tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-156351852024-03-08T05:59:30.652+08:00WokNewsBoring 6-10 people since 2005Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-59280738382988380612012-01-01T23:58:00.000+08:002012-01-02T00:17:22.325+08:00The New Year smacked me in the face this morning. Enough to end my 3 year bloggin hiatus. I didn't want to fill Facebook with my anger this AM, so if you dare, read on.
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This just in. Mitt Frikken Romney, aka "The White Guy that might have a chance against Obama" is actually leading the polls in Iowa. He is absolutely no different in any way to Obama of course. He loves to remove our freedoms for security, be the boss of the world, and pay off big business at the expense of the tax payer. He wants to fight Iran, and keep places like Guantanamo open, and put people in jail for smoking marijuana. Of course, so does Obama, so a vote for Romney is really just an anti-black man in the White House Vote. Maybe you can wear your little pointy white hats and cloaks to the booths, Iowans. The guy "looks" presidential. If that means like a liar, connected political crony, a thief and figure head for the elite, then yeah, he fits the bill nicely.
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The next logical step to the Patriot Act, the latest NDAA was signed in by our <strike>king </strike>president "with reservations" yesterday under the cloak of NYE. Well, glad to see his conscience is clear now, this year's NDAA budget and language gives another near trillion for waging wars in places like Libya, Pakistan, Iran, etc. and giving some extremely sharp teeth to the powers that be, AKA our Senate/President and their pointy end of the sword to label and go after any of us "domestic terrorists" (political opponents) right here, in our own country, for whatever perceived threat we might be exhibiting.
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In case you really think there is some difference in political ideology, take a look at the voting of this when it was a bill in the senate, and the chilling highlights allowing the military to detain Americans under suspicion in very vague and broad reaching language. Will they start sending us to Guantanamo as well? <a href="http://www.votesmart.org/bill/votes/37472">http://www.votesmart.org/bill/votes/37472</a>
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At this point, I would insert one of the thousand Ron Paul references that completely stand up against what I see in my observations, above. I'll stow it for now. You make up your own mind. You will start hearing crap like this soon from the incumbent ---The recession is over! Gas prices are down! Let's just put our heads down and work hard, like we always do! The middle class is optimistic! JOBS EVERYWHERE!
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I am placing the link to this great little video, as in my opinion, it still gets to the root of everything that is wrong with our country right now. Unfortunately, the message is unpopular, as ultimately, we are to blame. Sad but true, if you have seen it before, watch it again.
<a href="http://www.isil.org/resources/introduction.swf">http://www.isil.org/resources/introduction.swf</a>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-26948656681925876412008-12-23T04:44:00.003+08:002008-12-23T05:11:16.745+08:00Ketchup<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZXrCd0-x6Njb_pBXih-9NUPfaBPuMfkHEXSYCsr6arWs93Ak5AMjRXwI05LU6Bu4oaT8RqbqEscl2vpF2CGjyvqErseTZ6lJ1idLI_NlQeYihFu5kBKNkPkToxU2DZH5H-tI/s1600-h/couplepic.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZXrCd0-x6Njb_pBXih-9NUPfaBPuMfkHEXSYCsr6arWs93Ak5AMjRXwI05LU6Bu4oaT8RqbqEscl2vpF2CGjyvqErseTZ6lJ1idLI_NlQeYihFu5kBKNkPkToxU2DZH5H-tI/s320/couplepic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282724944588749634" /></a><br />I wish I could say that lots has happened lately, but it hasn't. We are closing in on our last semester here. Technically of course, as I still need two minor subjects to get my piece of paper. That is going to tack on an extra couple of MONTHS to our stay, unfortunately. Anyway, there isn't a whole lot else I can do about it. <br /><br />We get nothing but "doom and gloom" news from back home lately, so maybe we are not missing much. Well, except for our families and friends, as usual. Economy be damned, we are ready to go home!