Conversations About Science

[Scienceguy Labs]

I recently just discovered the new Brain Games series! Who remembers the original? I used to watch it every monday in elementary school. Looking back, I'm assuming it was because my teacher was too hung over to teach on Mondays...

Never watched the original. The reboot is pretty good though.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Discovery of jaw by ASU team sheds light on early human ancestor
https://asunews.asu.edu/20150304-asu-human-fossil-discovery

 

[Laura Knotek]

So basically, I learned that my American diet is very, very bland. ha ha I do love Indian food though. Just don't get to eat it much. Not too many authentic Indian restaurants here in Northwest Arkansas.

For that matter most Indian restaurants serve typical North Indian restaurant food. People in North India don't eat a bulk of those dishes on a daily basis in their homes...If you ever come to LA ping me...I can recommend some good places. Also if Atlanta is not too far for you, there are some really good authentic - regional restaurants tucked away in a strip mall which are very very good. Same with Boston, VA, NYC etc.

That's a shame, but there aren't any good Indian restaurants around here either. The only one I know of is called Jaipur Junction, and it's an all you can eat buffet, so it has to be terrible.

India is a huge country, so why there aren't any restaurants that serve foods from other parts of India here in the US is odd.

I watched a show with Anthony Bourdain, where he travelled to different parts of India, and the food looked delicious, and it was very different across the country.

I'd really like to try Indian food, but not something from an all you can eat buffet! I'd prefer quality, not quantity.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Here is another cool little brain trick video. See if you can notice all of the changes that take place. I noticed a few, but was really shocked at just how much I missed.

Wow, this video has totally screwed up my brain

I picked up some changes but I missed so much. I knew that would happen but I didn't think it was going to be that bad...

 

[N_LaRUE]

Discovery of jaw by ASU team sheds light on early human ancestor
https://asunews.asu.edu/20150304-asu-human-fossil-discovery

Hopefully they find more parts of a skeleton. Would be nice to get a fuller picture.

Knowing quite a bit about evolution due to the books and videos I've read I'm not sure what I think of this statement.

“One of the persistent questions that people have, and not just specialists, but everyone wonders about where did we come from? What are our ultimate origins?”

Our ultimate origins are single cell bacteria.... if you go back about 4 billion years. Not entirely sure what he meant by that but I'm assuming he's referring to just homo sapiens evolution. In which case the 'ultimate' find is the ancestor closest to the branching point between other apes and us.

 

[N_LaRUE]

That's a shame, but there aren't any good Indian restaurants around here either. The only one I know of is called Jaipur Junction, and it's an all you can eat buffet, so it has to be terrible.

India is a huge country, so why there aren't any restaurants that serve foods from other parts of India here in the US is odd.

I watched a show with Anthony Bourdain, where he travelled to different parts of India, and the food looked delicious, and it was very different across the country.

I'd really like to try Indian food, but not something from an all you can eat buffet! I'd prefer quality, not quantity.

There are decent buffets but I would agree a good restaurant is far superior.

Saying that, I'd personally recommend just cooking dishes yourself. As long as you have the main spices cooking is fairly easy. People go on about how 'difficult' Indian food is but it's no harder than anything else. It's just different.

There's lots of YouTube videos and lots of online recipes. I also have a few (several books). I'm sure worldspy99 might be able to help as well.

Honestly though, just cook it yourself. You can set the spice level to your own taste and when you get the chance, go to a good restaurant to see how they do things differently.

If you ever make your way to Canada, Toronto has a lot of good India restaurants and there's areas I can direct you to a bit outside Toronto where you can find some great places. New York is good and I'm sure most large cities in the US (baring a few) will probably have something decent around.

 

[worldspy99]

That's a shame, but there aren't any good Indian restaurants around here either. The only one I know of is called Jaipur Junction, and it's an all you can eat buffet, so it has to be terrible.

India is a huge country, so why there aren't any restaurants that serve foods from other parts of India here in the US is odd.

I watched a show with Anthony Bourdain, where he travelled to different parts of India, and the food looked delicious, and it was very different across the country.

I'd really like to try Indian food, but not something from an all you can eat buffet! I'd prefer quality, not quantity.

Most Indian restaurants serve "restaurant" food whether it is a North Indian or South Indian joint. Occasionally someone will start a regional/ethnic place and it will take off. But you also need a strong Indian community for such a restaurant to thrive. Plenty here in LA, Bay Area, Houston, Atlanta, NJ/Philly/NYC, Boston areas.

To try something people would eat at home - read, not restaurant food
1. Go to a Gurudwara - a Sikh community temple and eat at their Langar on the weekends. Home cooked and delicious!
2. Go to a ISCKON tempe - and eat at a restaurant attached to it.
3. Ask a friend if there is one in town or get invited or better yet ask someone before you travel. I can help if I have been to that city before and I have been around the block more than once

Some buffets are pretty awesome and I have eaten at quite a few good ones. The one in town is pretty good.

 

[worldspy99]

There are decent buffets but I would agree a good restaurant is far superior.

Saying that, I'd personally recommend just cooking dishes yourself. As long as you have the main spices cooking is fairly easy. People go on about how 'difficult' Indian food is but it's no harder than anything else. It's just different.

