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Cooking Navi screens, fresh from the oven
As medical science suggests that a steady regime of Pringles, pizza, and Coca-Cola is not a suitable diet (pfft!), this blogger is looking forward to learning healthier recipes from Cooking Navi (or, as it's known in PAL regions, Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?). After all, I'd quite like to live beyond forty, and my current repertoire in the kitchen (omelettes, toast, cereal) may prove an obstacle to that aim.These first nine screens of the localized western version are all in French (which feels appropriate, given that country's culinary reputation), but it's not hard to see that this non-game caters to a range of skill levels -- for example, I actually know what Spaghetti Carbonara is! There'll be 200 recipes in total, with each informing users of the calorie count and preparation time. Hit up our gallery for more delicious screens.%Gallery-22839%
Barrens Chat: First posts make me hungry
Greetings fellow travelers of time and space! Welcome to the first official posting of Barrens Chat, a soon to be weekly implement of random craziness. Although I know I'm not the first comic strip, and likely I wont be the last to grace these glorious virtual pages, I invite you to take a romp with me, Megan, as I drag forth those silly comments people make that they hope no one noticed, and glorify them with fancy colors, and ever-changing art.I will point out that although all of this is will all be incredibly funny to everyone who reads it, including me; it may end up being a "you had to be there" moment. In that case, come back next week! I'm sure it'll be funnier then. No really, it will. %Gallery-22361%
Humanoid learns to cook breakfast, fend for himself
Never mind getting tesla coils to fix your supper, just hit the on switch on your own personal humanoid. Reportedly, the creature you see above has been loaded with learning algorithms that enable it to repeat actions that it learns. Wonder if anyone realized that this totally demented critter just learned to slice more than ham? Stay sharp, kids -- the video's after the break.[Via Hacked Gadgets]
Tesla coils seen wowing onlookers, cooking hot dogs
Believe it or not, tesla coils are good for more than just creating lighting, protecting one's laptop or cranking out a sweet tune -- and the folks watching a dazzling demonstration at Maker Faire 2008 can attest to that. Apparently a group of prototype (1 / 12 scale, no less) coils were seen sparking up the evening in San Mateo, California, but it wasn't the visual energy or unmistakable hum that caused all that saliva to form in the mouths of onlookers. Oh no, it was the fact that a dozen hot dogs were simultaneously roasted and made ready for safe consumption. Check out a video of the action right after the break.
Five tips to minimize raiding downtime
I'm a rather avid raider, putting in a solid 20 hours a week on my Warrior. One of the major things about the time spent raiding is that it can be very precious. There is only so much time that 24 other people, plus appropriate class substitutions, can be available each week. It's critical that the time spent raiding is used well.Unfortunately, using raiding time well is about as much of a challenge as is downing Illidan. In preparation for this article, I've spent the past three weeks keeping track of the down time in raids. We raid Sunday through Thursday nights, from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. We experience a downtime of about 51 minutes for each raid, which is about 20% of the time. Down time is defined as the time that my character is standing still, not attacking, not moving, and not being MDed to.Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I'm not really sure. Tip #1: Chain pullingPersonally, I do my best at the main tank to chain pull and push the trash through as fast as possible. This works out 99% of the time, however the 1% of the time it doesn't work out can grind the raid to a halt. Case and point: The trash to Supremus isn't too bad, and is a lot of packs where the MT, OT, and Pally tank each have some mobs to tank. There are also some ranged dragons that the Warlocks tank. These pulls can go very fast, and are very predictable. Pulling slowly we can do this in about 40 minutes, while chain pulling each group, we can push through in 15.Tip #2: Fully self buffed, all the timeIt doesn't take much to buff yourself. Every class has some buff they can apply to themselves, be it food buffs, spell buffs, or shouts. The key here is that you can find a minute or two to always buff at least yourself, if not others. Although, it might not always be possible to buff others as you're going along - and that's okay with most raid leaders for trash pulls.