<br /><br />Karen just had her B-Day. She was a bit depressed this week about her "Age". I had to laugh, but perspective is everything I guess. <br /><br />We were not able to go to Sagada this year for Xmas. Our school didn't post our schedule earlier than a week in advance, and our efforts to book in this tiny, popular mountain destination were dashed. We called all over, and everyone has snatched up the few rooms here. <br /><br />We have a couple of 2nd and 3rd choices we are kicking around. And there are some pretty decent "defaults" that feature completely pristine beaches, all to ourselves, etc. Not a bad fall back position, right?<br /><br />My mom got Karen a pretty nifty cell phone for her birthday/Xmas. (Inadvertently, but that is what she got). She is pretty stoked about it, and I hope this one lasts longer than its 6 predecessors. (Just kidding babe.... But seriously). We had a minor scare when it just "shut off" randomly, but since that episode, it has been OK. <br /><br />Speaking of episodes, we have found television again. We have really enjoyed House this year, and just saw the season finale. Also, Sons of Anarchy was enjoyed (a gritty biker/sopranos type show), and I am catching up on Curb your Enthusiasm. We were referred to "Big Love" by our friends at Bliss Cafe, and it is so far not doing it for Karen, though I do enjoy the Utah references. I need to give it a couple of more episodes. I am officially not one of those "I don't watch TV" snobs anymore. <br /><br />We saw a few good movies, so I will just run down the list off the top of my head, and give you my opinion:<br /><br />The Fountain- Good<br />The Fall- Good<br />The day the Earth stood still- Bad<br />Righteous Kill- Bad<br />Eagle Eye- Bad<br />Burn After Reading - Good<br />Cashback- Good<br />Thank you for Smoking- Good<br />The Complete History of my sexual failures- Good<br /><br /><br />Well, I will leave it at that for now.Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-23726162057263845102008-08-17T22:37:00.002+08:002008-08-17T22:39:48.229+08:00A eulogy for Grampa Budd<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3D5HxJwuaGXO1yekfb93S7yaf4q2U-61HXULawOd3kete1RfyKG9EtIKHqBHOtEyYHpPlQpXgpX4rzcqm97og0SDGkXcSlJrjduqeSEO2AE4SA3sf7GqaAJgKOr2yvtCNbowr/s1600-h/flyingfortress.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3D5HxJwuaGXO1yekfb93S7yaf4q2U-61HXULawOd3kete1RfyKG9EtIKHqBHOtEyYHpPlQpXgpX4rzcqm97og0SDGkXcSlJrjduqeSEO2AE4SA3sf7GqaAJgKOr2yvtCNbowr/s400/flyingfortress.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235496332715515794" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />My maternal grandfather passed away yesterday. I knew the man well, and had occasion to have many conversations man to man, enviable to anyone who has not had the chance to really get to understand the wisdom that comes from age, experience and perspective, as I know all too well in that I was only able to glimpse at briefly, with the early passing of my paternal grandfather a long 14 years ago.<br /><br />Budd was a man who was not my biologic grandfather, but rather my grandmothers third husband, married to her out of pure love it would seem, and not out of responsibility or duress (with no disrespect implied or intentioned). During our several meetings, he enjoyed imparting many viewpoints perhaps unfamiliar to many, as he had a perspective of life that was both pragmatic, and interestingly mischievous, or perhaps a delicate balance of both. At any rate, he played a graceful balance of both well, and left a legacy that my mother's family had not known; a patriarch with a good heart, not afraid to express openly how he felt on a subject, and not afraid to show affection, and not afraid to show disdain <i>appropriately</i>, when called for. This quality was unfamiliar before him, as the predecessors where foreign, distant and unreachable at best. Out of context, this description could be construed as simple, but if you took the sum of the parts, it equaled to me, what it means to really be a man. To live your life unapologetically, for need or reason. I will recount one particular event that was a definitive, but certainly not defining story in the life of this man.