.
2) Plum – At first I thought it tasted the same and I thought the pills were bogus.  But after eating it for a little bit I thought, “Either those pills are working or this is the finest, ripest plum ever picked!” By the end it was almost too sweet!  But I didn’t taste it before the pills, so I don’t know how much improvement there was.  It could have, in fact, been the finest, ripest plum ever picked.
3) Venison and Cheese sandwich – It seemed to taste extra delicious, but I think I am chalking that up to my heightened awareness of taste as I scrutinized every bite for the effects of the berries.
4) Diet Dr. Pepper – It had a sort of bitter taste at the end.  Definitely not an improvement!

Nothing was that dramatic however.  I’m wondering how much of it is a placebo effect, meaning, I know this is supposed to taste different so now I’m thinking it tastes different.  The Emperor’s New Clothes in pill form.  To be fair though, the pills are supposed to turn sour things sweet and I didn’t really have anything sour.  I will need to try again with some lemons or the like.

I will, of course, keep you posted.

Pickle Pop Redux

/ Shane / 1 Comment

In case you are keeping track at home, I still had one Pickle Pop left after our previous trials.  Well, Evie’s birthday party seemed like a good time to break it out.  I meant to blog this a long time ago when it was fresh in my mind, but I will try to do my best to remember everyone’s reactions.

A brave soul goes first

A brave soul goes first

Even though he doesn’t like pickles, we convinced Nathan give it a try.  I will let his reaction shot speak for itself:

Not so much

Not so much

 After the ice was broken, everybody wanted to try.

Dabu

Dabu votes no

 I can’t remember for sure, but I don’t think Chris liked it.

Chris gives it a try

Chris gives it a try

I thought Anna might like it since she really likes pickles.
A new hope

A new hope

I think she thought it was okay, but she wasn’t wild about it.  After that we thought maybe a kid would go for it if an adult wouldn’t.  In any case, kids are easy to trick and will do anything their daddies tell them to do.
Maybe it is more of a kid thing

Maybe it is more of a kid thing

Eliza didn’t dislike it, but she’s old enough to recognize an icy and therefore didn’t get what she was expecting.  Also the reaction was a little skewed, what with the camera and all the adults crowding around.  I think she would eat them under different circumstances.
On to the next sucker

On to the next sucker

If I remember correctly, Tom thought they were alright.  I for sure remember him requesting Sauerkraut Pops, but I told him they probably already had enough trouble selling Pickle Pops.  Sharon didn’t want to try them but she did anyway.

Dont forget the folks outside
Dont forget the folks outside

Well, obviously with a predisposition to dislike, the outcome was obvious.  That brought us to the last, but not least, test subject.  My dad LOVED them!  He would have eaten a whole box if it was available.  He even slurped up the extra melted juice at the bottom.

Finally, success!

Finally, success!

So, although it took a while to find the right person, in the end we did find a person just crazy enough to like the Pickle Pops after all!

Miracle berries, almost in my grasp!

/ Shane / 1 Comment

As I have previously reported, there is a crazy Miracle Berry that messes with your taste buds such that everything you eat tastes totally different and delicious.  I really wanted to try it out and a berry only costs about $3 a pop, but I couldn’t really find a place in Chicago to get them.  You could import them by the hundreds, but that was pretty expensive!  I even considered buying a plant and growing them myself, but they sounded pretty difficult to take care of.

But finally, a light in the darkness!  And from who else but my favorite store, ThinkGeek?  Now available for purchase, you can buy Miracle Berry Tablets, which work the same as the berries.  I am really itching to try them and now they are affordable (even if they are on back order).

So, anyone up for a flavor tripping party?

Protein S Deficiency

/ Shane / 2 Comments

Kind of like concatenating your first pet with the street you grew up on to find your “porn star name”, you can also try the Random Awesome Album Generator algorithm, courtesy of MegDesk. (EDIT: Click on that link and go check out some of the ones in the comments!)

  • Band Name – The tile of this article
  • Album Title – The last four words of the very last quote on this page
  • Album Cover Art – The third image on this page

    • Verily, I give to you Some Pretty Annoying Virtues by Protein S Deficiency:

    (cover created by me)

    You can add your own in the comments!

    Is this really as cool as it looks?

    / Shane / Leave a comment

    From Urban Prankster, check out this video of a dorm “prank” by somebody in Poland.  Something this coordinated is obviously not just a prank.  If it was really just regular people flipping some light switches, then it is one of the awesomest things I have ever seen.  However, it seems a little too complicated and a little too perfect…if it is just something computer controlled then it is kind of lame.

    There are a few more videos off of that Urban Prankster link, so if you liked that one, check them out.