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Show AggieLife Page 10 EatTh at The secret dangers of the Internet L et me preface this Ill' article by saying that I'm pretty much a fan of the World Wide Web. It's been good to me. And one of my favorite slices of the "coconut cream pie" on the Internet is Wikipedia. I love it like I love my unborn children: a very distant, ethereal, yet satisfied love. How existential. Anyway, Wikipedia, in my case, is a double-edged sword. And if a sword could have more edges than two, Wikipedia would have them. However, it is virtually impossible to have a more than a two-edged sword. It'd end up being some sort of fantastic cudgel-stick thing that would defy space and Euclidian geometry. And you could probably only get it when you reached level 37,and had the gloves of virtue or something of the sort equipped. Attack +10. But that's neither here nor there. I digress, I digress. Anyway, the reason Wikipedia is so dangerous for me and others like me is its ability to send you on these intrepid journeys of 300,000 or more mouse clicks where you click on hyperlink after hyperlink, and you finally end the knowledge spree exhausted, in a cold sweat, lying on the ground, hallucinating. And it all starts with a simple question. You know, where you Wikipedia something you don't know too much about, and then as you're reading the article, another interesting tidbit jumps out at you, and you click on the link to it. Well several days ago that happened to me. It hadn't been the first time, and it won't be the last, but this one was quite the trip. That evening's journey through the annals of Wikipedia went like this: I clicked on the "Random Article" link it has, which shovels you some random page about anything it decides, and there it started. Godwin's Law - Usenet - Portmaneau - Tanganyik - Maji Maji Rebellion - Cap gun - Airsoft, and the list goes on. Dozens of fascinated mouse clicks later, I arrived at 12:36 a.m., Nov. 28 on a page about the Nash Equilibrium, which is a solution concept of Game Theory where if each player has chosen a strategy and no player can benefit by changing his or her strategy while other players keep theirs unchanged, then the current set of strategy choices and the corresponding payoffs constitute a "Nash Equilibrium." Great, huh? Yeah, wonderful. That brings me to my point: Wikipedia would do well to have a rating system, for warning's sake. It would first find out how big of a geek you are using a simple questionaire, "Do you know what pwn means? Do you know what this does: iptables -nL I grep 182.56.7.83" Then, it would use your predetermined rating in a simple algorithm to decide the likelihood of a certain link within a Wikipedia article to send you careening off for hours on a search for trivial knowledge. For example, it could say, "Warning. You have a geek rating of 5.6. This link has a 68 percent chance of sending you on a several hour journey gathering useless knowledge. We would advise that you do not click this link." If the Web site did that, then you'd at least know that it was your fault. Wikipedia tried to warn you. It tried. But you were too stubborn. It would also be a battle of the human soul and the will to succeed. "What? 93 percent chance I won't make it out of Wikipedia for the next three hours? You're on." So at least for people like me who, for whatever reason, love Wikipedia, Reddit, 4001' Slashdot, myriads of RSS feeds, xkcd. corn, etc. this would be a great idea. And for those of you who are completely lost 1'4 ,. and have no idea what I'm talking about, or who would even act like this, go here: http://tinyurl.com/yfqkqhj. L Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 Taking back the kitchen and all about it. Appetize yourself: Snacks for the holiday season 0 ne of my favorite things about the holiday season is the food. There is so much that we get ready to eat food by eating food, and we call it an appetizer. Appetizers range anywhere from a bag of chips and some dill dip to amazing creations made from unlikely combinations of foods and flavors. Recently, my husband and I went to a food tasting event where we tried more than 30 kinds of holiday snacks. To name a few, there were apple butter, peppermint ice cream, artichoke dip and chocolate drizzled caramel corn. Ever since then I have been on a quest to find some recipes that are simple, unique and delicious for serving up at holiday gatherings, and here's what I came up with. I hope you enjoy. Gingersnap Dip: dollop of whipped cream cheese. Sweet Potato Fries: 2 medium sweet potatoes 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 small clove garlic, peeled 1 teaspoon rosemary - Combine the salt, garlic and rosemary in a medium bowl and mash with a fork until a paste forms. - Add the olive oil. 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened 1 cup powdered sugar 1 (8 ounce) carton Cool Whip (French vanilla is a good choice) - Wash and peel the sweet potatoes, and be sure to cut off any bad spots. - Cut them into strips about one-quarter-inch thick (french-fry shaped), and toss them in the garlic mixture until they're evenly coated. 