<br /><br />***I apologize for any inaccuracies***<br />He was over Germany in 1943 in a B-17 when they took heavy AA fire. According to his recollection (and mine as this story is detail for detail what I remember hearing it about 10 years ago), there was a lot of noise, smoke and wind when the 4 remaining crew who survived the initial damage bailed out about 15 miles on the wrong side of the war. When he landed, he badly twisted his ankle, and another crewman had fractured leg. The two others who did bail out were not found or recovered. These two men found each other on the ground in the twilight of dawn, and immediately got themselves to cover in a forested area. They drug each other out to the front, and were captured and taken as prisoners by the allies, thinking that it was strange to see a couple of blond haired German family named individuals coming from the wrong side of the battlefront. They spent 2 weeks in the camp until the mess was sorted out. Later, he served in Korea and later still, worked as a civilian for the military, the remainder of his whole employed life. I wanted to share the story, and a pic of the flying fortress that he fondly adored. I don't have the bomber group he was in, but there were a few notable missions and bomber groups, and his was among the notable ones that sustained big losses. <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We will miss Budd greatly. I am sure, though I doubt if he believed in any of it, that he is sitting ontop of his riding lawn mower, with a nice glass of ice with “water” (vodka to you and me) and his akita. Oh, maybe grandma too. (Love you grandma(. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Thanks for reading. Find a WW2 vet if you are lucky enough, and thank them and their generation for doing a job, not looking for thanks, and generally having to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, without even batting an eye. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">There are many more great stories about Budd, and we will share them with each other mostly with a big laugh and moist eyes. </p>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-33362840197417433092008-07-23T15:00:00.006+08:002008-07-24T09:56:47.849+08:00The WHOLE nine yardsSorry about the gap. I seem to be falling behind in the blog.<br /><br />Anyway, I have some stuff worthy of reporting to my loyal readership (up to 7 entire people, by now!)<br /><br />I will first talk about the great mini weekend that my mom treated Karen and I. We had ourselves a much needed evening at the spa, and dinner out. I have talked about spa before in the Philippines, but it is really affordable and quite soul reclaiming. I went for the native foot massage, followed by an epic sauna. Karen got a bunch of other stuff, then we had a nice pasta dinner overlooking the city. What a great little place. THANKS MOM!<br /><br />The preceding was followed by a week's hospital duty in Abatan, about a 4 hour van ride towards <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Sagada</span>. This place is "on top of the world" in terms of the Philippines, and as compared to anywhere else. The wind and rain and fog rolls through here pretty violently, but it makes for some breathtaking scenery and of course, as green as it gets. We had the 12-8AM shift, and that was crappy, but somewhat tolerable. We had very "toxic" patients in the wards. My last day, I had a 11 year old kid with acute renal failure (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">glomerular</span> nephritis). He was swollen like a balloon, with a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">BP</span> of 180/110. Headaches, nausea, vomiting and of course, no peeing. Poor kid. I talked his mom into going to Baguio General, and did my best to help him out, but really, all I could do was administer IV <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">meds</span> and monitor his vital signs. I though he was going to have seizures, but lucked out. He was in an ambulance that morning and hopefully on his way to better (read:advanced) care. He needed a lot more than this district hospital could provide. He was my first patient that I thought might not make it during my shift.