If you're anything like me, you don't like the taste of cardboard. But looking back carefully on the 20th century, I think we'd all have to agree that dieting and the food made especially for specific diets were among the greatest innovations of that time.

Everyone knows that agriculture is one of the most important aspects of civilization. Land cultivation transformed man from the wandering ways of the hunter-gatherer into the man and his land, pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into the soil and springing up eternal life in the form of fresh tomatoes, corn and ... umm ... tobacco. And it just so happened, by the graces of God, that America, our great nation, possessed some of the most fertile land in the world. She would take our seeds and turn them into amber waves of grain and the such, feeding a young nation of hungry rebels.

Much has changed since those early days of life in the Americas. Now, major corporations control the food markets across this "free" market economy, and with their ownership they brought along their big money research and intense marketing. They created new concoctions like the Oreo cookie, the pressurized can of cheese, the Big Mac, the Big Gulp, and let us not forget, the deep-fried Twinkie.

The brilliant part about all of this, and my point (finally!) is that they have done all of this while maintaining a level of foresight that should be applauded.

Huh?

Well, while Micky D's and Nabisco have been stuffing saturated fat down our throats for the past five decades, they've also been working on "low-fat" and "sugar-free" versions of their revolutionary culinary creations. They knew we would get fat, just like the tobacco companies knew nicotine was addictive, but they didn't stop. How could anyone look at a vat of french fry grease and think "no way this is bad for you"? It's like breathing in a puff of smoke and thinking, "this is is sooo good for my lungs". (Come on, People, carbon monoxide is bad for you and it's clear!)

So as Americans have gotten fatter, fat and skinny scientists alike have been devising ways to make us all thinner. Medical associations have set standards that would make obesity the leading epidemic in most third-world countries. Grocery stores are lined with boxes touting new and improved, more fat-free, and healthier foods. And all of this, in combination, has created a new market of diet foods, with dieting consumers eager to jump on their scales with their chocolate-free chocolate chip cookies.

But the genius of it all doesn't stop there. When was the last time you sat down and ate a box of "light" ice cream and thought to yourself "That was better than the real thing. Man, Ben & Jerry's sucks compared to that". If you think you have then you're kidding yourself. No diet food can hold a candle to the real thing. So you spend the first twenty years (nine if you're a girl) of your life getting fat, then you starve yourself with tiny portions of food that tastes like wood. Then your girlfriend (or boyfriend) dumps you, it's the end of the world, and quite frankly, the void in your heart filled by that dozen of doughnuts outweighs the 12 lbs you gained by eating it (but not literally, of course). Eating cardboard just doesn't ease the pain like a hot glazed pretzel, now does it?

I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be like this. It's like when Chris Rock talks aobut how we can go to the moon but Cadillac can't make a car so that the bumper won't fall off. All of the technology, all of the research that goes into making a Kit-Kat (believe me, it's a lot. I've seen that episode of Unwrapped) and we can't make a good tasting slice of pizza that's good for you too? Oh they can, but they won't. Because if they did, their little game would be over. You'd be happy and skinny. You'd eventually get tired of their product and move on to something else.

But, I'm just like the rest of you. I like food, but I also don't like luggin around the extra weight on my evening jog. I've never considered dieting, but lately I have been contemplating eating healthier (there's not a difference but the latter sounds better). I just hope that by the time I get around to 'eating healthier', the food tastes a little better.

Tonight: The 'Never-Ending Pasta Bowl' at The Olive Garden.
Tomorrow: The Atkins diet

I don't know exactly when I knew something wasn't right. From the beginning it felt like something was missing. Maybe I was expecting too much. Maybe all of those years of living in the South had spoiled me. But I thought it would get better. I thought I would stick it out, be a man, and after some time had passed, maybe after fresh start, it would just be ... well ... better. But I was wrong. Even after I had taken all I could take and she refilled my cup, the sweet tea still wasn't sweet enough.

Against my better judgement (judgement? what's that?) I watched the WB's new show One Tree Hill, mostly because I'm a loser. However, had I known that the show takes place in a fictional North Carolina town, would feature dialogue about David Thompson, and quietly slide in a song by local rockers Runaway Cab I would have made a much bigger deal out of the whole thing. Now I'm not so upset about taking a break from my homework.

The show's not great. Basically just a show to film in Wilmington to replace Dawson's Creek. Great one on one basketball scene by the river though. I actually just recently visited the riverside in Wilmington for the first time myself, so it was cool to see it again.

While I'm distracted I might as well let you know I eased my course load today, even got a thumbs up approval from my faculty advisor. It's only one class, and the other stuff is still challenging, but I don't feel so overwhelmed anymore. We'll see how long that lasts, but for now all is good in the house of thedustin.

I've written, like, a bunch of stuff. Drafts upon drafts. Nothing seems right. Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet. Maybe I'm not far enough away from whatever I'm feeling to really see it and understand it. Maybe there just aren't any words that really fit.

