Fatbob

[Photographs: Erin Jackson]

Homesickness for my native Canada always hits me the hardest during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Typically, I can dial it back by checking the Toronto weather forecast, but that doesn't stop the food cravings. Visions of honey dip Timbits, Voortman Gingerbread Kids, and heaping plates of poutine dance through my head nightly. So when I discovered that poutine is now available at Trader Joe's, I made scoring a bag my top priority.

The poutine ($3.99) consists of a bag of frozen, straight-cut french fries, packed with a baggie of frozen cheddar cheese curds and a baggie of frozen "beef sauce", the main ingredients in which are water, cornstarch, beef fat, beef, and yeast extract. There's also small amounts of salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and tomato paste for flavor.

Preparation is pretty simple: bake the fries in the oven, thaw the sauce and curds in simmering water, then put it all together on a plate. The final step (putting the assembled plate back into the oven for a few minutes) is essential. It warms the sauce and curds up a few important degrees—don't worry, the cheese won't melt.

So, how does it taste? Pretty delicious! The fries baked up beautifully, and while the sauce was slightly gelatinous, the balance between its muted beefiness and the extra boost of savory flavors from the onion and garlic powder made it tasty enough to satisfy my craving. Best of all: despite being thawed from frozen, the cheddar cheese curds had a mild tang and actually squeaked! This is the hallmark of quality poutine, and where most imitators fall short.

You could achieve much tastier results by making your own gravy from scratch, but even if you go that route, it's still worthwhile to buy the kit, especially if you live in a part of the country where squeaky curds are impossible to find. Four bucks for a bag of frozen fries and a generous handful of curds that squeak is still a solid deal in my book.

Trader Joe's poutine isn't on the level of the top poutineries in Montreal, but as an introduction to the dish, or a means to satisfy a craving (when the real thing isn't in reach), it's awesome. I'll be back to buy more, in bulk.

About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

Eidolon looks fantastic, and it sound like it will be really fun to play. It's set in a "post-human Western Washington", and it's a game that revolves around exploration. The developer's website sets up the game like this:

"You will be dropped into the dreary and mystical Western Washington circa 2400 c.e. with a bow, fishing rod, and little to guide your way. Awaiting you is a vast landscape filled with wildlife, edible plants, and the historical artefacts of our now-dead culture—journals, newspapers, zines, brochures, transcripts, and more. You must spend your fleeting moments moving through this place, collecting what was left behind, and piecing together what happened to these people, both from a historical perspective and from a much more personal one."

Eidolon will be out sometime next year for the PC and Mac, and it's on Steam Greenlight right now. It looks great, and I will definitely be paying attention to it.

Sometimes it feels like the internet's just the same thing over and over. Google agrees: According to the search giant, 25-30 percent of everything online actually is a duplicate of something else somewhere else online.

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During the years to come 3D printing is expected to cause a small revolution, as people will be able to download and print pretty much everything imaginable.

While many manufacturers are skeptical about this threatening development, Porsche is cleverly using it for a promotional campaign, dispelling the MPAA’s famous “you wouldn’t download a car” mantra.

The car company is offering 3D blueprints for its Cayman S model, which can be downloaded for free through Porsche’s official site. This allows anyone to print a copy of the car in real size or as a miniature.

“A dream can only come true, if you give it a shape. Why not with your 3D printer? We offer you the Cayman S as 3D printing data. Feel free to get creative,” Porsche writes. “Create, print and colorize your personal Cayman S. We would love to see the results.”

Please Download This Car…

The blueprints are limited to the exterior of the car, but it’s a nice gesture nonetheless, and one that’s being well received by 3D print fanatics around the globe.

On Twitter several people are showing off their own versions of the car using the hashtag 3DCayman. Shown below is an overview of the most recent creations of cars printed in various sizes and colors.

Cayman S Copies

Whether Porsche’s move has been inspired by the iconic anti-piracy PSA will remain unknown. However, it is clear that the people at the Motion Picture Association are not the most visionary out there.

Interestingly, Hollywood has also recently come to the realization that allowing people to download something for free can actually be a good thing.

Last week Microsoft and Warner Bros. teamed up to release a 3D blueprint of the “Key to Erebor” for the movie premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Typically, however, these blueprints were not offered without a bunch of unnecessary restrictions.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and VPN services.

Game Design Companion: A Critical Analysis of Wario Land 4 is a 600-page eBook that will analyze the entirety of Wario Land 4. I'll just give you a moment to let that sentence sink in. Seriously, Daniel Johnson has put together 600 pages of critical analysis on Wario Land 4 to, as he says, take the structure of videogame design in this under-appreciated gem and cover topics such as mechanics, psychology, education, level design, and game feel.

Daniel wants to pursue evidence-based analysis of games rather than socio-culture critique. The same thing has already happened in virtually any other medium, with things like Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings being so epic and complex that there are numerous college classes taught focusing on various aspects within that universe alone. Maybe someday there will be a Wario Land 4 class with this book used as the textbook? That would be pretty rad.

We're huge fans of Wario here at Destructoid, with a few of us specifically enjoying this game quite a bit. I know I'll be checking this out as I'm inherently interested in game design and mechanics, while also just super curious how in detail Daniel gets in this thing. Also, the cover art is top notch.

Game Design Companion will be available tomorrow, December 18, for a limited-time price of $4.99 through Stolen Projects.

Wario Land 4 Book [Daniel Primed via NintendoLife]

We're inching slowly toward the virtual reality future the 1980s promised us with the addition of a "VR support" category on Valve's digital distribution service Steam. Currently, nine games can be found by searching for VR support in Steam. ...