<br /><br />On the much more positive side, I delivered a baby. We had a 17 year old girl and her family (and the father) in when we started our shift, and I was up for the delivery (my group rotates the procedures among us) . As a typical overenthusiastic rookie, I ran and put my scrubs on. She was a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">nulliparous</span>, so This was to be a long night, in actuality. We walked her up and down the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">halls for</span> about 2 hours, then brought her into the DR. Though she was fully dilated, she wasn't effaced, and her membranes had not ruptured. Myself, the midwife and the soon to be mother hunkered in for about 3 hours of regular contractions. then it seemed that she backed off a little. The midwife ruptured the membranes manually, but it seemed like there was not a lot, and it did little to accelerate the process. Then, the contractions came back with a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">vengeance</span>. She poked the membranes again, and this time a good spurt of amniotic fluid came out. I foolishly thought this was what all the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">hubub</span> was all about. I was wrong. Also, I thought that my role as "Actual delivery nurse" was merely to assist the midwife, I was REALLY wrong about this. The good midwife basically handed me the steering wheel, and talked me in like a corny pilot passed out/control tower movie ending from 1972. Then I was instructed to dilate the cervix. I will spare the details for the uninitiated. After 3 minutes of the longest 3 minutes of my life, the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">contractions</span> where coming in like crazy, and though she was not a screamer, she was obviously in a lot of pain. The midwife went in with an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episiotomy"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">episiotomy</span></a> and then all hell broke loose. First, the REAL bag of water burst. And I am not talking about a little fluid here, I am talking about 12 ounces or more of a giant white explosion (this is the "mucus plug" that I was not really looking forward to). I performed a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QMQOLgsIhw">matrix like <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">maneuver</span></a> to avoid the discharge, and was mostly <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">successful</span>. Then, with a huge yell (hers, not mine), the head came out. I was then instructed to grab on and pull her out. We got over the shoulders after a short time, then I caught her. (real fast). I passed the clamps and scissors to the MW, and we got a cry as we held her upside down for a few seconds to drain. We passed the baby over to the just arrived Doc and the cord tie/assist nurse. Then, (far, far, from over) I delivered the placenta. At this point, I was in a surreal world of all kinds of fluids and an incredible amount of blood. Oh yeah, and this is normal. We got her uterus to fully contract finally to slow the flow of blood, and then sutured the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">episiotomy</span>/ repair (this procedure would be birth control if we taught it to our children). After some time, we were finished, and the mother and baby went to their room to their family. I was in a euphoric daze for about an hour afterwards. (similar to my total hysterectomy case a month before, but more profound)<br /><br />Shockingly to me, I am actually looking forward to my next delivery. I doubt if I will have another great "hands on" experience like I did again, as most facilities do not allow students to do what I did. The experience was amazing.Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-51731609593343496902008-06-02T14:30:00.005+08:002008-06-02T16:17:42.699+08:006 easy tips to save waterI spent most of my childhood growing up in drought years, or near drought years in Northern California. Even though the exact location that I did was serviced by a very deep, clean and ever plentiful well, we were constantly bombarded with news from the San Joaquin Valley area cities about the booming population, agricultural demands, dwindling Sierra Nevada snow pack, etc. As children, we would see our beloved river rise and fall, ( the south fork of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosumnes_River">Cosumnes River</a> ) but it was always accessible to us. The overall color of Northern California at that time was some green, with some beiges and tans being the majority. <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">Something