Urban farming

Clive Thompson at Wired magazine makes a good case for why we should bring back victory gardens, even if we live in the city:

These days, we're fighting different battles. Developing nations are facing wrenching shortages of staples like rice. Here at home, we're struggling with a wave of obesity, fueled by too much crappy fast food and too little fresh produce, particularly in poorer areas. Our globalized food stream poses environmental hazards, too: The blueberries I had for lunch came from halfway around the world, in the process burning tons of CO₂.

Urban farming tackles all three issues. It could relieve strain on the worldwide food supply, potentially driving down prices. The influx of fresh vegetables would help combat obesity. And when you "shop" for dinner ingredients in and around your home, the carbon footprint nearly disappears. Screw the 100-mile diet — consuming only what's grown within your immediate foodshed — this is the 100-yard diet.

Scary hot dogs

A hat tip to Bill Harris, who linked to this little gem of a "top 5" list: Five Hot Dogs That Will Kill You. Mmmm... breakfast hot dog.

Coke Zero

A few years ago, when I started trying to lose weight, I realized that cutting juice, soda, and other caloric drinks out of my diet was key. Unfortunately, I found that water, seltzer, and the flavored varieties of each were unsatisfying to me. So, I turned to diet soda. Now, despite a long-held prejudice against diet soft drinks, I found that there are many that taste good: Fresca (yes, it's diet), Diet Barq's root beer, Diet 7-Up, Diet Mountain Dew, etc. The weak link, though, was diet cola. Coke has been one of my favorite soda throughout adulthood, and I couldn't bear to drink Diet Coke, which, as my wife says, "tastes like carbonated battery acid."

But then came Coke Zero, and angels sang, and sunlight filled the sky. The ingredients list for Coke Zero looks pretty much identical to that of Diet Coke, right down to the aspartame sweetener. Yet Coke Zero actually tastes like Coke. While a true side by side test reveals a difference (esp. the way the sugared variety coats your tongue with the feel of sugar), Coke Zero is a true substitute for Coke for those who don't want to (or can't) drink sugar.

Now, if they'd just come out with Caffeine Free Coke Zero for the evenings...