There's lots of YouTube videos and lots of online recipes. I also have a few (several books). I'm sure worldspy99 might be able to help as well.

Honestly though, just cook it yourself. You can set the spice level to your own taste and when you get the chance, go to a good restaurant to see how they do things differently.

If you ever make your way to Canada, Toronto has a lot of good India restaurants and there's areas I can direct you to a bit outside Toronto where you can find some great places. New York is good and I'm sure most large cities in the US (baring a few) will probably have something decent around.

Some tips:
If you don't want to eat at a buffet then take at least 4 or 5 friends to dinner. Indian food is not one bread, rice and one curry. You want a smattering of flavors in your plate. The more people, the merrier, good company goes well with good food and you can try out quite a few dishes without breaking the bank.
You will be surprised to know how many buffet places that have really bad food at lunch suddenly transform into making awesome dinner dishes. The secret is - my friend's family owns a place like this - they water the taste down for the locals at lunch. My friend's mom would always tell me to order off the dinner menu even at lunch time at their restaurant!
If you are reading Yelp reviews, look for reviewers who are of Indian origin and read their reviews of the particular restaurant. Then you will know whether the food is any good or not
If you would like to learn how to cook, I agree with N_LaRUE, there are plenty of resources on the internet and the food is not that difficult to cook. I learnt it only after coming to the USA. And you can always adjust the spice level to your liking. If by mistake the food comes out to be a bit spicy then you can always use some yogurt to cool the taste down provided you are not allergic to dairy.

And if you need a suggestion on a place ping me, if I have been to that city/country, I will be more than happy to help

 

[Laura Knotek]

Some tips:
If you don't want to eat at a buffet then take at least 4 or 5 friends to dinner. Indian food is not one bread, rice and one curry. You want a smattering of flavors in your plate. The more people, the merrier, good company goes well with good food and you can try out quite a few dishes without breaking the bank.

That's a great idea! I know several friends who like varieties of foods from different nationalities, so I know they'd like that idea.

You will be surprised to know how many buffet places that have really bad food at lunch suddenly transform into making awesome dinner dishes. The secret is - my friend's family owns a place like this - they water the taste down for the locals at lunch. My friend's mom would always tell me to order off the dinner menu even at lunch time at their restaurant!

That makes sense. I'd prefer something not watered down, since I don't like bland food. Spicy is good!

If you are reading Yelp reviews, look for reviewers who are of Indian origin and read their reviews of the particular restaurant. Then you will know whether the food is any good or not
If you would like to learn how to cook, I agree with N_LaRUE, there are plenty of resources on the internet and the food is not that difficult to cook. I learnt it only after coming to the USA. And you can always adjust the spice level to your liking. If by mistake the food comes out to be a bit spicy then you can always use some yogurt to cool the taste down provided you are not allergic to dairy.

That makes sense too. I do like yogurt, and it's part of many Indian meals anyway.

And if you need a suggestion on a place ping me, if I have been to that city/country, I will be more than happy to help

Thanks!

 

[Laura Knotek]

Go to a Gurudwara - a Sikh community temple and eat at their Langar on the weekends. Home cooked and delicious!

That's a great idea! I know a Sikh family who own a store in my neighbourhood. I'll ask them the next time I stop at their store.

 

[muneshyne21]

I find it creepy (although easily explainable) that our conversation about Indian food has my browser filled will "Indian Restaurants in LA" Advertisments now...

 

[worldspy99]

I find it creepy (although easily explainable) that our conversation about Indian food has my browser filled will "Indian Restaurants in LA" Advertisments now...

I get all sorts of different ads because I just do random searches in the day to throw Google/Amazon analytics off....

 

[Laura Knotek]

Menopausal killer whales are wise old birds, trick-cyclists claim http://go.theregister.com/feed/www....menopausal_killer_whales_lead_group_movement/
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 via Tapatalk

 

[N_LaRUE]

This is pretty awesome.

BBC News - 'Exceptional tomb of Celtic prince' found in France

 

[worldspy99]

Less science and more technology but still this is pretty awesome...
Solar Impulse 2 starts around-the-world flight | Ars Technica

 

[worldspy99]

This one literally hit home pretty hard...
California?s hot, dry winters tied to climate change | Ars Technica

 

[worldspy99]

With rampant use of antibiotics this is becoming a priority...especially in the age of the superbugs...
Better testing desperately needed to fight antimicrobial resistance | Ars Technica

 

[muneshyne21]

This one literally hit home pretty hard...
California?s hot, dry winters tied to climate change | Ars Technica

What's funny about this article is that there is a link to a previous article saying that the drought might be a natural occurrence...

 

[Laura Knotek]

Sounds like "Inception"!
Artificial memories: French scientists implant false memories in brains of sleeping mice http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sc...-brains-of-sleeping-mice-20150310-1402wz.html
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 via Tapatalk

 

[N_LaRUE]

Sounds like "Inception"!
Artificial memories: French scientists implant false memories in brains of sleeping mice Artificial memories: French scientists implant false memories in brains of sleeping mice
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 via Tapatalk

Both fascinating and scary at the same time.

Memories are generally are not as concrete as we like to think they are. We even make up new memories and of course damper unpleasant memories. We can even overemphasise bad memories or good memories.

The elasticity of the brain is rather fascinating.