like this color</span>. Anyways, this news always frightened me as a child. What if the river went down too far? I would have lost the best playground that any kid could ask for. I guess it was this that started me off doing things unconsciously to preserve water. I get asked a lot, "What are you doing?" when it comes to water use, and it always catches me off guard, until I realize that most people simply take for granted that since it has always been around, that it will always be around. I would like to illustrate the ways that you to can help reduce water usage. This will not likely translate into any significant reduction, but I cannot see it hurting, and when it becomes "second nature" to you, perhaps it will become second nature to your children, and so on. In no particular order:<br /><br />#1. Brushing your teeth. Some people leave the sink running when they brush their teeth. I have never been able to figure this out. During the 2-3 minutes that you brush your teeth with the sink running, you are wasting at least a gallon of water. I have a cup that I exchange on a weekly basis, fill it, and use that for the whole procedure. Just a quick splash at the end is the only time I turn the faucet on again. Savings per week average: 14 gallons.<br /><br />#2. Washing dishes. We never had a dishwasher growing up. So all dishes were done by hand. Though I believe that hand washed dishes are using less water, most new dishwashers use about 10 gallons of water, not including your "pre-rinse routine". Just like in the tooth brushing principle, I could never fathom how someone would have a double sink, and simply have the tap running on one side, while they scrub away at something on the otherside. I would venture to guess that 10 gallons of water is wasted this way every day. If you have a dishwasher, DO NOT PRERINSE. Here is why we do this. Because about 25 years ago, dishwashers were crappy. And out of habit, we still do. Plus, the "energy efficient" cycle that most people like to use, often poorly washes the dishes. Here is my <a href="http://www.joe.org/joe/2003february/rb3.shtml">source</a>. If you do not have a dishwasher, or use it infrequently, here is my suggestion. Get the largest dirty bowl that you have to wash, and place it inside the sink. Fill it with hot soapy water, and then begin to place your least dirtiest dishes (usually cups and glasses) in and scrub them, (with the water off of course), place the scrubbed and soapy dishes into the other sink. Go progressively dirtier until you are finished. Then, go to the other side, and rinse everything. This will cut your water use by 90%. Notice someone who is doing the dishes and you will see that only a few seconds is spent actually rinsing, and the majority of the time is spent scrubbing. Savings per week: 70-100 gallons a week<br /><br />#3 Shaving. Nearly exactly like the toothbrushing scenario, gents will run the tap while they are lathering up, shaving and looking at themselves in the mirror. A large heavy coffee mug or deep corning wear bowl will work just fine, and save gallons of water every time you shave. It's easy.<br />Savings per week: 10 gallons a week.<br /><br />#4-Laundry- I am like a lot of people in my position. I hate "Laundry day" Too much time is spent waiting for cycles to finish, then waiting for dryers to finish. So, a solution is to do the loads, "as they come in" throughout the week. This has a problem though. You end up washing loads that are "not full" or at best, you have a "load size selector", but I doubt that they save any real significant amount of water, and therefore, waste water. To beat this, I always make sure that I have exactly a full load in the basin. But, I also separate and bleach my whites. So how can I do this, especially as a often single or with one other person type guy? I found my solution watching people hand wash. I notice they utilize a soaking period in the washing routine, and there it was. So I have a bucket, that I put about 1.5 gallons of water in. Then I put a TBSP of bleach in. Next, I put my whites in and let them soak for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, I put the washer to full, and fill with my usual colored clothing. Then, I dump out the water from the "bleached whites", and rinse them for 10-15 seconds. That about does it, then I toss them in with the regular load. I have never had any "residual bleach problem" and the whites are always brilliant when they come out. 20-50 gallons of water per week.