Hearty Variety

Return of the Roungetable/Ratio Referendum Roundy

It's been a while. Let's talk.

We've all got a good handle on the now standard km:live ratio (mine sits at 99:1) at the moment. However I think there's room to grow on this front - is one ratio really enough to encompass all of our feelings at any particular moment? The answer is yes, (100:0).

Changa and I were discussing the ratio of meat to egg in our breakfast sammies this morning (80:20). They were disgusting. Can we have a ratio that describes how much we want to pull the trigger:eat more food? In that case, the breakfast Changa (pictured above) and I consumed this AM was a solid -80:20, whereas my delicious quesadilla for runch was closer to -10:100. You see how flexible this system is in describing how you feel about a certain meal; clearly the totals don't need to add up to 100.

Any other suggestions? WELCOME BACK ROUNGETABLE :)

WELCOME BACK TO WORK CHANGE!!!

Would like to point out Changa's lucky penguin on top of his monitor as well as his 'Day Trading for Dummys' which has been reincarnated as a booster seat to give him the perfect angle to price some risk.

Wednesday Roundtable Squeeze-On: Best Food-Themed Show on Television

Lunchtime again, and my mind is wandering to food. Perhaps I'm the only one here (although I doubt it), but one of my favorite tv channels is Food Network (FN, or sometimes, FN HD). My favorite two times to watch FN are: (1) while I make a weekday dinner in the kitchen, I put it on in the background in the living room, and (2) Saturday afternoons, while trying to come up with ideas for what to grill for dinner. Some of the shows are instructional, entertaining and inspiring, but others make me want to SMIF so that the last "Bam!" I will ever have to hear will be from a .22 pistol.

I tend to place shows into one of three categories: (1) instructional, for the do-it-at-home chef (often varying levels of difficulty depending on the cook's experience and time available to devote to one meal), (2) competition shows (i.e. Throwdown w/ Bobby Flay, Iron Chef, Top Chef, Next FN Star, FN Challenge, Hell's Kitchen, etc.), and (3) restaurant, travel, or discovery oriented shows, which may share stuff like the best taquerias in Baltimore, how Dippin' Dots are made, or, for some reason, a stupid ass show called Ace of Cakes which is essentially a poofy version American Chopper with cakes.

I tend to find that the 3rd category of shows is the least engaging; Mark Summers should stick to Double Dare, and I really don't care to watch Guy Fieri eat a cheesesteak while wearing a stupid frosted tips hairdo and upside down and backwards sunglasses. I also don't take much interest in the competition shows; that's what sports are for, you nancy boys. However, category 1, the informational, how-to shows, can be awesome. I have frequently used recipes, or parts of recipes, from shows like Boy Meets Grill and Barefoot Contessa to make awesome meals at home (although I somewhat detest Michael Chiarello, for his general poofiness and Sonoma lifestyle).

The food tv personality who makes the food which I'm most inclined to make at home has gotta be Bobby Flay, particularly what he makes on Boy Meets Grill. I also like the show Good Eats, because I find that the zaniness of Alton Brown drives my roommate out of the living room so that I can actually turn on the Cardinals game without complaint. Those are probably my favorite two shows, with honorable mentions going to Everyday Italian (for obvious reasons), Molto Mario (is that even on anymore?), and Barefoot Contessa. People who can gfy: Rachael Ray, Michael Chiarello, Emeril, the Neelys, and Sandra Lee.

That's what I've got for now, anyone else have an opinion?

The Internet Has Done Much for the Roungetable

but what can the Roungetable do for the Internet? Inspired by Grimace's introduction of lolcats to the Roungetable universe, I propose we start some kind of internet phenomenon - a word (poof), an abbreviation (lolz) or a random instance that becomes wildly popular (lolcats). Given the relative size of the roungetable vs the internet, we'd have to work hard to promote it, but I think it can be done with our dedication and the continued support of Sean Avery. Please leave suggestions in the comments below and we will take a vote by end of day Friday.

GM CHANGA!!

GM ROUNGE!!