Tetris-like chocolates make our mouths water [update]
Okay, so this isn't true, blue Tetris (that would probably infringe on some copyrights), but these faux-Tetris-esque Meiji chocolates still look fun to us. If there's one thing we've learned from disobeying our parents, it's that playing with your food is fun. The goal in this case is to put all the pieces together so that you completely fill in the rectangle board.These Meiji chocolate bar puzzles come in different difficulties, too -- as the chocolate flavor gets more bitter (white, to milk, to dark), the piece placement gets harder. Of course, the hardest part would be the test in willpower. It's not easy to play the puzzle after you eat all the pieces, we're sure. These might stale by the time you import them, but if you'd like some anyway for the novelty they cost 730 JPY (about $7 USD) each at Strapya World, sans shipping. As of posting this, there were only four units in stock, so you might want to get on that quickly if you covet such treats.We just hope there's not too many zigzags.[Update: I just found out that the chocolate isn't actually edible! (Hear that? It's the sound of my heart breaking.) Sorry if I got any of your hopes up, too!][Via About:Blank]
Karim Rashid-designed Globalight champagne cooler steals the show
Typically, you'd think a pricey bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne would be the star attraction on a night out, but we'd have to suggest otherwise if said container is being toted around in this thing. The Karim Rashid-designed apparatus, which is limited to just 500 pieces worldwide, is said to be a "modern reinterpretation of the traditional French chandelier." As for utility, it promises to keep your alcohol chilled for four solid hours, and considering the built-in LEDs will also flicker out after the same amount of time, we suppose that's a good indicator of when it's time to toss 'er back and get going. Here in the US, a handful of the Globalight's will be available exclusively at select W Hotels, but you're not unboxing one without laying down $4,500 first.[Via Luxurylaunches, thanks Yoge]
It's dangerous to chop vegetables on an unprotected surface alone! Take this!
We'll be honest -- as charming as it was, we found ourselves struggling to understand how the Zelda universe was an appropriate choice of subject for a themed, crochet teapot mat. Eventually, we concluded that, hey, Link does occasionally drink potions in his games, right? And you can also drink ... what? Yes! Tea! Ahem.Anyway, this Triforce-branded cutting board from Etsy user 1337motif ... we're stumped. Totally at a loss. There's just no reasonable connection between Zelda games and cutting boards. Then again, we're yet to find a more awesome way to chop vegetables, so we'll roll with it. Cough up $125 (yes) and it's yours.[Via HawtyMcBloggy]
Which Pokmon would you eat?
It's a question we've all pondered at least once in our lifetimes: in the Pokémon universe, is everyone a vegetarian, or do people actually eat Pokémon? Are certain Pokémon bred for mass consumption? And, perhaps more importantly, which Pokémon are the most delicious?We're elated that GameDaily has actually put some time into this twisted, wonderful thought process, and come up with a list of the ten Pocket Monsters that they'd most like to cook up. Some of these tasty critters are easier to come by than others; we personally see Magikarp as the salmon of the Pokémon world, while preparing a Peking-style Psyduck may be a bit more difficult. Actually, we're getting a bit hungry just thinking about this. Maybe we'll head out to the grocery store and pick up some fried Torchics for lunch.
Well Fed Buff: Fizzy Faire Drinks
Every Thursday, Well Fed Buff will be serving up the tastiest dishes to boost your HP and stats, just in time for your weekend gaming. In honor of the impending Spring season, and the traveling Darkmoon Faire, this week's Well Fed Buff will feature an improved version of [Fizzy Faire Drink "Classic"]. Don't worry, we won't be going anywhere near 'New Fizzy Faire Drinks'. The Improved Fizzy Faire Drinks can be prepared in a variety of styles and flavors, with fun colors and yummy garnishes. As such, several different combinations will be featured, and their mysterious buffs revealed. In fact, I wanted to create a purple and green float as a symbol of the Darkmoon Faire, but all my local grocery store offered would have made a grape-mint combination. If any brave souls try this, or can snag lime instead of mint, send us a screenshot! If you're curious, and itching to start off the ice cream season a little early, hop on through the break.