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">WARNING</span> here is where I get "exotic" by some standards in water conservation<br /><br />#5 Showering- First of all, if you take a bath in this day and age every time you bathe, you are outrageously wasting water. I can't see the harm in the occasional weekly "treat", but to do this day in and day out smacks of greed and insensitivity. Also, who the heck has the time to do this everyday, and what about the other people in the house that may need to use the bathroom? I digress. But we can do so much more with our daily shower than we believe.<br /><br />1. Go into the shower.<br />2. Turn on the water and soak your head, then immediately turn off the shower<br />3. Shampoo<br />4. Turn on water and rinse, then immediately turn off the shower.<br />5. Soap up a loufa, or whatever you use if anything, and "soap up"<br />6. Rinse off and turn it off.<br /><br />Not only can and do I complete a shower in less than 5 minutes, but I probably use 1/10 the water that most people do. I like a relaxing shower as much as the next guy, adn usually treat myself to one "normal" shower per week. My total "on time" for the water is usually about 1 minute or so, or about 3-5 gallons of water, saving: 24-45 gallons of water with each shower.<br /><br />6- The Toilet.- Yes, I am going there. First off, I was an early adopter in the day, for putting a bottle of water inside the tank. Nowadays, the Johns are all low flow. Of course, if you have an older toilet, go ahead and stick a 2 liter jug of water inside it. You will reduce volume significantly. But as a child, I saw that this was not enough. This was never more apparent than going to the aforementioned river with my brother, and coming back home late in the afternoon. The first thing a kid does when he returns from the chh-chh-chilly snow pack fed river is pee. This routine went on, where one of us would get there first, then followed by the other one. Right there, is two complete flushes for a couple hundred MLs of urine. One day, I knocked on the door and said, "Hey, don't flush, I will". After all, 5-12 year old boys are not known for their modesty anyways. This tradition has followed my brother and I for years. I don't know if he adopted it, but I always request others if ever convenient, to let me "piggy back" on their flush. I can't see everybody doing this, but urine is the only product allowed for this maneuver! And it isn't really that gross. Urine is "sterile" after all. Savings: 20 gallons a week<br /><br /><br />It all adds up.Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-83488018697155860382008-06-01T19:38:00.010+08:002008-12-10T10:04:46.491+08:00Make your own Italian herbed crusty bread in 25 easy stepsThis is a recipe to make a crusty on the outside, light and airy on the inside bread. You will rightly think "pizza crust taste" when you begin to smell it. That is because this is a pizza crust recipe. Maybe it's the beer lover in me, but I love the taste of yeasty bread. As a kid, I would eat the crust side first of the pizza. Anyways, one of the few things in a kitchen I have not had much experience in, is baking bread, or really any type of baking. Many people are turned off by the "rules" and complex "procedures" of bread making, so they avoid it.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, Karen and I had talked about how bad we wanted pizza. (we are both on diets and have lost a lot of weight in the past few months, so obviously, nearly half of our conversations revolve around food). I decided then and there to finally overcome the last cuisine obstacle that truly sets apart the masters from the apprentices. I consider myself an excellent judge of good pizza, so there it was. A challenge. A quick run to the store, and I got the one part missing in my kitchen since forever. Yeast. And not just any yeast mind you, but a giant, one year supply of it for $3. I then got home, and began the work, and made insanely good pizza. I came to the conclusion that if I can make pizza crust, I can make really big pizza crust that is something like bread. This is a recipe for approximately a dozen large, yeasty, crusty, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">herbed</span> rolls.