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon cloves 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg - In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. - In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and two teaspoons of the spice mix. - Use an electric mixer and beat until the cream cheese is fluffy. Fold in the Cool Whip and stir until combined. - Lay them in a single layer on a greased baking sheet (you can use tin foil for easier clean up but be sure to grease it), and bake at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes. - Every 10 minutes or so, take them out of the oven and flip them to make sure they don't burn on the bottoms. You'll know they're done when they're soft all the way through and starting to brown and get crispy on the edges. Spinach Parmesan Dip: 8 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed, rinsed and squeezed dry 3 ounces sour cream - Sprinkle remaining spice mixture over the top to garnish. - Serve with sugar cookies, gingersnaps, fruit, graham crackers and anything else you can think of. 3 ounces cream cheese 2 tablespoons butter 2 cloves garlic, minced Cranberry Salsa: 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 1 (12 ounce) package of fresh or frozen cranberries (about 3 cups) - Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly browned and fragrant, about two minutes. Add spinach and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and wilty, five to 10 minutes. 1-2 jalapenos, seeded 3 green onions - Stir in sour cream and cream cheese until well blended and smooth. 2 tablespoons cilantro - Add cheese, stirring constantly until melted. 1/4 teaspoon cumin Questions or comments can be sent to James Rasmussen at jamesrasmus@gmail.com. Squeeze of lime juice - Serve with tortilla chips, toasted sourdough bread, crackers and anything else you can think of. Dash of salt Ready for a Baby? You may be eligible for $$cash upon delivery! Benefits payable in addition to other insurance. Denise Abbott 435-757-7834 1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, to taste - Combine cranberries, jalapenos, onions and cilantro in a food processor and pulse until chopped to desired consistency. Stir in cumin, lime juice, salt and sugar. Taste and adjust for spiciness and sweetness. Jennelle Clark is a junior in psychology who is anxious for a school-free holiday season. Questions or comments can be sent to her at jenn. nelle@gmail.com . - Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to soak in and blend. - Serve on crackers or toasted French bread with a denise_abbott@us.aflac.com Stickelers Answer There are 18 different sets of parallel lines in a cube. Don't forget the diagonals! Answers To Today's Crossword Puzzle! Single & Pregnant? A Call For Help kVe're here to listen. We're here to help. FREE Confidential Services its a bou t I ove.org 435-752-53[12 175W 1400 N, Suite A Super Crossword Answers MOM DMODM MMOM 00000 MOM MOMMMO =MO MOMMM MOOMMUMMOM MORE OMMOM MOM MOMMOO MUM UMM MOB= MOM EMMIMMOM UMMOMMMOMMDMOMMMOD MOM BOUM HOMO MOM MOM MMMM MOM MEMO MMOMM MOM =MOO MOM = MMOM OMMD MOM MOM MMOMMMOMOMMOMOMMODOMM MMM MOMM MEMO SUMO MOM MMMUM OMEMM BOMBE MOOD MOM MOM DOOM MMO 0000 =MUM MEM MMOMMEMOMODEMMOMDM MOMMUMM MUD OOMMMO OMM MMM =MOM MOM MOM° MAIM DMOMMEMOMM =MUM MMOM MMOMOM EIMM MEMO MEMO OMMMO MMO All I want for Christmas is a vacation n a traditional college student's budget that pro- Christmas, traveling charges tend to be lower due to the vides for gourmet banquets of frozen burritos dependable economics of supply and demand. and grilled cheese sandwiches, extravagant, and Despite a general upward trend, several airlines, includtherefore expensive, vacations tend to be excluded. Unless ing Southwest Airlines and JetBlue, offer cheap prograndma and grandpa have chosen to motional prices throughout off-season generously fund an enticingly exotic travel months. Sales vary, often without holiday getaway this year, monthly plannotice, and are best taken advantage of When a real vacation ners remain barren and monotonous when monitored frequently. Sales rely simply cannot be until after degrees and careers have on booking times and destinations and been obtained. But with some crafty can dip into prices as low as $30 oneafforded, there are and careful vacation planning, expense way flights. To save even more cash, still options. Take can be circumvented without sacrificing take advantage of airlines that fly bags advantage and visit enjoyment. for free. friends that live in Careful surveillance of the vacation Booking flights, hotels, rental cars, market and the competition within can among other things in one solid bundle distant cities or tag provide helpful savings, especially when cuts prices over planning each facet along to secluded the majority of one's money is dedicated of a vacation individually. Some hotels mountain cabins. offer deals with particular airlines, and to necessary books and tuition. From oversea voyages to weekends ski trips, through online trip planners such as student-friendly deals lurk everywhere Expedia or Orbits, travel fees are dispromising post-Finals Week stress relief. counted or omitted. Many travel agenA key tip in planning an affordable trip is to avoid the cies and airlines also offer vacation packages of sorts. high vacationing season between Memorial Day and Labor Though winter strikes severely in Logan, it can be Day, according to Morris Murdock Travel Agency. Instead escaped via cruises to sunny equatorial locations. During of hitting Cancun for Spring Break and being victimized by low tides and hurricane seasons, cruise lines offer weekhigh airfare and hotel costs, take a New Year's cruise when long trips for under $500. Combined with low airfare or the market is mild. Cruise and airlines compete directly a cheap train ride, one can thriftily experience exotic flawith each other, so one of the only reliable times to catch vors. a money-cinching break is when less people are traveling When a real vacation simply cannot be afforded, there and company purse strings are loosened. Aside from the busy days surrounding Thanksgiving and I See MONEY, page 11 |