I hate goodbye. Not like most people hate goodbye. I don't believe in it. I believe in road trips, flights around the world. I believe in the circuitousness of life. I believe in Heaven.

But there are definitely moments in your life you wouldn't hesitate to beg people not to leave. You want to be selfish. You want them to be where you are. Your life is moving on just fine staying put, why can't theirs do the same? Why do they have to "go out there to see what life has in store"?

I wish I could go with you, Dan, but that would be wrong. What's right is that you're so far away and yet I won't have a problem waking up tomorrow, I won't be afraid that the distance means our friendship is over, that the best days are behind us. Those were good times, but so good I don't know how we could ever let them be our last together. Yes, there will be more, more that our experiences apart will cultivate into something even better.

So while you fly away to the motherland, I wanted to offer some encouraging reminders of loss (seems oxymoronish, or maybe just moronish). Here goes ... you lost Wendy's but you haven't lost Fish n Chips. You lost the warmth of a summer day, but you haven't lost blue skies. You lost I-540 but you haven't lost other long, unbeaten paths to explore the world with. You lost 3234, but you haven't lost other places to share your, umm, quirks. Most importantly, you lost Raleigh, but you haven't lost us. And, Dan ... don't forget to represent.

I don't know how many of you choose to view thedustin.com in a theme other than blueskyday, but if you do I wanted to let you know that those other themes will be closed for a short period while I work on making thedustin.com compatible with ScribNotes. As you can see from my previous post, I used the "Hurricane Day" to catch up on some of the web devo tasks that have been stacking up. The good news for ScribNotes users about me switching thedustin.com over to a ScribNotes powered site is that it means I'll be using the system a lot more and will probably be more motivated to make changes and adjustments in it's little quirks. The bad news for me is I really don't have the time!

Anyway, just thought I'd let everyone know what's goin on. That also means if there's a problem, it probably has to do with me making the switch, so bear with me and please let me know if you find something wrong.

Ammendment: And by the way, the time is also screwed up. You may see that this post appears to have been written at 0510 ... but it wasn't, I just haven't switched over the GMT stuff yet.

I finally finished it, the introductory version of ScribPix. You can take the gallery for a test spin by checking out thedustin.com galerie. ScribNotes users can get in on the fun by clicking on "Create A New Gallery" from their home page.

Back from Maryland a new man, one feeling a kinship with the D.C.-ites, those who traverse lanes of traffic in a single swoooop to the left or right at 70 mph where the gray signs advise 55. Those who sit in traffic for 45 minutes waiting to clear two accidents within a hundred yards and scream to the traffic gods, "Come on, is that all you've got, I eat traffic delays like this for breakfast?!?" - or, rather, "I eat breakfast in traffic delays like this."

I can't tell you how many times I've driven through D.C. My mom hails from Hagerstown, MD and I spent every summer until I was 10 there with my grandparents. There were Christmas trips, Easter trips, birthdays, Thanksgiving, trips just to visit.

But things are different now. My grandparents passed away 5 years ago and my connection to the area now is my girlfriend, newly transplanted to the area where I spent part of my life growing up. It's weird to go back now. Though Beth is an hour away from Hagerstown, there's an air of familiarity floating around the affluent neighborhood she calls home. A stark contrast from the somewhat modest surroundings of my grandparents' house until a brisk breeze catches my skin and takes me back. Wiffle ball in the street, playin catch in the backyard with my uncle, waiting for Pappy to come back from his evening walks. I never lived there but it was my second home.

Since my grandparents died, I've only been back once. I'm not exactly sure why, maybe I'm afraid of the memories. Maybe my life is just fine not having to think about it, not having to miss Grandma and Pappy like I did ... like I still do. Maybe I just felt like that part of my life is vanished forever. But it's not. It's there and will always be a part of me; a part I should never let go of, a part that I should cherish and revisit whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Someone close to you moves to the D.C. metro area and you think to yourself, "free place to stay if I want to visit D.C.". I think to myself, "time to go home again."

Off to Maryland for the weekend. Feel free to use JohnnyConvo as you wish while I'm gone. Everyone have a great weekend.

Ever wake up from a nap and, being unaccustomed to the feeling of waking up during the mid-afternoon, feel like you've somehow missed something; like you've Rip-Van-Winkled your way to weeks later in your life and you've got to visit as many news sites or watch as many news channels as you can to catch up? That's how I feel right now, and the funny thing is, I have missed a lot.

After hearing earlier today that Ben and Jen's wedding was scheduled for Sunday, in the time I have been asleep it has apparently been postponed due to the leak. And, since I've been asleep, Maurice Clarrett's suspension for the season has been confirmed.

Ok, so it's nothing important but still, I feel out of the loop.

Is anyone else wondering what's goin on with johnnyh these days? He posted a comment with my "downstairs" post, but he hasn't been posting on his website lately, and he's been noticeably absent from JohnnyConvo. He must be busy flyin planes and crap.

Well, I've completed 1.5/4 homework assignments due this week (more specifically, 1.5/2 due tomorrow) so I feel pretty comfortable about taking some time out to practice my writing. Here it is, in the form of a few random ramblings...