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVtF2KqwKghe84whUECLHXXfW8f5x0bEu2NG7EoK5VCHJ0stdf1Ll8TNDwQMkTUQQOJqtbT3iJv_aIuJQkS4BEGBklkHk0CNcKyAJqyTfiGYDQZv-BKdf2UG_bNDhSuETywwb/s1600-h/DSCN4493.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVtF2KqwKghe84whUECLHXXfW8f5x0bEu2NG7EoK5VCHJ0stdf1Ll8TNDwQMkTUQQOJqtbT3iJv_aIuJQkS4BEGBklkHk0CNcKyAJqyTfiGYDQZv-BKdf2UG_bNDhSuETywwb/s200/DSCN4493.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206878530826595954" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MEArDUA5vSjy8Qbd0B0I1V07tTS8cQCrL1nLOEendRK9LishVwC_5Vncqt9M6fd0k9S4v7RIxzS5EwY66JriFQjlhhYSZE9LOJbfPRD7UMxetQpO52zQdbYcZ7N9erhXM9Gi/s1600-h/DSCN4495.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MEArDUA5vSjy8Qbd0B0I1V07tTS8cQCrL1nLOEendRK9LishVwC_5Vncqt9M6fd0k9S4v7RIxzS5EwY66JriFQjlhhYSZE9LOJbfPRD7UMxetQpO52zQdbYcZ7N9erhXM9Gi/s200/DSCN4495.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206878539416530578" border="0" /></a><br />I first assembled the ingredients and various instruments. I get a nice big heavy pot, and put about 1.5 cups of water in it. Then I put the pot on the stove, and heat it until it is just slightly warm to the touch.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68KvOajNt88khTHvD8laRBh64b-XQHy9K8dX1UyhVxnr6x49UG1oHoRIHt4cCu-f0xszbuOWVkYYJTltCBuZA_6e7__juSKt0iy3g9iT3M3FDUCA2dOKSZNDWYSwEYERgrTmI/s1600-h/DSCN4497.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68KvOajNt88khTHvD8laRBh64b-XQHy9K8dX1UyhVxnr6x49UG1oHoRIHt4cCu-f0xszbuOWVkYYJTltCBuZA_6e7__juSKt0iy3g9iT3M3FDUCA2dOKSZNDWYSwEYERgrTmI/s200/DSCN4497.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206878543711497906" border="0" /></a><br />I put the pot on the counter, mix in one TBSP of sugar, and then pour in about 2 TBSP of yeast and mix it up for about 10 seconds with a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">whisk</span>. Notice I am not measuring anything at this point, just eyeballing it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgHqkMAkLfOFDmzhgIYEQyrfqyvjmCPNKGU3G-oUmUoqLR1UMaykmDa9_TBs6Cp-aMqwPpDg2M0NGbbJ1MKCPclBuhQ2WlXfIFsp_esedsBwj0RCozFU336rT6fk-3Ko2VE6o/s1600-h/DSCN4496.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgHqkMAkLfOFDmzhgIYEQyrfqyvjmCPNKGU3G-oUmUoqLR1UMaykmDa9_TBs6Cp-aMqwPpDg2M0NGbbJ1MKCPclBuhQ2WlXfIFsp_esedsBwj0RCozFU336rT6fk-3Ko2VE6o/s200/DSCN4496.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206878539416530594" border="0" /></a>After about 5 minutes, the yeast/water should be quite foamy and thick.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtszgr5lf3EHVJd_pIGUpIPqewmKiAkpxLV6STWKftoBH_gt_3ASaYOBCRt6kJw0E2Qpu4ea3i9GrEhTqHLSg15ptne-in2izG0S5u1W3vnAmtpep1hZbYNzVok9CWD9i3m-Y/s1600-h/DSCN4498.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtszgr5lf3EHVJd_pIGUpIPqewmKiAkpxLV6STWKftoBH_gt_3ASaYOBCRt6kJw0E2Qpu4ea3i9GrEhTqHLSg15ptne-in2izG0S5u1W3vnAmtpep1hZbYNzVok9CWD9i3m-Y/s200/DSCN4498.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206878994683064002" border="0" /></a>Next, I start dumping in the dry ingredients. First the flour, about 2 cups (I use 1 cup of whole wheat flour, and a cup of plain white), 2 TSP of "Italian seasoning", 1 tsp coarse black pepper, 1 tsp of onion powder (I like a real <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">herby</span> type bread, so you can just adjust for your taste and what you intend to use the bread for) , 1 tsp of salt and a TBSP of oil.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWBck5EIwFVaTns6fcDddEODTed9JOsHXUI1SMRseTkn7G1VqOHP68OBafFI5uMQA4ddLL4RjZgaC1mSlCl-QfanwuDhiLpCLxVWpxqcB8dt-h8ir3N_vxT6yGqsZqdRb4j4j/s1600-h/DSCN4499.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWBck5EIwFVaTns6fcDddEODTed9JOsHXUI1SMRseTkn7G1VqOHP68OBafFI5uMQA4ddLL4RjZgaC1mSlCl-QfanwuDhiLpCLxVWpxqcB8dt-h8ir3N_vxT6yGqsZqdRb4j4j/s200/DSCN4499.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206879003272998610" border="0" /></a>At this point, I just dive right in. Start mixing.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtgFz8qtb96LIbc3AYB-qqeVCVvmIPSLH2Ad26S7aRYMQcTBFxfZldsttEZnDrTi0sk0SVqjoRs_SiW0AHYuXyWVQOTo736zYWUIj9Cay6dDmkhK6PV7ToDmTnQ_pJNNwh1hE/s1600-h/DSCN4500.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtgFz8qtb96LIbc3AYB-qqeVCVvmIPSLH2Ad26S7aRYMQcTBFxfZldsttEZnDrTi0sk0SVqjoRs_SiW0AHYuXyWVQOTo736zYWUIj9Cay6dDmkhK6PV7ToDmTnQ_pJNNwh1hE/s200/DSCN4500.