atx_newbie

The transitive property doesn't work in sports. For instance, Oregon State beat USC. Penn State made Ore. State look like high schoolers. Iowa beat Penn. So Iowa would beat USC? Doubtful. The fact of the matter is that in college football, if you are going to lose, you should lose in September or early October. Texas lost more recently than OK, therefore they get snubbed. It happens to someone every year.

I'm not sure that we've ever been completely safe. In fact, humans are probably safer now than ever before. But I get your point. The fact is, the dangers of life constantly evolve. The bullet begat the bulletproof vest, which begat armor-piercing rounds. We just have to be smart about it, and not let ourselves be trapped by security worries. You'll never be completely safe, but a little common sense goes a long way. As far as the fraud stuff goes, it just blows my mind. It reminds me of friends in school who would spend hours coming up with the most elaborate means to cheat on an exam, when they could just spend those same hours studying. The people that come up with these scams and then execute them must be intelligent; if they could just use that intelligence for positive means they would probably make more money than through dishonesty.

Great pup. Thank you for adopting through a shelter. I got my dog from a local shelter, and could not be happier with him. So many people overlook shelter dogs, prefering instead to pay $500 or more from a breeder while countless numbers of shelter dogs live their days penned up, underfed, and eventually killed

There is a really cool restaraunt there, it's at the top of a relatively tall tower, and the building spins around slowly so that by the time you have finished your meal, you have seen the entire city. I can't remember the name, but it should be easy enough to find. The Riverwalk is really nice, and maybe you could get tickets to a Spurs game. I'm not much of a basketball fan, but even to me the Spurs are a fun team to watch. Other than that, you could always just drive to Austin for 6th Street...

Matt, remember, as weird as it is, Longhorn fans actually have to hope that Oklahoma wins against OSU. If OSU can pull the upset, then Tech still goes to play Mizzou by virtue of the head to head win over Texas. The problem with that, is that Oklahoma will have the most recent big win, and therefore will get the love in the polls. Texas A&M should do what is right for their state and let Texas get a very convincing win on Thursday ;D and we'll just hope that the voters remember that when it came time to put up or shut up, Texas beat OU at a neutral site.

holy Oklahoma, Batman

I think that they are 59-2 at home since Bob Stoops got there. I think this is one of those games where the two teams are so evenly matched that you just have to give the more experienced, home team the advantage. But I don't think it will be as high scoring as expected (think UT vs. TT), maybe around 35-33, OU

I think the traditional roast turkey has to be about the blandest of all dishes. The only reason it is used so much is that it's a cheap way to feed a lot of people. Once I start having my own thanksgiving dinners, I'll probably do a standing rib roast or lamb crown roast in place of turkey. Yeah, I know it'll be a lot more expensive, but it will taste so much better.

I know what you mean. I had ACL surgery Monday, and they prescribed Vicodin and Ibproufen. I told them I wasn't going to take the Vicodin, since I already know that I have an addictive personality, and I was basically ordered to take it. Today is my first day off of it, so hopefully after only a few days of taking it I won't have too many problems. The Ibuproufen (600 mg, 3 times a day) I could not do without, I don't think. It does wonders for keeping the swelling down, which in turn prevents a lot of the pain.

I'm glad to see the Titans doing well and bringing some diversity to the AFC. It always got boring watching the regular season, knowing that two of either Patriots, Colts, or Chargers would be playing in the AFC championship every year. That being said, let's go cowboys ;D

Baking it takes all the difficulty out of it. When you cook a roux on the stove top, with all that direct heat, it is really easy to burn it, and you have to spend about twenty minutes of non-stop stirring in order to not burn it. But if you bake it at about 350, it's much less likely to burn, since the heat is indirect. You still have to stir about once every 5 minutes, and it takes about 15 minutes longer, but it is virtually foolproof. It may not be the accepted, cajun method, but it's the easiest way that I've found to get a good brick colored roux without burning that day's four previous attempts

Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto: A lot of cooks are scared of risotto, for really no reason but misunderstanding. When it comes down to it, risotto is rice (just better). In a small saucepan, heat up about three cups of chicken stock to a near boil. In another pot, this one large enough to hold a lot of rice: mince four cloves of garlic and dice one white onion. Saute in 1/8 cup (half stick) of butter, and about an equal amount of olive oil. After about five minutes, when the garlic is browned and onions tender, add in a cup of short grain rice (preferably arborio rice), and brown the rice for a minute or so. Pour in a 1/2 cup of white wine and deglaze the pan (deglazing is the act of using a small amount of liquid, brought quickly to a boil, to lift from the bottom of the pan any pieces of goodness that have gotten stuck. White wine is best used for deglazing, but water works as well). Now that you have sauteed the garlic and onions, browned the rice, and deglazed the pan, you can start adding in the chicken stock that you have been bringing to a boil in the other pot. Add the stock in small amounts at a time, stirring the rice continuously while all the liquid cooks in. Doing this is what gives risotto its great creamy texture. Once two cups or so of the stock has been cooked in, begin to taste the rice. You are looking for an "al dente" texture, similar to pasta. You may need to add more liquid than the three cups, depending on how much liquid evaporates. A couple minutes before the desired texture is reached, add in a handful of chopped asparagus. Once the rice is al dente, add in a pound of uncooked, shell off shrimp, and cook until done, about 90 seconds. Remove from heat, and finish with 1/2 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of parmasean cheese, stirring until melted throughout. It takes about 45 minutes start to finish, and can be bothersome because you have to stand over it the whole time stirring, but there is no better dish you can cook at home with such simple ingredients.

