For Miller

BLUF, aka TL;DR -- Mixing and matching cuisines within a single meal. Thoughts?

I forgot I had this site out here.  This might work better than the wall o' text messages. So anyway, here's where my head's at this morning:

I've recently started following a couple of YouTubers.  Tokyo Kitchen and Joshua Weissman.  If you don't know Joshua's story, I recommend you look it up. I think he'd be a GREAT asset to team up with NerdFitness, if possible. He's just as extra as the rest of us and has a great weight loss story. But it was actually a Tokyo Kitchen video that got me thinking.

In her recent post about Torijaga (a fairly simple chicken/potato stew from what I could tell), she ended it with a suggested meal plan that includes the main dish (stew) two sides, a soup, and rice. Her suggestion checks out with what we know about meal planning and plate composition -- she's just doing it with multiple plates. She is actually where I got the idea of including a soup with every dinner, by the way. Bagged salads have gotten us to include one of those with each meal. I think keeping a simple "soup of the week" in the fridge might go a good way towards creating another filling, low-calorie side with each meal.

ANYWAY -- it's the pickles she mentioned that really got the ol' gears spinning. She was counting them as a side dish when I normally would have thought of them as a garnish. How very American of me, right? I like Asian-style pickles, don't get me wrong, I like all styles of pickles if I'm being perfectly honest; pickles are freaking delicious, but as a side dish? This sent me down the rabbit hole of "If I make a big batch of daikon pickles, would I be able to include them as a side dish in multiple meals throughout the week? I don't have a lot of room in the fridge to store them long term. Would I need to do a whole week of Asian food just to make sure they get used? What would happen if I started mixing up cuisines? How much cognitive dissonance is there if I make a vegetable fritata with salsa, with roasted broccoli and Asian pickles as the veggie sides, a small dish of leftover pesto pasta for my starch, and a cup of tomato bisque? Does that fit together? That's not a meal -- it a leftovers night. Is there anything wrong with that?"

I get that dietarily, for weight loss specifically, I really only need to be looking at the caloric loads and portionings. But meals are about flavors, textures, smells, sounds, and experiences. Is there a way to take these kinds of hodge-podge meals and create something culinarily cohesive out of them? I have a chef buddy that works for Publix Aprons, maybe I'll ask him.

In the meantime, I'll go have my snack of kimchi (1/4 cup), followed by cottage cheese (1 cup), followed by beef jerky (1 oz).

Hello? Is this thing on?

*tap tap tap*

Testing, testing. Mic check one two. Mic check one two. I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts. I found the pineapple. The black flamingo flies at midnight, but the white raven doesn't see the moon.

Willful -- Jacket Blurb and Premise Statement

He can alter reality through sheer willpower alone.

He doesn't remember when it started or how old he actually is. What he does know is that he has been a wizard, a messiah, a superhero, a sociopath, a warrior, and a lover. But of all the things he's been, he's happiest with what he is now: a suburban husband and father.

He doesn't use his abilities much anymore. He might save a beloved pet or keep the neighbor's kid from falling out of a tree. However, recently something has changed. Reality is becoming harder to control. Changes that he made are unravelling, snapping back to their previous form, sending ripples through the fabric of reality and shaking-up his carefully crafted existence.

What frustrates him the most is the feeling that these failures aren't random. It's as if reality itself is fighting back with a purpose. but purpose belies intent and intent belies consciousness. 

What is this force opposing him and does he have the will left to fight it? Or, does he even want to?

---

Reality-altering husband and father wants to maintain his idyllic suburban life. But when his powers start to fail and pieces of reality begin to snap back into their original design, he has to choose between maintaining his diminishing control on reality or living his destiny.

Strength

You can lift twice your body weight over your head? You can run 26 miles? You can balance on one foot at the top of a pole as tall as you are? Is that so?

Well, I can hold the woman I love for 4 hours straight as she sobs every last ounce of pain and frustration out of her body, all while smiling and proving to her how beautiful she really is.

I can cook, shop, clean, and maintain a house while the daughter I adore coughs in my face, sneezes on my food, and drinks from my cup when I'm not looking.

