Ping Larkin
in [Design]
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From: Martin Brown on 19 Oct 2009 04:05 John Larkin wrote: > On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:34:31 +0100, Martin Brown > <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: > >> John Larkin wrote: >>> On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:27:24 +0100, Martin Brown >>> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>> >>>> John Larkin wrote: >>>>> On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:08 +0100, Martin Brown >>>>> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> But in the USA it is also the enormous portions of food at the popular >>>>>> restaurants that plays a part in supersizing the population. >>>>> It's not a conspiracy; the restaurants offer what people want. >>>> But as the average US population becomes fatter and fatter they just >>>> want more and more. Twenty years ago a reasonably fit 6' adult male in a >>>> US restaurant could just about eat the entire meal and be uncomfortably >>>> full. These days there is enough for at least one extra meal on the >>>> plate. Perhaps it is time to limit servings to the amount that a healthy >>>> adult can eat (maybe plus 10%). Gluttony is not pretty. >>> Who is going to limit portion size? Or how many courses a diner is >>> allowed to order, or how much he eats off his wife's plate? >> Mere practical details. But you seem to deny there is a problem. > > I'm not denying that there are lots of fat people around... more in > other parts of the country than here in California. US population has become bimodal. There are a small number of super fit guys who run every morning and the rest who walk to their car and use remote controls for everything else. I was at a conference with a US guy in the former category and when he got back from his run for breakfast his rotund compatriots had eaten absolutely *everything* from the breakfast buffet. The rest of the week he skipped his morning run. > > Do you propose to legally limit serving sizes in restaurants? If that is what it takes then yes. I recognise it would cause problems for the all you can eat business model. > >>> I, like lots of people, like large servings. I eat a third or maybe >>> half and take the rest to go. That's probably a consequence of the >>> actual cost of food being a minor component of the restaurant's total >>> costs. >> I guess you are right. It may be a cultural thing but doggie bags have a >> distinct yuck factor for us Europeans. I can't really think of anything >> worse than taking away well cooked uneaten restaurant food and then >> warming it up later in the week. I have sometimes done it in the US >> since it offends me to see so much food go to waste. > > It's very common in the US. It use to be considered a bit tasteless, > but no more. Gross is the word that springs to mind. >> If you are into fine dining Relais&Chateaux is fun touring in Europe. > > Yup. But I'll eat anything... bread and cheese is fine, too. > > The best stuff I had in France was calloulet (in Baune) and > bouillabaisse (in Marseilles.) I have peasant tastes. Local food in Normandy around the coast is very good (as is the cider). Mont St Michel is overpriced and tasteless but worth seeing (not staying at). Avranche not far away is charming. Regards, Martin Brown
From: Martin Brown on 19 Oct 2009 04:13 Spehro Pefhany wrote: > On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:03:12 -0700, John Larkin > <jjlarkin(a)highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote: > >> On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:08 +0100, Martin Brown >> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> >>> John Larkin wrote: >>>> Britain and even France are seeing increasing levels of obesity. Look >>> True enough. Wherever the US junk food diet is exported (even Japan) >>> obesity rapidly increases. McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken being >>> the worst offenders. Highly processed unhealthy food is far too common. > > Here is one thing KFC is currently offering in Asia:- > > http://www.speff.com/kfc.jpg > > In USD terms, that's the equivalent of $1.97 and the magic wand is > making another of those breading-encrusted deep fried chicken patties > appear for a modest 15-cent adder. They offer delivery too, in case > you're too fat to waddle a few blocks. Total EUR 1.42 (tax included). > > Looks like lots of mayo oozing out too.. Eating at KFC was by far the worst meal I ever had when I lived in Japan. I had to take one of our UK engineers there for comfort food to steady his nerves after an earthquake. He was staying in a tall central Tokyo hotel at the time. It wasn't that much of an earthquake either. KFC is unusually popular in Japan at Xmas time as they have a slightly mangled idea of what a Christmas dinner should be. Regards, Martin Brown
