Updated: 5/1/2005; 9:09:56 AM

 Friday, April 22, 2005

Guesstimating portions with real-world objects 

43 Folders —

Typical Portion Control Tips/Guidelines

“Deck of cards, Merlin; deck of cards,” my friend Dennis would always say as we sat down to eat ribeyes the size of kittens.

That terrific, if ignored, heuristic for estimating the desirable 3-ounce portion of beef came back to me this week with all the interest in the USDA’s mypyramid.gov site and the new dietary guidelines.

I’m a big of fan of these kinds of rules of thumb and was pleased to turn up this small collection of real-world portion size guesstimates . Here are a few of my favorites:

  • Cooked vegetables – palm of hand
  • Grilled Fish – checkbook
  • 2 TB butter, etc. – thumb (joint to tip)
  • Chopped fruit – tennis ball
  • Apple – baseball
  • Potato – computer mouse
  • Bagel – hockey puck
  • Pancake – CD ROM
  • Steamed rice – cupcake wrapper
  • Cheese – pair of dice
  • 1 oz meat – matchbox
  • 3 oz meat – bar of soap
  • 8 oz meat – thin paperback book

Got any other cool real-world guesstimators?


43 Folders
- Posted by Richard Chlopan - 9:05:48 AM -

Google Offers Local Mobile Search 

Gizmodo —

google_local.jpgGoogle has added another service to their mobile offerings: Google Local. Punch in your search term, as well as the location or zip code to limit your search, and receive a nice, mobile-sized Google Map with details listed below. The service is—in typical Google style—free.

Local Mobile Search [Google]


Gizmodo
- Posted by Richard Chlopan - 9:04:55 AM -

Packing Light



cloud travel —

Here are Rick Steves' biggest travel mistakes:

Packing too heavily, relying on outdated guidebooks, not wearing a money belt, leaving home with too many hotel reservations, and taking other people's opinions too seriously.

Well, I've never worn a money belt. But the first piece of advice, packing too heavily, is cardinal in my opinion. The turning point in my experience as a traveler was when I figured out the science and discipline of packing light. Your baggage is, in many ways, an opposing force working against your freedom, your choices, your independence and your personal energy. After being married a short time I almost visibly saw the lightbulb go off over my wife's head as she figured out the light packing thing. Now she underpacks me. Take a look at this site, www.onebag.com. Get ready; although it preaches stringent discipline and economy, this site is long and a little windy. But the bullet pointers are great for transitioning from three fat bags to one little one.


cloud travel
- Posted by Richard Chlopan - 9:03:18 AM -

'Tangled Up in Bob' 

Backwards City — The Nation is talking Dylan.

Some interesting stuff here for Dylanphiles. Also, I had no idea that Rob Gordon from High Fidelity was based upon a specific individual. I really thought he was just every nerd, everywhere. So you learn something new every day.

[via A&L Daily]

Backwards City
- Posted by Richard Chlopan - 9:02:29 AM -