I can feed, burp, and rock back to sleep, an angel only days old while having no sleep, no food, a distraught wife, and a sick kid -- yet still revel in the awe and wonder a newborn baby can bring.

So, tell me again how strong you are ...


(Editorial Note: This is intended as a motivational message, not a literal account of events.)

Pains in my neck -- April 2013 edition

Closures, Deferred Objects, Promises, and the ideological differences between Serena Dimensions and Git.

The ONE Comparison You Should Make Today

The only person you should compare yourself to is yesterday's version of you.
(Paraphrased with thanks to Steve Kamb from NerdFitness.com)

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/04/04/comparison/

Ideas From NerdFitness.com

See what prompted this post

Level: 1

Race:  (Larger than average, intelligent ) Goliath?

Current Class:  Trainee

Target Class:  Ranger/Monk

QUEST LOG

** = Currently Tracked Quests

MAIN QUESTS

• **  Make a Quest Log of things I want to achieve
• With concrete, realistic goals and milestones
• Purchase a single family, 4/3/2, 1800+ sq. ft. house
• Sell current townhome
• Save money to buy out mortgage difference at time of sale
• Stay in current neighborhood
• Travel to Japan
• Learn to speak Japanese
• Hirigana / Katakana
• Kanji
• Particles
• Grammar
• Summer Movie Games
• **  Figure out how to work with ColdFusion ORM (Hibernate)
• See conundrum below
• Work out Wager UI
• Actions list
• Segregate CSS/JS by module
• Weigh 200 lbs or have <= 10% body fat
• Nutrition
• Purchased Meals
• **  10 purchased meals per week
• 5 purchased meals per week
• 2 purchased meals per week
• 1 purchased meal per week
• Fluids
• Water
• 1 bottle per day
• 2 bottles per day
• 3 bottles per day
• 5 bottles per day (1 / 2 / 2)
• Other
• 2 caffeinated drinks per day
• 1 caffeinated drink per day
• Exercise
• Once per week
• Twice per week
• Thrice per week
• Do 10 pull-ups (optional)
• Do 100 push-ups (optional)

SIDE QUESTS

• Homebrewing
• Fermentation Chiller
• Kolsch
• Comic Book Tesseract
• **  Develop and maintain an exercise plan
• Set weekly entertainment goals (no, really) and add to Side Quests
• Manliness / Style

/* ****************************** */

SUMMER MOVIE GAMES ISSUE

Persistent objects (ColdFusion Hibernate) and how to work with them on a site that delays tying the Entities to a User (i.e. can use the site without being logged in). Problem started from an old A List Apart article talking about how sign-up forms are bad. I agree - but to play with the toys of the site requires DB (does it?).  Need to check onSessionEnd() to see if I can clear unconnected Entities to prevent DB bloat.

Smells Like Someone Peed on a Herring

I'm pretty certain that a small, furry critter of some kind has decided to to turn our master bedroom wall into its own personal little mouse-olium. (See what I did there? That's very punny.)

Our pest control guy says we're basically SOL. All we can do is wait until the little bastardo dries out naturally. Until then, I will be investing in Febreeze, cinnamon brooms, Yankee candles and any other thing I can think of to mask the smell of life's inevitability. Also, my wife will be sleeping on the couch. The smell in the room is so bad it makes her retch.

By the Flying Spaghetti Monster's holy noddle, it f_cking stinks in there.

I Think The Future Is Gonna Be OK

My daughter plays with my wife's Nintendo DS, that makes me happy; however, she plays "Hello Kitty" on it, and that makes me ... well ... not-so-much.

My daughter likes to watch Beakman's World and even enjoyed an episode of Mythbusters with me -- this makes me hopeful that she won't be burdened by gender stereotypes. Then she asks to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or Care Bears -- and this makes me worried. But, to be fair, she also likes She-Ra and cheers when Buttercup beats the tar out of Mojo-Jojo. I wonder if she'd like Kim Possible ...