From: Baron on 19 Oct 2009 06:50 Martin Brown wrote: > John Larkin wrote: >> On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:34:31 +0100, Martin Brown >> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> >>> John Larkin wrote: >>>> On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:27:24 +0100, Martin Brown >>>> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>>> >>>>> John Larkin wrote: >>>>>> On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:08 +0100, Martin Brown >>>>>> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> But in the USA it is also the enormous portions of food at the >>>>>>> popular restaurants that plays a part in supersizing the >>>>>>> population. >>>>>> It's not a conspiracy; the restaurants offer what people want. >>>>> But as the average US population becomes fatter and fatter they >>>>> just want more and more. Twenty years ago a reasonably fit 6' >>>>> adult male in a US restaurant could just about eat the entire meal >>>>> and be uncomfortably full. These days there is enough for at least >>>>> one extra meal on the plate. Perhaps it is time to limit servings >>>>> to the amount that a healthy adult can eat (maybe plus 10%). >>>>> Gluttony is not pretty. >>>> Who is going to limit portion size? Or how many courses a diner is >>>> allowed to order, or how much he eats off his wife's plate? >>> Mere practical details. But you seem to deny there is a problem. >> >> I'm not denying that there are lots of fat people around... more in >> other parts of the country than here in California. > > US population has become bimodal. There are a small number of super > fit guys who run every morning and the rest who walk to their car and > use remote controls for everything else. I was at a conference with a > US guy in the former category and when he got back from his run for > breakfast his rotund compatriots had eaten absolutely *everything* > from the breakfast buffet. The rest of the week he skipped his morning > run. >> >> Do you propose to legally limit serving sizes in restaurants? > > If that is what it takes then yes. I recognise it would cause problems > for the all you can eat business model. >> >>>> I, like lots of people, like large servings. I eat a third or maybe >>>> half and take the rest to go. That's probably a consequence of the >>>> actual cost of food being a minor component of the restaurant's >>>> total costs. >>> I guess you are right. It may be a cultural thing but doggie bags >>> have a distinct yuck factor for us Europeans. I can't really think >>> of anything worse than taking away well cooked uneaten restaurant >>> food and then warming it up later in the week. I have sometimes done >>> it in the US since it offends me to see so much food go to waste. >> >> It's very common in the US. It use to be considered a bit tasteless, >> but no more. > > Gross is the word that springs to mind. > >>> If you are into fine dining Relais&Chateaux is fun touring in >>> Europe. >> >> Yup. But I'll eat anything... bread and cheese is fine, too. >> >> The best stuff I had in France was calloulet (in Baune) and >> bouillabaisse (in Marseilles.) I have peasant tastes. > > Local food in Normandy around the coast is very good (as is the > cider). Mont St Michel is overpriced and tasteless but worth seeing > (not staying at). Avranche not far away is charming. > > Regards, > Martin Brown I couldn't agree more. The Calvados is nice too ! -- Best Regards: Baron.
From: John Larkin on 19 Oct 2009 11:25 On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:05:35 +0100, Martin Brown <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >John Larkin wrote: >> On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:34:31 +0100, Martin Brown >> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> >>> John Larkin wrote: >>>> On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:27:24 +0100, Martin Brown >>>> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>>> >>>>> John Larkin wrote: >>>>>> On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:08 +0100, Martin Brown >>>>>> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> But in the USA it is also the enormous portions of food at the popular >>>>>>> restaurants that plays a part in supersizing the population. >>>>>> It's not a conspiracy; the restaurants offer what people want. >>>>> But as the average US population becomes fatter and fatter they just >>>>> want more and more. Twenty years ago a reasonably fit 6' adult male in a >>>>> US restaurant could just about eat the entire meal and be uncomfortably >>>>> full. These days there is enough for at least one extra meal on the >>>>> plate. Perhaps it is time to limit servings to the amount that a healthy >>>>> adult can eat (maybe plus 10%). Gluttony is not pretty. >>>> Who is going to limit portion size? Or how many courses a diner is >>>> allowed to order, or how much he eats off his wife's plate? >>> Mere practical details. But you seem to deny there is a problem. >> >> I'm not denying that there are lots of fat people around... more in >> other parts of the country than here in California. > >US population has become bimodal. There are a small number of super fit >guys who run every morning and the rest who walk to their car and use >remote controls for everything else. You haven't been around here on a Saturday morning. 