telophase

telophase @ 2010-03-19T17:01:00

2010-03-19T23:06:03Z

20 min. on bike 3.5 mi. Total: 833 mi. From Rivendell: 437 mi. Still on path. Blindfolded. STILL.

Max squats in final set: 24
Max pushups: 35

Yo, Texans!

2010-03-19T20:48:09Z

Someone on my f-list is considering applying for a teaching job in Killeen. What do you know about the city and the area? (I confess, I've never stopped there for longer than it takes to hit the bathrooms somewhere while on my way through...)

And another Craigslist ad....

2010-03-19T16:36:11Z

...twigging my weirdo-meter:( Read more... )
At least this guy's honest! ( Read more... )

I'm not posting this one because of the idea - they're warning you about someone who posts scammy/predatory ads. It's the characterization of all Marines that I'm a wee bit skeptical about. ( Read more... )

Wow...

2010-03-19T16:22:06Z

Guys, when you advertise for a ~~mistress~~ tenant on Craigslist, you're not fooling anyone. (I'm more amazed at the sheer number of these sorts of ads on here, but I probably shouldn't be.)

( Text below the cut, in case the ad goes away )

Video

2010-03-19T16:02:28Z

Chook the lyrebird lives at the Adelaide Zoo, and imitates construction noises. (Lyrebirds are excellent mimics.)

ETA: An amusing remix. XD

telophase @ 2010-03-19T09:24:00

2010-03-19T14:26:15Z

I've forgotten who this link came from because I opened a bunch of links in browser tabs, then closed the LJ tabs before going through them. :D Anyway ... hyper-realistic acrylic body painting. In other words, the artist paints people to look as if they're acrylic paintings. Very convincing! And a bit eerie at times.

On making stock

2010-03-18T17:34:42Z

This started as a comment to a post about Making Stock 101 over at actyourwage but grew too large to leave there.

I tend to throw some different aromatics in my chicken stock, because I like them: a few quarter-size smashed coins of ginger, some hunks of lemongrass if I have them, etc. I've also used the carcass of a chicken that had previously been red-cooked (stewed in a mix of water, soy sauce, cinnamon, star anise, and a few other spices) which produced stock with a lovely scent of the spices.

I've also been known to make double stock when I'm feeling particularly ~~bored~~ ambitious: make stock, then make it again, using the previous stock as most or all of the water. It intensifies the flavors.

I've also made it with a whole chicken (preferably the oldest bird you can get - a stewing chicken or a roaster, rather than a fryer - as it'll contain more flavor). Once the meat is fork-tender but before the simmering has sucked all the flavor out of the meat and into the stock, shred as much of it as you can (until you get bored) off the carcass with a couple of forks and set it aside for use in chicken salad, chicken soup, etc. Since it's been cooked in water over a long period of time, the normally tough meat of the old bird will be tender.

And after reading Culinary Expertise, a book about cooking techniques full of interviews with chefs, I no longer feel guilty about occasionally tossing in a Maggi chicken bouillon cube or two, as one of the chefs there confesses to throwing in a Knorr bouillon cube, because she likes the way it tastes!

Also, for people to keep in mind: there is no One True Way to make stock, and it can be simple or complicated. This past weekend I just made some in a way more complicated fashion than I usually do using techniques for fine-dining-quality chicken stock, just to see how it would differ from the kind I usually make: I kept the stock at a constant temperature between 170-190°F, because boiling - or even simmering - can cause tiny particles to incorporate into the stock and make it cloudy. I also didn't add the vegetables until the last 45 minutes or so of cooking, as the authority I was following explains that it only takes that long to incorporate the flavors of the vegetables, and long-cooked vegetables will often suck up stock liquid and give you less stock at the end (and if you want clear stock, you can't squeeze them out in the strainer), and then disintegrate and make it that much harder to have clear stock.

When it was finished cooking, I strained it twice through cheesecloth, and since it was still somewhat cloudy*, I did the egg-white clarification trick: whisk some egg whites until bubbly, then simmer in the stock until they float to the top in a raft: they trap particles in the stock and filter them out without leaving any odd flavors behind. You then carefully ladle the stock out and strain it again.

Result: beautifully clear. On tasting, it tasted *slightly* better than usual, but I decided my palate is not yet refined enough to want to follow these procedures every time I want to make stock. Just when I'm feeling especially foodie. :)

* because I failed at not reaching a boil at one point, and also used a spoon to break up the carcass before I remembered I wasn't supposed to disturb it.

Hollywood Plot-O-Matic

2010-03-18T14:12:29Z

Electron Transport System*
an original screenplay concept
by telophase

Political thriller: A war hardened soldier teams up with the straightest cop on four continents to find the true meaning of love. In the process they are locked in a haunted house with a kind hearted prostitute. By the end of the movie they run away from 14 double agents and end up winning the admiration of their kind hearted prostitute, living happily ever after.