She likes The Black Cauldron, The Dark Crystal, The Last Unicorn and The Secret of NIMH. She also likes Snow White, Elmo, some Crystal Kingdom Dora movie, and Rock-a-Doodle-Do. All-in-all, that balance of substance and fluff seems OK to me.

She listens to Gotye and Carly Ray Jepsen. She also loves Yakko's World and the theme song from Darkwing Duck. I once caught her singing Turn Me On (feat. Nikki Minaj) while she was taking a bath. This has made me declare radio in the car as off-limits.

She steals my polyhedron dice, my Ravenloft figurines, and my Monsters Manual ... to have a tea party.

I swear she has more books than the library of Alexandria. She reads Dr. Seuss, Aesop's fables, Grimm fairly tales, and anything else she can get her grubby, little mitts on. She even has her own books on my pull list at the local comic shop. I find nothing wrong with this.

She eats salmon and green peppers as well as hot dogs and french fries. God help you if she doesn't get dessert.

She cries at the end of school if she can't hug her friends good-bye. She cries during The Muppets when they don't meet their telethon goal. She cries when it's time to get in the tub, and she cries when it's time to get out of the tub. Yet, she'll trip over her own feet, faceplant on a hard laminate floor, and then pop right back up like nothing happened.

I hope someday we'll build a desktop trebuchet together. I hope she owns me in a game of free-for-all deathmatch or asks me to run her through her first dungeon. I hope she'll read things by Neil Gaiman and Gail Simone, Ray Bradbury and Anita Blake, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emily Bronte. I REALLY hope she stays away from Reddit - at least until college - and finds social networking to be valuable, but not invaluable.

But really, more than anything else in this world, I hope she gets her own damn computer so she can get the hell off of mine and let me play Guild Wars 2.

An Informed Voter

[WARNING!! Politics incoming]

I understand that you have to be intelligent to graduate from Juilliard. After all, talent can only get you so far. However, Juilliard does not have a political science program and as such, the political opinions of their graduates should not heavily impact my voting decisions. To allow them to do so would be foolish on my part.

However, I also understand that the intellectuals that DO have the credentials to back up their opinions are by-and-large not so famous. Their voices tend to go unheard by the majority of the populous due to the simple problem of signal-to-noise ratio. IMHO, this imbalance between visibility and legitimacy is a major issue in today's politics.

(Additionally, there's the added question of what criteria gets defined as a legitimate credential, but that's another post for another time.)

As such, I propose that those who have the public's eye and ear should NOT promote any specific political candidates directly. Instead, they should advocate for the political brainiac of their choice that is capable of presenting a solid argument, with corroborating evidence, of why a specific candidate should be chosen to accomplish a defined agenda. Then, let's get these politico wunderkind together to debate the game theory that ultimately drives those legislative actions so that there can be actual intelligent discourse regarding our government and its inner workings.

Now that's Must See TV©.

Focus

Can't focus.

Want to focus. Can't focus.

Need to focus. Can't focus.

Too distracting. Need to be in there. Need to make sure she's OK.

Mommy's in there, making sure she's OK. I need to be here, doing what needs to get done.

I'm scared. I need to know she's OK.

She'll be fine, it's nothing. Children get these bugs. It happens.

Writing helps. It controls the mania. Gives an outlet for the panic. Can't cry - Mommy needs the support of a strong Daddy.

Don't want to be strong. Want to be in there.

My heart hurts. My head hurts.

I'll stay here. I need to focus.

Plagues anyone?

Don't cuss at deities, they CAN get even.

In Progress ...

the photos are in the sidebar to your right -->

As I ran out the door this morning, I snapped a few shots of the kitchen in its current state. Methinks it needs a couple more coats of paint.

Just for the record - I used a gray primer (Saturday) and these were taken after two coats had already been applied (Sunday).

It's The Only Possible Explination

Rick Astley made a deal with the Devil and stole the voice of Chris Tucker.

Ask Betty Crocker

Sorrow is fat soluble.