TEC develops 3D Tobidasu table menu, makes your mouth water
Shortly after Teraoka's Deli Touch pen gave a reason to (almost) ignore the wait staff entirely, along comes the 3D Tobidasu table menu to make you order way more food than you likely would otherwise. Developed by TEC, the pop-up menu is designed to be integrated into restaurant tables, and reportedly, it enables patrons to browse the offerings and view individual items in "3D." Granted, the photo above doesn't really capture the effect, but if you look long enough, chances are you'll be salivating in no time.[Via The Raw Feed]
GDC08 as retold through food
Among the few guaranteed assurances that come with GDC, one is perhaps the most constant: in the precious minutes you have to eat -- assuming you have any minutes at all -- you will cherish whatever sustenance you can cram down your gullet. It is with this in mind that we decided to snap pictures of (almost) everything we managed to eat this week, thus bringing the masses one step closer to really being there. Without further ado, enjoy the various foodstuffs (and the many, many sandwiches) of GDC.%Gallery-16865%
Teraoka's Deli Touch pen delays human interaction in restaurants
When talking menus just aren't futuristic enough, we reckon Teraoka's Deli Touch pen -- which strongly reeks of LeapFrog's Tag -- is the next best thing. The system works with barcode-laden menus and enables customers to simply swipe their choices and have them beamed directly to the kitchen. Besides hastening the order process and keeping the interaction between customer and waiter / waitress at a minimum, the device may also give you a solid reason to skimp on the tip -- not that we'd recommend such a thing, of course. Unfortunately, we've no idea if this setup is built to play nice with picky eaters and their laundry list of special requests, so we'd probably recommend steering clear unless you're totally cool with the standard fare.[Via PopGadget]
Behind the Curtain: How far is too far?
How far do you go to show how much you love your favourite MMO?Would you have a tattoo done? Our sister site WoW Insider has, in the past, posted about people having tattoos of various World of Warcraft symbols done. I sport a tattoo myself, and I've certainly considered getting a WoW tattoo done. Tattooing is certainly an extreme, and fairly permanent, way of professing your love for a game, so I suppose that might be 'too far' right there. You could go for a simpler option, and pick up some of the nifty official merchandise available for various games instead.I doubt you'll be surprised to hear that there is a veritable plehtora of merchandise available for WoW. There's the pen and paper RPG, (which I have but can't find anyone willing to indulge me an take part in my campaign) the TCG with its many tasty loot cards, and there's the wearable merchandise. Why not grab yourself a T-shirt or two – my personal favourite is the Camp Taurajo one. Wear one of these around town during downtime and see how many "For the Horde!" or "Grab your sword and fight the Horde!" cries you can hear being thrown your way. I wouldn't bet much on the latter though, to be honest. Sorry Mike. If your place of work has a 'dress down' day in effect, declaring your allegiance for the entire cafeteria to see may unearth a fellow WoW player you never knew was there.
