I'll have that with a Diet Coke, please

I ran into this article in the Guardian newspaper the other day. It introduced me to the monstrosity otherwise known as the "Quad Stacker" at Burger King. This monstrosity, ladies and gentlemen, is made of four beef patties, four slices of cheese and four pieces of bacon all served on a tasty sesame bun. I was shocked, yet became somewhat peckish, at seeing such a thing.

For laughs, I decided to check BK's 'nutritional' brochure. (I find the term 'nutritional' rather optimistic in this case). Now, the Whopper itself is pretty bad at 650 calories and 39 grams of fat. For your reference, a typical chocolate bar is only between 100-150 calories. [Aug 25: Correction - make that 200-300 calories]

But if you try BK's 'Build a meal' tool on their website, you'll see this info for the Quad Stacker:


Yum! This baby is packed with 1000 calories and 68 grams of fat. Oh yeah, and it meets your daily fat intake allowance for one and a half days. So... who wants to try one with me? We can get some fries and a milkshake with that too. (Yes, I'm serious)

But let's say you're in the mood for breakfast. We don't have this in Canada, but in the US, McDonald's carries the Deluxe Breakfast. It's basically like a regular Big Breakfast, except, well, bigger. I've actually eaten one of these, and they're pretty good... if you're planning to hike up a freaking mountain (right, G?). This puppy is packed with 1200 calories of wholesome processed goodness. And on top of that, it has a mere 160% of your daily recommended cholesterol intake.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against McDonald's and BK serving these meals. I think it's a matter of personal responsiblity to monitor what you eat.

But wow... that burger is INSANE. I'm sure your arteries will appreciate it.

And on that note, it's time for dinner. Sigh. Rice and asparagus again.

Brand new name. Same poor taste.

After moving my old blog from MSN Spaces to Blogger, I noticed someone already uses 'Random Outbursts'. So now it's Tom's Outbursts.

Enjoy.

The Best Photo Assistants in America

For you photo nuts: American Photo magazine has an article on some up-and-coming photographers in the U.S. It chronicles a few promising photographers who are doing stints as assistants. Most photographers need to get some real-life experience, and they gain that by assisting established pros. This is well worth the read if you're considering a career in photography. And check out their galleries. There's some pretty good stuff there.

International AIDS conference

This is something that really caught my attention lately.

The 16th International AIDS Conference has opened up this weekend, and there's been plenty of coverage on CBC. In particular, there was a facinating interview with Stephen Lewis, one of the best known UN Special Envoys for HIV-AIDS. I especially admire this man in his fight to bring more recognition to the effects of this global disease. He's earned much respect in the world, and has also garnered many enemies for being outspoken against South Africa and the United States on their policies towards controlling HIV-AIDS.

We in Canada have been fortunate enough where the growth of AIDS has slowed (but not stopped) in North America, but it's still spreading wildly throughout Africa. During the CBC interview, Stephen Lewis identified how African women in particular are in acute risk. Due to a highly male-dominated society, women have very little say in refusing sexual advances by men and have no control whether contraception is used. The statement that surprised me was that married women, who were often married to much older men, were at greater risk of contracting HIV. Males would often have many partners throughout their lives, and would continue to spread HIV to their wives. People have identified that greater empowerment and education of women in their society would greatly reduce the incidents of AIDS. But due to the huge problems in Africa right now, such as war and famine, it's a daunting task to establish these education programs. This is made even more daunting in countries like South Africa, where they won't even acknowledge how HIV is transmitted from person to person.

Due to the huge scale of the problem and the enormous resources required to fight this disease, I'm truly puzzled (and a bit angry) that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has chosen to skip this conference. Instead, he has chosen to go to the north, and concentrate on announcements on Arctic soverignty. I've given our Prime Minister a lot of slack, since this government is fairly new. I was willing to put up with some hiccups as the new government minsters got more experience in running a government. But the PM's decision not to address the AIDS conference is an outright embarrassment to the country. Canada needs to do its share to fight this disease. I'm saddened to see that this issue isn't considered important by the government.

Some cool Apple stuff... and not-so cool Apple stuff

I continue to be impressed by Apple. Time and time again, they lead the way in computer design. They know how to design hardware and software, and they know how to make it simple and intuitive. Take for instance, Leopard, the next version of Mac OS X. This was just unveiled yesterday at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. Among other features, they've implemented built-in backups. "So what?" you say. Well, check out how they present the backup mechanism to the user. They use a 3-D 'time machine' metaphor to handle timestamps for files, which is simple for the everyday user. This is far cooler and simpler than anything Microsoft has come up with lately.


On the other hand, I continue to be staggered at the wide array of, ummm, "odd" accessories for the iPod. These are often made by 3rd party manufacturers. Take for instance, the iPod jeans...



...or the iPod toilet paper dispenser.

Vegetarian's Nightmare

This weekend, I had the opportunity to try out a Brazillian Churrascaria in Montreal. Le Milsa is located just off Rue Ste. Catherine and Rue Bishop. This Brazillian-style steakhouse offered us an all-you-can-eat array 10 grilled meats, including various types of beef (sirloin, filet mignon, etc), pork, lamb and turkey. These were served on swords right at the table and were carved right onto our plates. The Brazillian way of grilling meat only involves using good beef and rock/sea salt, and its simplicity allows the flavour of the meat to come out. For those who live on 'meat-lovers' pizzas, 'meat-lovers' pastas and 'meat-lovers' salads (yes, there's such a thing!), I strongly recommend you try this. And no... there is no vegetarian menu. :)

I really have to say, Montreal is a great place to eat. It has a fantastic restaurant and cafe culture and I have yet to be disappointed with my meals there. Le Milsa is yet another restaurant on my list of recommended places to eat. For me, a restaurant excursion on a Friday night is well worth the 2 hours of driving required to get there!

"Canada is cold". Yeah right.

I was chatting with a Swiss co-worker last week, and he was surprised how hot it can get up here in the Great White North. Well, he ain't seen nuthin' yet. It's supposed to be 35 degrees Celsius today in Ottawa, but with the freaking humidity, it will 'feel like' 48. Ouch.

Maybe I should go to someplace cooler. Like Hawaii.