I thought this post about the Department of Defense's 26-page brownie recipe was rather funny. Apparently, the brownies are made to last for at least three years. I can't tell if this is written by a baker, a chemist, or a lawyer:

Shortening shall be a refined, hydrogenated vegetable oil or combination of refined vegetable oils which are in common use by the baking industry. Coconut and palm kernel oils may be used only in the coating. The shortening shall have a stability of not less than 100 hours as determined by the Active Oxygen Method (AOM) in Method Cd 12-57 of the Commercial Fats and Oils chapter in the Official and Tentative Methods of the American Oil Chemists Society. The shortening may contain alpha monoglycerides and an antioxidant or combination of antioxidants, as permitted by the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS), and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Defense Department Has A 26-Page Brownie Recipe – The Consumerist

Update (5/19/2010): I noticed a lot of traffic coming to this blog post with the search words “is hookah haram.” I think it’s a disservice for me to leave the post as it is without any sort of (authoritative) explanation as to what the above is all about. If you’re curious about the actual legal rulings regarding hookah (which is the same as the legal ruling regarding cigarette smoking), please see the following Q&A: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=677&CATE=115

The following summary was sent out over the American Muslim Health Professionals list. For the full article, see: http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20100510/hookahs-safer-than-cigarettes-thats-a-pipe-dream

Toking on Water Pipes Gaining in Popularity, but Full of Health Risks

“Little is known about the addictive nature or health risks of water pipe smoking, but it may be at least as harmful as cigarette smoking,” the authors write.

Water pipe smoke contains nicotine, carbon monoxide, and carcinogens and may contain even greater amounts of tar and heavy metals than cigarette smoke, the researchers say.

Water pipe smoke has been linked to lung cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases, and pregnancy-related complications.

Researchers say that water pipe smoking has increased recently in North America and Europe.

SOURCES:

News release, American Academy of Pediatrics.

Duglas, E. Pediatrics, June 2010; vol 125: pp 1184-1189.

Original Article: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2009-2335v1.pdf

Also see:

Pediatrics 2005;116;e113-e119

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/116/1/e113

“And thou wilt see the mountains, which [now] thou deemest so firm, pass away as clouds pass away: a work of God, who has ordered all things to perfection! Verily, He is fully aware of all that you do!” (Qur’an 27:88)

“And the mountains will move with [an awesome] movement.” (Qur’an 52:10)

“And the mountains are shattered into [countless] shards, so that they become as scattered dust.” (Qur’an 56:5-6)

I thought this passive-aggressive note was too funny not to share. Very cute. ..and for those wondering, yes, this is still me experimenting with my Buzz/Wordpress integration.

Click on the link below for the background…

You burned my feelings – PassiveAggressiveNotes.com — funny (if not necessarily "passive-aggressive") notes from pissed-off people

It's always nice to hear that there is SOME good news coming out of the recession. Hopefully the trend continues even when the economy improves — however unlikely that is.

Recession Hits Casino Gambling For $1.8 Billion Loss – The Consumerist

I have finally figured out how to get my Google Buzz posts to automagically generate blog posts in WordPress. I had to modify an existing plugin — WP-o-Matic. It's still not perfect, but at least it brings in my buzz content, including the body of the text, and images. I think it also works with shared notes from Google Reader (since that's already linked to Buzz). I'm still not sure if it brings in links, but we shall see after I post this.

The girl on the Vizio box looks like a pirate because of the sensor. I just thought this looked funny. Plus, posting this gives me an excuse to continue my test with Buzz/Wordpress integration.