Robot chef whips up delicacies we wouldn't dare touch
Nonhuman chefs are far from extraordinary, but the latest culinary guru crafted in Japan has a taste for the extreme. Reportedly, the EZ Order Robot was spotted in Osaka whipping up octopus balls (of all things), but apparently, the creature was able to concoct the dish totally from scratch. Interestingly, the demonstration wasn't really established to showcase its kitchen prowess, but rather to highlight other capabilities such as speech recognition and the ability to perform routine tasks without human intervention. Click here for the video, but remember, we're not responsible for ruining your appetite.[Via Live Science]
Japanese mobile game rewards players with real fish
It used to be that just getting a high score was the be all and end all of game accomplishments. More recently, amassing Achievement points became the all-consuming passion of gamers. Now even that seems passé as a new Japanese cell phone game rewards played with real, raw fish delivered right to their door.Ippon Zuri ("pole-and-line fishing" in English) lets DoCoMo users in Japan's Fukuoka area set bait, cast their lines and wait for the virtual fish to bite. When they do, a slot machine game appears and, if all three numbers match up, the fish is caught and, as Pink Tentacle describes it, "a message is then relayed to the wholesaler, who picks up the real-world equivalent from the local seafood market and delivers it, whole and raw, to the player's doorstep." Kind of reminds us of Activision's Atari 2600 badge program, except updated for the new millennium ... and with raw fish!We think this is a great idea, and can't wait for the concept to be applied across the gaming world. Win a real trophy for success at virtual sports games! Win real cash for success at virtual game shows! Win a real disembodied skull for success at a first-person shooter! Er ... scratch that last one.[Via BB Gadgets]
Karmic retribution: Pac-Man gets eaten (DIY)
If you eat food, which is a given, and you aren't a vegan or lactose intolerant, you probably know that cheese is the best food ever. (The previous statement is a well-known fact, and is not up for debate.) Of course, cheese-based foods (well, all foods, for that matter) are always better when they relate to video games.Today's spotlight food relates to Pac-Man. No, we're not talking about Babybel cheese ... that would be too obvious. Instead, Jocelyn from Snack-or-Die found this neat recipe, which details how to make Pac-Man and pellet-shaped crackers. In case you're wondering what they taste like, think Goldfish snacks.If you have even the least bit of culinary skill and own the proper hardware, you owe it to yourself to make these crackers. The recipe makes the process seem pretty easy, and they look mighty tasty. Cooking Mama, eat your heart out.
Well Fed Buff: Dragonbreath Chili
Every Thursday, Well Fed Buff will be serving up the tastiest dishes to boost your HP and stats, just in time for your weekend gaming. Hello hungry readers! Welcome to this week's installment of Well Fed Buff. When the weather gets cold nothing hits the spot like Dragonbreath Chili. This recipe can be acquired from vendors in Dustwallow Marsh or Desolace and requires 200 skill in Cooking to create. For ten minutes after eating, the consumer occasionally belches a cone of flame. The effects of the real version are much longer lasting, but just as deadly. Patience is the key to the perfect pot of Dragonbreath Chili. Well Sriracha is actually the key, but patience comes in handy. Be prepared to wait at least three hours for this recipe to come to fruition, and keep in mind that it is even better the next day. These instructions makes enough chili to feed a horde of Horde (or Alliance). and are guaranteed to warm you from the outside in... and then some.
Indian government to SMS food alerts to poor, forgets poor lack cellphones
A regional government in India has decided to send out alerts via SMS to families in need when their 35kg monthly rice ration is ready to pickup. The system is set to cover as many as 3.4 million families -- or 60 percent of the region's population -- though the gents running the show were unsure how many families in need actuality had cell phones to receive the notice or the means to sign up. We really have to wonder why nobody stopped to consider that the poor in need of food to survive might not have cell phones to get these messages in the first place. Perhaps a cheapo prepaid could be part of this high tech recipe in the future?
Is that a Tauren in the kitchen?
Have you ever found yourself playing World of Warcraft when you found yourself overcome with a desire for Redridge Goulash or Beer Basted Boar Ribs? No? Well, neither have I, but I have to say that Tauren Chef's Unofficial World of Warcraft recipes have me intrigued anyway. Using their powers of deductive logic, the folks behind Tauren Chef have apparently put together a cookbook full of WoW-inspired recipes so easy to make that even John Q. Gamer, whose idea of a fancy meal is a couple of hot pockets, would have no trouble whipping them together in the kitchen. I'd be curious to test this claim out in practice, but sadly, there is a $19.97 barrier to entry.While this is hardly the first time we've seen people conjure up recipes inspired by Blizzard (our buddies at WOW Insider did a post on the topic and have their own recurring feature for it), it is the first time we've seen it all packaged up so neat and spiffy-looking. By my estimation, none of the dishes rise to the level of game geekery achieved by the hearthstone soap, though the Strawberry-Murloc Pie comes pretty close. If any of you are brave enough to actually try any of these recipes out, please let us know. We'd eat it right up!