Another Day - Another Dollar

I friend of mine, DogPound, has a belief that is paraphrased as "government is a monopoly on armed force". I discussed this with Darius over lunch - because I view the two of them polar opposites - to see what his take on that was. His response was somewhat intriguing, if not altogether ... unrealistic.

His idea is that in the future, the idea of nation-states will dissolve along with geographical boundaries creating a system where individuals will identify with governing bodies on a "subscription-based" system. As further explanation, he used religion as a metaphor for this system. In essence - individuals "subscribe" to a religion they believe in. As such, they then become subject to the rules and regulations of that religion and, should they choose, can un-subscribe from that religion and join a new one.

He sees future governments working the same way. A global governing system, a la the U.N., would set some defaults that people who don't subscribe to a government would be regulated by. Then, people would subscribe to the government(s) they want to be "citizens" of. When they do, they then must abide by the laws and bodies of that governing entity.

Overall, it's a neat idea for a global government system - however I realize it did absolutely nothing to answer the question I originally posed to him. Darius is good at doing that. Go figure.

=========================

Dinner tonight: Chicken breast with some-as-yet-undetermined sauce, sweet potato fries, and a vegetable that goes good with the aforementioned sauce. I wonder if I can get chicken to make a non-crappy pan sauce? Hmm.

Random Thought

Carrot cake is not breakfast.

Pseudonymns (a.k.a. The Cast)

I've decided that it would be a good idea to not use any real names in my blog. In this age of identity theft, it's a good idea to minimize your Internet footprint. The less there is on the web that can be directly affiliated to you, the better.

Besides, everyone listed here will probably be the only people reading this anyways. You all know who you are, so it's not like I really even need to name names.

That being said, here's a quick list of people that will likely pop up in posts. I've made annotations to describe their relationships. If you're reading this and you're upset that I didn't add you to the list, send me an email with the alias you would like me to use for you. I'm not going to guarantee that I'll use your suggestion, but I'm lazy - so it's very likely.

Family

• Me
• Baby - my wife
• Sweetie - my daughter
• Captain Cavy - brother
  
• Mom
• Dad
• Granny and Pa - Dad's parents, Pa is deceased
• Grandma and Grandpa - Mom's parents, both deceased
• Mr. Dad - father-in-law
• Mrs. Mom - mother-in-law
• Fargo - brother-in-law
• Grandmere and Avo - Mrs. Mom's parents, Grandmere is deceased
• G-ma and G-Pa - Mr. Dad's parents

I also have two step-parents, two step-brothers, and (at least) one step-sister. I doubt I'll be talking much about them though, so I haven't created aliases for them yet.

Friends

• Polar - fraternity brother
• Snappy - ex-co-worker
• Bullseye - fraternity brother

I swear, I really do have more than three friends. I just don't feel like creating aliases for all of them right now. I'll make them as I need them and they'll be added to the list ad hoc.

Co-Workers

• Homestar - president / CEO / owner
  
• FattyMo - head developer
  
• Darius - senior developer
  
• Mannster - project manager
  
• SilentSun - support manager
  
• Mitko - developer
  
• Capt. GayBar - business manager
  
• Flip - graphics designer
  
• Narrator - senior graphics designer
  
• Snail - project manager

All job titles are nebulous. They can (and probably will in a few cases I can think of) be disavowed by the holder at any time. They might also be supplemented by rude and impolite pejoratives at any time the mood hits me.

Is it fixed yet?

I perform customer support as part of my job, so I completely understand that debugging can frequently be a multi-step process. What I don't understand is why when I purchase a warranty on some expensive item and that item decides that it wants to stop working, why it takes not only soooo stinking long to have someone come out to fix it, but also why it can't get fixed correctly on the first visit. Or if not the first visit, why the second visit can't be scheduled briefly after the first instead of another week or more after the first visit.

Perhaps some background to my ire.

Our washer stopped working sometime shortly after New Years. Being the procrastinator that I am, I waited a week before calling Sears to make a service request. Now, be advised that we didn't notice the washer was broken until we needed to do laundry in the first place. After making the call, they gave me a week until a technician could come out. The tech came out, diddled around with the controls for a little bit, took off the face plate (which, as a side note, gave me a bad idea about doing a custom paint job for the washing machine. Washer with flames. w00t) and announced that the control board was fried and we needed a new one. It would take 3-4 days for the part to arrive, so he scheduled to come back a week later.

