Slashdot Meetup – September

Last night, I went to the Slashdot Meetup for Dallas. It was held at the Dave & Buster’s just down Walnut Hill (not the one near Walnut Hill and 75).

The plan, from e-mail discussions with people from the last Slashdot Meetup was to meet at Dave & Buster’s, but then to go somewhere (cheaper) from there.

It was scheduled to start at 7pm, and I actually got there around 7:07pm (oops). I was concerned that maybe the group had left for the new-restaurant without me, but they hadn’t. Oddly enough, instead of the about-ten people from last time, there were just three people this time around (myself included).

We waited in the entrance-area just in case there were any more late-comers. By around 7:30pm, I suggested that we head-out to the new-restaurant. For some reason, one guy (Dave, I think his name was) was reluctant to do so. I believe his words were “I’d be real hesitant to leave, in case anyone were to still show up”.

Firstly, I thought it was a bit odd that he thought more people may be showing up, even though it was 7:30pm at that point. Secondly, though, I thought it was especially odd that he used the phrasing “real hesitant” instead of the more straight-forward “I would prefer…”.

The three of us had no interest in the arcades, but agreed that some food would be good. So, we found a table for ourselves. Chad (the non-Dave guy of the three) had some chicken nuggets before coming to the Meetup, so he just ordered a Bass. As it turned out, Dave and I also ordered a Bass each.

For food, Dave ordered a Double-Double Cheesburger-Cheeseburger (or something equally cheesily named) which was described as having two beef patties and a slice of American cheese on each. I ordered their Cheese Buster Burger — esentially the single-patty version of Dave’s order. As written in the menu, it included American cheese, which I generally despise (I consider American cheese to be the Microsoft of cheeses).

I asked our waitress whether I could get a different cheese, and she confirmed that I could get jack, swiss, blue cheese, and a few others. I elected for the blue cheese (especially as it was crumbled blue cheese). I asked whether the burger came with fries and, sure enough, it did. I’m trying to reduce (though not eliminate) my carb intake, so I asked whether I could substitute the fries for something else; but all the alternatives were high-carb items as well (rice, baked potato, and so on). So, I just stuck with the fries with the compromise that I’d eat about half of them.

Our food arrived shortly, and my blue cheese was conveniently on-the-side in a small aluminum shot-sized cup. From there, I proceeded to dump all of it onto the patty, along with the tomato slice that was also on the side. With a dollop of ketchup, my burger was compete.

I wish I could say that it was a great burger, but it actually wasn’t. Unlike an ideal burger with loosely packed ground-beef, this burger was very dense. It was almost as if the chef-droid in the kitchen had been flattening and compressing my burger with his spatula at every opportunity. On top of that, the burger wasn’t all that hot either. A good burger should just be on the cusp of burning one’s mouth, but this one was merely extra-warm.

Don’t get me wrong — the burger was tasty enough such that I would accept it if someone were to buy one for me. However, I don’t think I’d order one again from Dave & Buster’s.

RC5-64 Success!

As mentioned on Slashdot the Distributed.net effort has found the key in RSA’s RC5-64 challenge!

For those not familiar with the project, the security and encryption company RSA sponsored a contest to find a “key” to one of their cyphers. And, due to the nature of electronic cryptography, the only way to find the correct key was to try all the possible keys in the lock.

This technique would be similar to going to a Make-A-Key kiosk and having all the possible key combinations made for a padlock, then trying each key one-by-one. Eventually, you’ll find the right key to that lock. Because the method was only trial-and-error, even though you would have found the key to that particular padlock, the padlocks of the type would be no less secure.

RSA held this contest to demonstrate the power of a coordinated group of volunteers, and to encourage companies and governments to use the company’s more complicated cyphers. After all, you wouldn’t want your business’ secrets encrypted by an algorithm to which a group of volunteers found the key, eh? ;)

Omega-3 May Improve Mood

According to a recent study, eating foods in Omega-3 fatty acids may improve mood:

While additional research needs to be done to prove definitively omega-3s’ impact on different psychiatric disorders, some psychiatrists are now feeling confident enough to recommend that their depressed patients increase their consumption of these fatty acids. So, what are the best sources for omega-3s, and how much is needed to make a difference?

The best source for omega-3s is any type of seafood — including salmon, lobster and shrimp. For people who find seafood a bit fishy, walnuts and olive oil are also good sources for the fatty acid. […]

Hmm, I need to go to Sam’s Club this weekend anyhow to stock up on groceries, so maybe I should look into their fish entrees (instead of my usual chicken).

Frito-Lay to Make Snacks without Trans Fat

I first heard about this on NPR news during my drive to work yesterday, but I've finally been able to find an online citation as well. From MSNBC, “Frito-Lay to make reduced-fat snacks”:

Frito-Lay said that in early 2003 it will eliminate hydrogenated oils and convert to trans fat-free corn oil in Doritos, Tostitos and Cheetos. The company said the change will not compromise the taste of the snacks. […]

The company, the largest unit of Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo Inc., said it will launch Lay’s Reduced Fat chips and Cheetos Reduced Fat snacks in the near future. […]

The coming-addition of reduced-fat Lays and Cheetos is a nice bonus, though I’m especially pleased about their decision to switch to non-trans-fat oils. Maybe it’s becauase it’ll soon be required to list trans-fat on labels? ;)