I have found a few undeniable truths from my time on this rock. Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line, Amtrak runs late and scientists like numbers. Good news for the scientists, though. They just got their very own cooking method: Sous Vide. If you are not familiar, sous vide is a technique where food items are sealed in vacuum bags and slow poached in a circulating water bath. This method is ultra precise. Maniacally precise. The chat site eGullet has a thread on the subject that is over 119 pages long. People comparing notes on bag thickness, meat density and evaporation rates. Care to know how to cook asparagus in one degree/one second increments? Not me.