One week later (yesterday, this is week 3 since it actually stopped working) he comes back to install the control board that was delivered to our house. Off comes the face plate, everything gets detached and then attached. Push the start button and ...

nada.

Same as before. "Hmm," he contemplates. "Let's try this." He props up the front of the washer on two screwdriver handles (which fell off once and damn near crushed his hand. I had to shake my head at that one) and removes the lower plate, exposing another control board; this time the controller for the actual motor. Deciding that perhaps this is where the problem lies, he goes to his truck to grab a spare motor control board (or sure, he had that but not the first control board ... go figure) and changes that out. Push the start button and ...

zilch.

Now granted, at least this time it did something different. Whereas before, it would try to run a few time in a row; this time it just beeped and shut off. Clearly frustrated, he tries holding in the start button and ...

lights flash and a loud "Pop".

There's something both amusing and terrifying about watching a trained professional hurry in a constrained panic to pull an appliance plug out of the wall. At this point, I decided that it was better for my sanity to spend the rest of my time downstairs trying to make out a grocery list instead of watching him scratch his head while staring at my, what I'm sure was later described as possessed, washing machine.

After a little while longer, he comes trudging down the stairs with his tools in hand. "What's the verdict?" I nonchalantly quip. "You need a new wiring harness, and that's a two man job." he says, quite solemnly. I'm thinking, "It takes two guys to put in some twist-ties?" I think it, I don't say it. Evidently, the harness is more like a conduit - a sheath with a whole bunch of control wires running through it. His hypothesis is that one or more of the wires in the harness are exposed and/or shorting out - causing not only the wonderful POP we heard but also the previous issues as well.

"What we'll do is get another new control board, a new motor control board and wire harness. That's pretty much all the electrical components in your washer, since this is definitely an electrical problem" he says, looking full of optimism. "So that's going to be another 3-4 business days for the parts and a week until they're installed?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"That's right."

"My wife is going to castrate me and there's nothing you or I can do about it," I mutter to no one in particular.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing."

So, as of now we still don't have a working washing machine. Our last trip to the laundromat ended with 5 bags of wet, but clean, laundry and a rather impatient patron who decided to hover over Baby and I while we were waiting for our loads to finish because evidently her hallway carpet runner simply had to be laundered RIGHT THIS SECOND!!

I hope this helps to explain my earlier comments. This isn't the first time we've been strung out on a warranty. Our TV took over 3 months to be fixed and was eventually replaced as a lemon and then the replacement broke, but admittedly was quickly fixed.

As my final note: Why can't it just be fixed right the first time?

Dragons of Autumn Twilight

Wandering through Target (Tar-jeh) yesterday, I beheld I sight that confused, intrigued and quite frankly scared me. I saw a DVD for the animated movie of Weis and Hickman's iconic novel in the Dragonlance universe, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Being the fan-boy that I am, I had to pick it up to see if the story I knew and loved had been faithfully or atrociously recreated.

And the verdict is:

I've seen worse. This is, in no uncertain terms, a B-movie. Not in the way Evil Dead or Rocky Horror Picture Show are B movies, because there are times when you'll see something so absurd in those that you have no choice but to laugh. No, this is a B-movie in the way Return of the Swamp Thing or Surf Nazis Must Die are B-movies. No redeeming value unless you place your own value on it.

It does stay at least loosely coherent to the book. Some liberties are taken and a few of my more favored moments are skipped. Keifer Sutherland does a good job voice acting for Raistlin Majere. Phil LaMar was an odd choice for Riverwind - but not a bad one. Lucy Lawless - ... well ... whatever. I did say it was a B-movie.

EDIT (1/21/08): I was going to write more about it, go a little more in depth, but I started falling asleep mid-post. So I hit "publish" and went to bed. I'll try to be a little more thorough next time.