Think Die Hard meets City of Lost Children.**

http://www.maddogproductions.com/plotomatic.htm ***

( And another one, which had a slightly different twist... )

* Ever since that fateful day in Biology when I learned of the electron transport system, I have always thought it would be a good name for a band.

** If I heard that pitch line, I'd probably watch it.

*** There is also a link to a Porn-o-Matic, which sounds intriguing, but as I am At Work, I shall not yet indulge my curiosity.

Arg

2010-03-16T21:11:00Z

I spent some time this weekend scouring the intartubes for free piano sheet music and found a small thriving fan community that ~~transliterates (is that the right word?)~~ transcribe (I knew I 'd remember the right word if I hit Post) music from anime and video games and posts said sheet music on the web. Naturally, the vast majority is far too complex for my current m4d skillz*, but it's now awakened in me the desire to find sheet music for "Wake up Heart!" by Masaki Nomiyama, from the Saiyuki Reload Image Album 1, because there's a fairly simple-sounding theme repeated in it that (a) sounds like something I could achieve and (b) I really like.

Naturally, I can find all sorts of Saiuyki music except that one. *sigh*

Japanese-language readers: do you know if there's any way to find and buy it online (music stores, Japanese auction sites)? Reading around convinces me that as part of the Manga/Anime Marketing Machine that the publishers excel in, sheet music is often produced. It's been long enough that it may no longer be available, though, even if this album had sheet music.

* I can occasionally move my hand from one set of keys to another without pausing more than a second! Ph33r my skillz!

Your Money: The Missing Manual by J.D. Roth

2010-03-16T14:55:45Z

Your Money: The Missing Manual is by the author of the Get Rich Slowly blog and distills the essence of his blog into 320+ pages that give a crash course in money.

If you read Get Rich Slowly you've seen a lot of this before, but this time it's organized and easily searched, and he's got the space to go a bit more in-depth than he does in a blog post. He's got 13 chapters, each covering a different aspect of money management from credit to retirement to what, exactly is "enough" - his point is that you don't need to have $X amount of money, it's that you need to figure out what you want to do in your life and arrange your finances so that you can do it. If you are in debt, he explains options for getting out of debt and how to set up a plan. He doesn't like the word "budget," instead preferring "spending plan," because too often people fail at budgeting because they try to manage it too closely, discover it's a lot of work and potentially confusing, and stop without getting a handle on their spending. He also maintains that it's important to treat yourself - any plan based on depriving yourself of everything is bound to fail. Additionally, he gives a basic 101 in investing and retirement planning, and house and car buying.

Readers of J.D.'s blog already know his voice, and it comes through here: he doesn't come across as an expert sitting On High and pontificating to the masses, but as a regular guy. It also helps that he's been there: he had $35,000 in consumer debt by his 30s and managed to pay it off in 39 months once he got his act together and educated himself. And he admits the mistakes he's made, using them as examples of what not to do.

The book is full of useful information, with book recommendations and links to online sites where you can educate yourself further if you're so inclined. In fact it's so full of links that that's my only complaint*: his audience tends to be the net-savvy, with easy access to the intartubes (makes sense, as it started as a blog), but it almost feels a bit intimidating for anyone who picks it up who doesn't have net access or who is really unsure about this whole internet thing.

I've gotten myself out of a lot of debt (paid off my credit card and car) in the past couple of years using principles found in J.D's blog, and while I still have a lot in student loans, that's the only debt I have left, and I can actually begin to envision a time in which I have the ability to purchase a house. I'd say that I wish I'd had this book when I graduated college (and then when I graduated from grad school), but I'd probably not have been able to follow much of the advice: I wasn't able to get a handle on spending until I was diagnosed with and treated for ADHD, as my biggest problem is the impulse behavior and lack of ability to long-term plan that comes with the compromises in executive functioning that characterize ADHD. But perhaps I'd not have gotten myself into such high debt at the time ($14,000 on my credit card at my worst).

Who I'd give this book to: my local library, recent high school and college grads, anyone who struggles with money and is ready to change (because if they're not ready to change on their own, no amount of education is going to help).

* I take that back: I do have one other, minor, complaint: as many authors do, he casually says "Your public library should have this book or something similar" when mentioning books, without explaining what to do should the library not have anything useful (namely, interlibrary loan and requesting books be purchased). Libraries quite often will have an eclectic mix of books due to books being stolen, or lost, or worn out, and especially now when money is tight, not much ability to replace them or buy new.

I think too many people assume that library patrons know enough to ask librarians what to do when the library doesn't have a book, but speaking as a librarian: no, quite often, they don't. They'll look for a book, see it's not there, and give up. This is my plea to authors: please mention the existence of ILL and the ability to request books be purchased at least once when you tell someone to pick a book up at the library! If they know a book is wanted, they will make an extra effort to purchase it, but if they don't know it's needed, they won't.