Thanks Mike F

 

Put on your finest velour leisure suit and kinkiest disco boots, we're going dancin' down memory lane with this incredible supercut of Soul Train's iconic dance line. Who knows, you might even recognize an earlier you in the crowd.

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Thanks Krisgo

 

Earlier today ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley published another installment in what appears to be an orgy of access, this time with outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Regarding its executive changes, Microsoft today reported that it will not announce its new leader until 2014, cooling speculation that the new CEO would land before the end of this year.

Ballmer’s remarks are worth reading, of course, but two segments stand out.

For one, his framing of Microsoft’s soul after its shift towards devices and services instead of software proper is interesting, given that if the board agrees, his views could be similar to the strategic rubric the company is looking for in their next chief:

Are we a productivity company or are we a software company? Well, what we are is a company that knows how to create great software for productivity and serious fun, but the expression will be through services, and through devices increasingly. And maybe it always has been. Nobody ever buys Windows. They buy Windows PCs.

That’s mostly true, even though enthusiasts do, in fact, buy Windows as a stand-alone product. But Ballmer is correct in saying people buy Windows PCs more than they buy the operating system itself. Even more, they buy ‘computers’ more than they buy Windows PCs, but that is a quibble.

Secondly, Ballmer reflected on Surface as an internal project, in relation to its Xbox efforts. Xbox, of course, was a key moment in Microsoft’s becoming a hardware-capable company. In Ballmer’s view, Surface was “in a way… a tougher bet” than Xbox.

Microsoft’s Windows platform needs OEM partners to make tens of millions of PCs each month. Its decision to hem in on their space was heavily frictional. When the Nokia purchase closes, however, Microsoft will manufacture hardware across every major Windows form factor: Tablets and PCs through Surface, smartphones via Lumia, and televisions through Xbox. It can now create hardware consumer experiences for every screen Windows wants to land on. That gives the company increased flexibility to reach consumers, and set the discussion.

The new Microsoft’s strategy is well on its way to execution. The question now becomes who will see it through.

Not so long ago, hopping onto the internet required more than just opening a browser. In the dial up days you'd have to wait for your modem to screech and squawk as it connected. Looking back through years of nostalgia, those sounds were strangely satisfying and often times melodic, which explains why someone has created a tiny electronic keyboard that lets you turn a dialup modem's sounds into your own symphony.

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Starbomb is the adult-oriented, videogame-themed supergroup of EgoRaptor, Game Grumps, and Ninja Sex Party, and it's here to rock your face off. The above video, "Luigi's Ballad," is the first single from the self-titled album, available today on all your digital download sources, and it's a pretty good indicator of what you'll hear on the full album. There are plans for more animated videos, with EgoRaptor's obviously being the first.

The albums thirteen tracks run through classic games and characters such as Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Kirby, and Mega Man, and throws in a bunch of dick jokes. While the concept itself may seem a bit juvenile, the awesome music (provided by Ninja Sex Party) and hilarious situations are more than enough to keep the more "mature" fan entertained. Some favorites include the above video (featuring comedian Rachel Bloom as Princess Peach), a song where Simon Belmont keeps interrupting Dracula and his pals while they try to have a party ("Crasher-Vania"), Kraid's inability to battle Samus because he never knew she was a girl ("Regretroid"), and the self-explanatory "Rap Battle: Ryu Vs Ken."

The album is available on iTunes, AmazonMP3, Spotify, CDBaby, and physical copies are available via the band's merch page from their website.

We no longer live on Earth, my friends. We're in some weird world where people can do the impossible. Do you want to fly? You should try. Do you want to spin in the air in both directions? I think you can. Because this insane Superman double backflip bicycle trick destroys everything that should be humanly possible. The rider does a full back flip while fully extended in a Superman pose, somehow re-gathers himself onto the bike and then does another full back flip. All in one jump. Sweet.

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For hardcore gamers and casual players alike, a new video gaming console can be the perfect holiday gift. But given the slew of options this year, it can be tough to decide on a system.

Which console is on your wish list this year? Are you hoping for a new one like the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 — or perhaps a portable option like Playstation Vita or Nintendo 3DS?

Tell us your top console choice in the poll below, and then share the games you're looking forward to in the comments

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Which video game console is on your holiday wish list?More about Holiday, Christmas, Video Games, Playstation Vita, and Nintendo Wii U

via

 

Oh, the things humans will do to get their grubby hands on gold—a metal mostly prized for its ornamental use, hoarded in bank vaults and jewelry boxes, though we've arbitrarily decided it's worth, uh, its weight in gold.* The deepest gold mine in the world is Mponeng, a 2.5-mile hole in the ground in South Africa. A whole underground city—lightless and lawless—lives inside the mine.

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More rumors related to the Samsung Galaxy S5 are starting to leak, with the latest suggesting the phone may have a Quad HD screen as well as fingerprint and eye scanners

The latest report comes from ZDNet Korea, which states Samsung is preparing to put Quad HD (QHD) and iris verification technology into its 2013 smartphones. A QHD screen has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440, which is the same resolution as a 27-inch iMac. There's no word on screen size, but we imagine Samsung will keep it below the 5.5-inch mark, as not to overly compete with the successful Galaxy Note line.

More about Samsung, Tech, Gadgets, Mobile, and Samsung Galaxy S5

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. National Security Agency's bulk data collection program likely does not comply with the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who released the decision on Monday, wrote that "in view of the significant national security interests at stake," he would not require the decision's widespread enforcement until the government has had a chance to appeal.

"This case is yet the latest chapter in the Judiciary's continuing challenge to balance the national security interests of the United States with the individual liberties of our citizens," Leon wrote. Read more...

More about Surveillance, Us World, Us, Nsa, and Edward Snowden