Aardvark: Cooking and Technology

Heard of Aardvark? Google recently acquired the company for $50 million and will, no doubt, do something amazing with it. But it really doesn’t have very far to go. Aardvark is already an outstanding service, and I can only imagine what Google will do with it. In my mind, it is a great companion for Google Buzz, on which users can follow each other and share information—and even save their location if they use Buzz on a cell phone with GPS, so “Nearby” users can answer questions from people in their area.

Aardvark is a cross between Google Buzz/Twitter and Google the search engine. It is, in effect, a social search engine. One simply has to ask a question and wait for an answer from a knowledgeable user—or, vice versa, answer a question if he/she knows the answer. Aardvark is a way to search without knowing exactly what to look for (i.e., in Google or some other search engine). Aardvark describes itself as “a new kind of tool that lets you tap into the knowledge and experience of friends and friends-of-friends.” All users have to do is set up their areas of expertise and interest when setting up their accounts. From time to time, depending on their settings, they will receive a question to try to answer if they want to do so, and they can also ask questions to be answered.

I haven’t done the greatest job explaining this, so here’s an example. I used Aardvark the other night while making biscuits from a pre-made batch of baking powder biscuits that I got for Christmas. Previously, when I mixed up some of the batter and baked it, I thought the final product tasted too baking powdery. I thought it could have been that the biscuit mix had too much baking powder in it, but I wondered if there was another reason.

So I asked Aardvark. One can ask a question via the website, the iPhone app, e-mail, Twitter, or even IM (I have my GMail Instant Messaging account set up for Aardvark). This time, I chose the iPhone route, since I was in the kitchen. I got 4 responses within minutes.

I asked, “Is there any way to lessen the taste of baking powder in baking powder biscuits? They also [sic; it’s supposed to say “always”…my bad!] seem kind of…bitter, I guess.”

I got the following in response:

1) “Many baking powders contain aluminum, which can give a bitter taste. You might consider trying an aluminum-free baking powder.

You can find a list of aluminum-free baking powders at http://bowlofplenty.blogspot.com/2009/02/baking-powder_16.html#aluminum.” –Jonathan P.

2) “Aluminum-free baking powder http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/baking_powder.” –Timothy N.

3) “The only time I get that problem is when I add too much. Double-check your recipe?” –‘Lin L.

4) “Make sure you are using a baking powder that contains calcium phosphate (like Rumford or Clabber Girl)–they are less bitter. Also, I add a couple of teaspoons of sugar to mine.” –Pamela J.

Granted, not all of this was helpful to me at the time, because the biscuits were pre-mixed, in a jar, but I did try adding a little sugar, and I added a tiny bit more flour as well. When I make my own biscuit mix, in the future, I’ll try to find some aluminum-free baking powder.

Thanks for the tips, Aardvark! 🙂

I also asked about the durability of a TiVo and whether or not it is worth it to buy the lifetime subscription (used to be $200, now it’s $400 because of HD capabilities, I believe). I got several great, objective responses, and now, I’m thinking of buying a TiVo with a lifetime subscription, instead of paying monthly for it. Assuming it lasts longer than about 3 years (most people said they’ve had theirs since 2000 and that they’re still working but that they’ve replaced the hard drive once or twice, which is normal), I’ll end up paying less than if I paid monthly. Plus, it’s possible to transfer the lifetime subscription to a new TiVo in extreme cases. I’ll have to wait a while, but I know now that a TiVo would be a good option for me. Maybe sometime in the next year, I’ll go for it.

I also want to get a new digital camera. I had originally wanted to get the Nikon D5000 with 2 VR lenses, which would be around $800-$900, but since I’m also looking at a TiVo (which would be about $399 for the HD-capable machine with a good-size hard drive plus $399 for the subscription), I’m thinking of going with a point-and-shoot. It would be cheaper and smaller, so I could take it around with me, whereas with the Nikon I’d only use it for special occasions and photography projects since its more cumbersome to carry around. I’m not advanced enough for that yet anyway. The Canon Powershot S90 looks fantastic, and it would help me ease myself into “prosumer” photography. It’s a point-and-shoot/DSLR hybrid. It has manual features but is small and light. I’ve heard great things about it. And it’s only about $400. While I preferred to stick to Nikon for lens compatibility (my current camera, a Coolpix 3200, is Nikon), if I’m getting a camera that can’t even change lenses, I might as well go with the best one I can find. One rule of thumb I’ve heard is buy Nikon for DSLR cameras (the big nice ones with multiple lenses) and Canon for point-and-shoots.

So far, I agree. I’m considering getting the Canon point-and-shoot sometime this year and maybe getting the Nikon in a few years, once I’ve gotten more used to the “prosumer” category and can justify the cost.

Baltimore Blizzard Bastard; Second Semester Starts; Sorry, So Sorry

*Sorry I haven’t been updating you. It’s been hectic. But maybe that’s not an excuse. Anyway, I wrote this as an e-mail to a family member and thought it was actually perfect for a blog entry. So here you go, blog reader(s)! A slight adaptation of a family e-mail. Pry away into my private life, gentle readers!

Hello,

I’ve been busy with school starting back up. Last week was my second week of class; this week will be the third—assuming we have class, that is. I love it, but there’s a lot going on.

I’m taking a screenwriting class this semester (along with a fiction workshop and a class on experimental writing, called Experimental Forms). It’s neat that part of my work for class is to watch movies and TV shows, and then analyze scripts! Exciting. In fact, I just finished reading the screenwriting textbook for that course a couple of hours ago. It’s really interesting to me, so I decided to just read it all. Besides, I thought it would be good to have read and annotated it already so I can just use it to refer back to while I’m working on my script ideas. That frees up larger blocks of time later on, even though it took longer than I expected to read the book initially! Now I can just refresh my memory real quick on those days where I’m supposed to have read a section (he assigned it in 4 large chunks, to be spaced out between early February and late March, after which time we are going to be writing our scripts), and then I can focus on my ideas and perfecting my writing craft and document styles.

This is the closest I’ve ever been to what I want to do with my life. It’s shaping up to be an exciting, productive, educational semester for me.

As for the Baltimore snow, yeah, we apparently got about 28 inches of snow Friday/Saturday. It’s pretty crazy here. I live close to campus, though. It’s just a couple of blocks away. We don’t have campus housing at UBalt. Baltimore’s not really equipped for that, I guess, or perhaps it’s just UBalt that has that issue. There’s barely enough room for the class buildings! Haha. We have partnerships with a few of the local apartment buildings, though; mine is one of them. It’s called Sutton Place. Actually, I can look out my kitchen window and see the Student Center—big glass building, can’t miss it.

Kari and I have a great view, here at our apartment. It looks especially pretty right now, with all the snow. I should take pictures if I can remember to.

Speaking of pictures, I need to save for a new camera, eventually; this one’s about had it. After being spoiled with expensive/nice video cameras and learning a lot about manual controls in my video production class at Wabash last spring, I now want a still camera that is more up-to-date and has more creative control than my ailing Nikon Coolpix 3200. Nikon’s D5000—the one on Amazon with 2 VR kit lenses, one at 18-55mm and the other at 55-200mm—looks pretty great for a first-timer, with manual controls and everything, but it’s expensive. Not even a priority right now. I need to read more about photography anyway so I know what I’m doing with it if/when I finally get one! And then there’s the worry that I won’t actually use it enough to warrant buying. I certainly don’t use my current camera that often (I use my iPhone camera more!), but maybe I would use a newer one more. Who knows?

Ah, I’m starting to babble. I supposed I should go to bed.

Stay warm, Baltimoreans et al.!

Best,

Roger