State of the telophase

2010-03-15T21:31:55Z

Spent the majority of today off work thanks to a stomach bug hitting me in the wee hours of the morning. Got online for work for a couple of hours because we were bringing a new IM system online today and I needed to change the code on several pages and stick around in case it broke. Seemed to go well. Then I spent most of the rest of the afternoon in bed, alternately snoozing and reading. Am hungry now and will go eat something shortly, but this bug appears to be the type that, when I out food on my stomach, causes gut cramping within the next two hours. So not fun.

OTOH, it means I've read most of my ARC of Your Money: The Missing Manual, by the Get Rich Slowly blogger, and am enjoying it. If you've followed his blog for a while, you'll be familiar with everything in it: it's basically a distillation of his blog over the past several years, put into an organized form.

Notes to self...

2010-03-15T17:21:52Z

...on how to use up the leftover beef tenderloin we made this weekend because if I eat the same thing more than two or three times in a row I go off it completely.

-- beef Stroganoff

-- quesadillas

-- Thai beef salad

telophase @ 2010-03-14T16:38:00

2010-03-14T22:08:12Z

20 min. on bike 3.5 mi. Total: 829.5 mi. From Rivendell: 433.5 mi. Still on path. Blindfolded. Still.

Max squats in final set: 22
Max pushups: 31

telophase @ 2010-03-12T18:17:00

2010-03-13T00:17:34Z

Via janni: If Star Wars were an Icelandic saga.

telophase @ 2010-03-11T20:06:00

2010-03-12T02:45:33Z

20 min. on bike 3.5 mi. Total: 826 mi. From Rivendell: 430 mi. COntinue on path. STILL blindfolded (EIGHTEEN MORE MILES TO GO).

Max squats in final set: 18
Max pushups: 25

telophase @ 2010-03-10T22:09:00

2010-03-11T04:20:22Z

So ... would there be any interest if I made a few of these Buttercup Bags out of kimono scraps* and sold them on Etsy? Because I mmmmay have just bought a license to do so.**

* The scraps I can source aren't quite the size of a fat quarter, because kimono pieces are 14" wide, so I'd probably have to make the front and back different colors (or different fabrics), or piece them together in patchwork. And I'd probably make a couple out of regular fat quarters first, just to get the hang of it.

** It's ten bucks. And if I don't get around to either making or selling, I don't begrudge supporting the creator. :) You can find a bunch of different versions of it on Google Images. ***

*** And it all started because I was looking for ideas for patterns for bento bags, since my favorite one shrank in the wash and I have several boxes that are too big for normal bento bags, not to mention the days I just use plain old Gladware. I discovered this WHOLE NEW WORLD of handmade bags ... and much like kanzashi, while I don't actually use fancy bags, I now have a major desire to make them.

telophase @ 2010-03-10T17:24:00

2010-03-10T23:25:27Z

Also, have spent entire day reading up on and attempting to implement various Wordpress security measures. Have developed buggy eyes and raging headache as a result. Ow.

telophase @ 2010-03-10T17:23:00

2010-03-10T23:24:11Z

rachelmanija is soliciting donations to the Virginia Avenue Project in order to see a review of the worst book she has ever read!

woo!

2010-03-10T18:48:39Z

If you read the Get Rich Slowly blog, you might be interested to know that I just got my (electronic) hands on an ARC of his book, due out next week. Via NetGalley, of course. :)

telophase @ 2010-03-10T11:29:00

2010-03-10T17:30:28Z

Otters playing a piano duet.

...hey, now, I didn't say they played it well! I mean, after all, they don't have a very large key span with those paws! ;)

telophase @ 2010-03-09T21:29:00

2010-03-10T03:30:50Z

20 min. on bike 3.5 mi. Total: 822.5 mi. From Rivendell: 426.5 mi. Still blindfolded. GOing to be so for some time to come.

Spammage!

2010-03-09T21:35:28Z

This Nigerian-scam email sounds like a manga in the making: ( Read more... )

telophase @ 2010-03-08T19:57:00

2010-03-09T02:19:49Z

20 min. on bike 3.5 mi. Total: 819 mi. From Rivendell: 423 mi. Passing through an open glade. Still blindfolded.

Max squats in final set: 17
Max pushups: 25

You know what's sad?

2010-03-08T23:05:21Z

Being addicted to New Tricks, the BBC show, when only seasons 1 and 2 are out on DVD in the States, and the local PBS station is showing it ... and is halfway through Season 4 when you discover the show.

AAAAARGH

WAY TOO ADDICTIVE

2010-03-08T21:11:29Z

Bite-Size Edits, editing via the intartubes.

Basically, someone uploads their text to the site and it gets served out, one sentence at a time randomly (and you can restrict who sees it, apparently), to people who sign up to be editors. the editors can edit the sentence (it seems to post the previous and subsequent sentences before and after the snippet, for context), approve it as is, or edit and add a note. Check the FAQ for their explanation of why and how nobody sees your full text.

WAY TOO ADDICTIVE. I can stop editing any time now! I can!