Sounds good, except shallots aren't green onions. Shallots are very similar to garlic, though slightly milder in taste. A shallot basically looks like a really large garlic clove.

My chili is as follows (I don't use any measurements, I just cook by taste). Bake a roux for about 30 minutes until reddish brown, then throw in two diced onions, quite a few minced garlic cloves, and several chopped up celery stalks, and sweat for a few minutes. Then add in some chopped chicken thighs and andouille sausage, and some chopped okra, and simmer for about 45 minutes. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and serve over rice. Okay, so I suppose thats a gumbo and not chili, but seriously, why would anyone eat chili when you could have gumbo

Lake Travis High School from the north side of Austin has their first playoff game tonight. I think they're pretty heavily favored to win state this year. Their quarterback, Garrett Gilbert, is the #2 ranked college recruit, is going to UT next year.

I've never been much for running. In HS soccer, we had to run 2 miles in under 14 minutes to make the team, so my 2 mile time was generally about 13:55 or so. I've only run 1 timed 5k, and that was one that my fraternity hosted for a charity. I ran it hungover with no sleep at something around 18 minutes, but I can't remember the exact time. I know I finished in the top 15 though.

Before the Tech/OSU game on Saturday, I predicted to my roommate that Mizzou would surprise everyone and win the Big 12 championship, and that USC would sneak into the picture. I would love this, because then we would get to see Florida thrash USC, something that SEC fans have been dreaming of for a long time. After the Tech game, I'm not so sure. That's the first Tech game that I have watched in entirety this season, and it was pretty amazing. So I'll amend my prediction: Tech beats Mizzou in the Big 12 title game, then gets thrashed by Florida in the National Championship. At this point in the season, any college football discussion should begin and end with Florida. Of course, anything can happen, especially since Florida still has to get past Bama. But I think they'll take this one.

Well if you have HBO, then you probably have HBO On Demand. That is the only reason I pay for HBO, as I never watch the actual programming when it comes on. Go through and watch past seasons of Sopranos, Oz, Entourage, Rome, and The Wire to your heart's content, then watch this season of True Blood.

Yeah let's hope they keep it up. And hopefully now that Lee has thrown the obligatory pick 6 he won't have to do it later in the game. Best to get it out of the way early lol

If I understand you, that's not exactly what I'm talking about. In high school, band members would walk around with boxes of "World's Finest Chocolate Bars" (which actually are great) and sell them for a buck each, then pay about half that back to the chocolate company. That's not what I mean. I'm talking more about organizing large scale events, not just bake sales and candy

x3 That is amazing. And to think, I have trouble using an iPhone because it is too small...

So I basically spend all my time trying to come up with ideas for small businesses that I can start which will make me rich. I never end up following through on the ideas, mainly because I'm lazy, but it's still fun. Anyway, I have one that I thought of, and want to run it by you guys to see if you have heard of anything like this, or know of any similar companies in your area. I spent a lot of time in college planning and running fundraisers for my fraternity or charities that our fraternity supported. So I think to myself, I'm pretty good at that. My idea is to start a business which plans and executes fundraisers for charitable organizations (PTA's, churches, other non-profits), and take a percentage of the final amount. What do you guys think? (Yes, I know it's a little parasitic, but money still gets raised for charities)

What are you using it for? I have had two websites, and used two different services: 1) In high school, I had dreams of running a video editing company. So I made my own website, intending to sell my videos and advertise services, but nothing ever happened with it. Still, it was fun to learn some basic coding. I have no idea who I used to host it, but there were plenty of cheap, committment free services out there. 2) The next one was a website for a photography business I played with. This website had to be good, as I actually needed money from the business, so I went with GoDaddy. $100 bucks for 3 months, and they design and maintain the site. Cheap enough for me, and it means I can stop worrying about the website and focus on business development.

I wouldn't count on the Indy Bowl. Even with a loss tomorrow, the Tigers should finish the season 9-3. Not too shabby. Especially for a "rebuilding" year. Anyway, LSU will probably be in either the Cotton Bowl or Capital One Bowl. A win there and that's 10-3, the fourth straight season with 10 wins.

That cat that gave the pit bull a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick is hilarious. To bad the cat was eaten whole a minute later by said pit bull...