It would be wrong for me not to say something about this weekend's pigskin "debacle" over in Winston-Salem, though I'm not quite sure "debacle" is the most accurate way to put it. To be honest, I feared this weekend, but not because I thought we might be "looking ahead" to Ohio State. I'll admit I thought we'd head to Columnbus 2-0, but I didn't think it was going to be a cake walk. I knew Wake Forest would be tough, and they were ... too tough. But if I may borrow some of the ole Tarheel optimism, maybe an early loss will be good for us. We probably won't win the ACC, and we're not headed to New Orleans, but it may help us win some big games down the road. Besides, to me, beating Notre Dame last year was almost as good as the national championship (No, I'm not saying it's better, and I'm not saying I'd rather do that than win the national title, all I'm saying is it was a good way to end the year and something like that can still happen this year)...

Andy Roddick has, as Thunder has reminded us on several occasions, "made the leap". America's next big thing in tennis beat Spain's already big thing in straight sets, and got himself his first Grand Slam title, mesh & foam and all. Andy's gal pal, Mandy Moore ("Andy and Mandy" ha!), caught the red-eye to catch her boy in action, and he did not disappoint. The only question I have now is where can I get one of those mesh & foams?...

So Beth tells me that if I went to Maryland to visit her and wanted to go to IKEA, she thinks she saw one near Laurel. Now, knowing that there's an IKEA in Baltimore and Woodbridge, VA (each just about an hour away from her present location), I scoffed at her suggestion that there would be three IKEAs within a 60 mile radius of her, especially since the closest one to me is 260 miles away. She was right though. College Park, MD is the site of this mysterious third IKEA, and we'll likely be going there this weekend when I go up to visit, so if you want anything, give me a holla (it has to be small enough to fit in a Mitsubishi Mirage that might already be carrying a desk)...

I know there's a large number of you who don't read my stuff if it's more than 4 lines long. For those of you who have made it this far, I commend you. It means you have absolutely nothing to do...

If you follow NASCAR or watch Sportscenter then you probably know about the little tussle between Kevin Harvick and Ricky Rudd this weekend at Richmond. I'm a big big Kevin Harvick fan (big big big big Jr. fan, though), so I have to side with Harvick on this one, though I think it might have been a little inappropriate for Harvick's pit crew guy to jump on Rudd's hood, especially since he's probably the heaviest of all the pit crew guys for the GM Goodwrench Sugar Ray Chevy Monte Carlo. Harvick was fined $35,000, no word yet on whether teammate Robby Gordon has offered to pay the fine...

I apologize for the sports-related slant that most of my ramblings took, but that's pretty much what dominated my thoughts this weekend. I'll try to keep this a little shorter next time. Until then, have a stuperific evening.

"Downstairs" just came up to ask us if we could keep it down, that he has a young son who has to wake up to go to school, and that we were disturbing him. By no means do I take issue with this man's concerns, but T-Rav and I were watching a football game at -56.5dB (I don't know what that means, but it's pretty low), T-Rav on the couch, me in the recliner. Maybe I voiced my frustration over the game in a not-so-inside-voice, but I never really got that loud, and neither one of us has been running around or anything.

This is the second or third such visit from "Downstairs" and this time I decided I needed to write him a letter. I think he has some deeply rooted illusions about living in an apartment, and I don't think I'd be off the mark in assuming he thinks we live to be rowdy just because we're college students. These apartments pretty much do the opposite of buffering sound, and he needs to understand that. The letter was not written with anger or frustration, but with a level of calm that I honestly didn't know existed in me. If this doesn't work, then I suggest "Downstairs" go live in Kensington Park for a while and then let me know how bad our "neighborliness" really is.

Barely 2 weeks into grad school and I'm already behind with my work. This is not the place for procrastinators. The sad thing is, I haven't really been procrastinating. I just haven't been able to get stuff done.

This only means things will continue to get more and more boring around here, as I have zero time for web devo fun (web devo = web developing). Once I pull the reins in on my work, I'll get back to making useless web stuff. Until then, check out the few but awesome scribbers!

Instead of taking the time to write about my weekend, I've decided I'm going to concentrate my efforts into finishing the two novels I've been reading for the past couple of months. I'm sure everything from this weekend will stay fresh in my memory, though I'm not sure the language I choose to share it with will be better or worse by putting it off so that's what I'm going to do. If that didn't make a lick of sense, don't worry about it.

"You know I was attracted to girls all through high school"

"I love girls who like me. That's such a huge turn on."

- Adam, The Real World: Paris

It can't be coincidence that the producers would put him up with one of the all time best Real World "characters", Ace. They've been at it for a long time, but it looks like Bunim-Murray still have a little magic left in 'em.

I really want to write about my weekend, but I'm quite tired at the moment. I figured I'd write something just to let you know I'm still around and as a last ditch effort to keep your interest. Stay tuned for more in the next couple of days.