80% of the runners are female. I was at a conference with a US guy >in the former category and when he got back from his run for breakfast >his rotund compatriots had eaten absolutely *everything* from the >breakfast buffet. The rest of the week he skipped his morning run. >> >> Do you propose to legally limit serving sizes in restaurants? > >If that is what it takes then yes. I recognise it would cause problems >for the all you can eat business model. >> >>>> I, like lots of people, like large servings. I eat a third or maybe >>>> half and take the rest to go. That's probably a consequence of the >>>> actual cost of food being a minor component of the restaurant's total >>>> costs. >>> I guess you are right. It may be a cultural thing but doggie bags have a >>> distinct yuck factor for us Europeans. I can't really think of anything >>> worse than taking away well cooked uneaten restaurant food and then >>> warming it up later in the week. I have sometimes done it in the US >>> since it offends me to see so much food go to waste. >> >> It's very common in the US. It use to be considered a bit tasteless, >> but no more. > >Gross is the word that springs to mind. What's gross bout asking a restaurant to package uneaten food? It's not much different from ordering take-out. We went to a neighborhood Thai place on Friday night and ordered three dishes ($30, including beer), about twice what we could eat, enjoyed the variety, took the rest home, and had it for lunch on Sunday. What's gross about that? It was great both times. Some things, like fried foods, just don't work leftover, but many things do. Confession: I like leftover half-hamburgers, if they're good ones. >>> If you are into fine dining Relais&Chateaux is fun touring in Europe. >> >> Yup. But I'll eat anything... bread and cheese is fine, too. >> >> The best stuff I had in France was calloulet (in Baune) and >> bouillabaisse (in Marseilles.) I have peasant tastes. That was cassoulet, of course. I never did learn to type, which is weird considering that I've done over a million lines of code by now. > >Local food in Normandy around the coast is very good (as is the cider). >Mont St Michel is overpriced and tasteless but worth seeing (not staying >at). Avranche not far away is charming. Mont St Michel is amazing but, as you say, not the place to stay. I want to visit its twin off the Cornish coast, the Mount of St Michael, which was featured in the version of 12th Night, this one: http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Twelfth_Night/70005187?trkid=222336&strkid=1762879763_0_0&strackid=6d9f5d8baed76069_0_srl which is just about my favorite movie ever. John
From: John Larkin on 19 Oct 2009 11:31
On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:13:54 +0100, Martin Brown <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >Spehro Pefhany wrote: >> On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:03:12 -0700, John Larkin >> <jjlarkin(a)highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote: >> >>> On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:08 +0100, Martin Brown >>> <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>> >>>> John Larkin wrote: > >>>>> Britain and even France are seeing increasing levels of obesity. Look > >>>> True enough. Wherever the US junk food diet is exported (even Japan) >>>> obesity rapidly increases. McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken being >>>> the worst offenders. Highly processed unhealthy food is far too common. >> >> Here is one thing KFC is currently offering in Asia:- >> >> http://www.speff.com/kfc.jpg >> >> In USD terms, that's the equivalent of $1.97 and the magic wand is >> making another of those breading-encrusted deep fried chicken patties >> appear for a modest 15-cent adder. They offer delivery too, in case >> you're too fat to waddle a few blocks. Total EUR 1.42 (tax included). >> >> Looks like lots of mayo oozing out too.. > >Eating at KFC was by far the worst meal I ever had when I lived in >Japan. I had to take one of our UK engineers there for comfort food to >steady his nerves after an earthquake. He was staying in a tall central >Tokyo hotel at the time. It wasn't that much of an earthquake either. > >KFC is unusually popular in Japan at Xmas time as they have a slightly >mangled idea of what a Christmas dinner should be. KFC is greasy and gross. Popeye's (which started in New Orleans) is the best fried chicken chain. Their chicken is Grade A and cooked right, and their sides - cajun fries, red beans and rice - are excellent. But I can't rave over British cuisine. I did have some excellent Italian food in Oxford, in a place run by Italians, but that's about it. I'm not a fan of Indian food, so most meals in Britain were ordeals. John |