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206879003272998626" border="0" /></a><br />As you get it smooth, you should likely start adding flour in a little at a time. I like to do it this way because it is easier to adjust from a start of too wet, to hit the perfect mark, then to go from too dry to to perfect... I hope that made sense. ;) I got Karen to sprinkle it for me,because my hands at this point are insanely sticky.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfAXcyz6QlxcbpGHszEofRkz6DtR1tlvbtAMghS_qBXXUZxlo33-RnOm2oCPvkCCc6G1fZ1yJxKdxqpEJe3Fw3sNslcc4WI2crIPVFJoUxjN5E05ksoWh1-SV9z4__RBJdZxZ/s1600-h/DSCN4501.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfAXcyz6QlxcbpGHszEofRkz6DtR1tlvbtAMghS_qBXXUZxlo33-RnOm2oCPvkCCc6G1fZ1yJxKdxqpEJe3Fw3sNslcc4WI2crIPVFJoUxjN5E05ksoWh1-SV9z4__RBJdZxZ/s200/DSCN4501.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206879007567965938" border="0" /></a><br />As you progress, you should at some point be comfortable with your ball of dough. It should start picking up all the loose flour in the pot. Add you flour very slowly being careful not to go too dry.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICm_5RUlzhMEgVPGQCoelGzbkFCW7pqqCX30BKJsTqWzJO90dSfy0dScJsQGwK2Gmg1BdLKsrA0Bu04IAnGhQ34-eyGhYdWu3CQeyOR53qmzrgHJByYCXmOYKSi0yihu7JfVe/s1600-h/DSCN4502.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICm_5RUlzhMEgVPGQCoelGzbkFCW7pqqCX30BKJsTqWzJO90dSfy0dScJsQGwK2Gmg1BdLKsrA0Bu04IAnGhQ34-eyGhYdWu3CQeyOR53qmzrgHJByYCXmOYKSi0yihu7JfVe/s200/DSCN4502.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206879007567965954" border="0" /></a>At this point, you can take it out. If it is a little bit too wet, that is OK, because we are going to fix that momentarily. Sprinkle some flour onto your counter top. And plop your dough down. Now the kneading. This is where you need to get your wet/dry ratio just right. begin kneading and sprinkle with flour every so often. This should take about 5 minutes. Its a pretty good workout. At the end, you should have a nice, smooth"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ish</span>" dough ball.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqeFEUyQ5MUHk3cpALS41K3gK_oG7UGdvxUkEeY77wnGt7bS6q3S-OrXNTlV5FJcYL6UU1Wxwx_bh6KE-m1jihvkmdyfXad8RV2YDIs70pnfWyZT9QsxqY2UHzdhigMcpwNUj/s1600-h/DSCN4504.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqeFEUyQ5MUHk3cpALS41K3gK_oG7UGdvxUkEeY77wnGt7bS6q3S-OrXNTlV5FJcYL6UU1Wxwx_bh6KE-m1jihvkmdyfXad8RV2YDIs70pnfWyZT9QsxqY2UHzdhigMcpwNUj/s200/DSCN4504.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206879595978485538" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Get it all smooth, and lightly coat it with some olive oil, then place inside a large bowl and put a towel over it. The yeast will begin to consume the starches in the flour and poop out C02. The C02 is what makes your dough rise to the occasion!<br /><br /><br />after about 20 minutes....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWZ9FScmpW2n7DQunwnCuwzMAqQNBhQZ0MTJQqHbHht5oHgBbnDPnzjMpwSR_g7-JU4hKqRsdT0dPRrLqLmmMYns1iXfiVW6Q6KHbw-WmoICdiX3vYT4ELMkEs-SjIqcAid91/s1600-h/DSCN4505.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWZ9FScmpW2n7DQunwnCuwzMAqQNBhQZ0MTJQqHbHht5oHgBbnDPnzjMpwSR_g7-JU4hKqRsdT0dPRrLqLmmMYns1iXfiVW6Q6KHbw-WmoICdiX3vYT4ELMkEs-SjIqcAid91/s200/DSCN4505.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206879600273452850" border="0" /></a>After about 40 minutes or so, take it out, and punch it once or twice! It should deflate like a balloon. Form it into a ball, and place it back inside for another 30 minutes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6JeZD-wWQIa42eOAxJl8UWKv1GWGD8XcULb8mOpmz15DLrK50JcP7NlKa8a9FCBB3vuTfTDIZrp0Mzr-JWeXAqTmhQZFE4-UfI6Xv0JGL8EzxSa_67yZBsPn5KvzqqEU9Gqg/s1600-h/DSCN4506.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6JeZD-wWQIa42eOAxJl8UWKv1GWGD8XcULb8mOpmz15DLrK50JcP7NlKa8a9FCBB3vuTfTDIZrp0Mzr-JWeXAqTmhQZFE4-UfI6Xv0JGL8EzxSa_67yZBsPn5KvzqqEU9Gqg/s200/DSCN4506.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206879604568420162" border="0" /></a><br />OK, so you have your dough all ready. Get whatever you call an oven (I have a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">counter top</span> convection) up, hot and ready.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5_QcybP3PmMT5Z3lv5v7oD4ItdYamwQvbfVSdcYmaSqQgN_Ma3VPqy6VE7_fKVmGMeRIcGDrbtaQ268yvcgURHHo910jvsHLf-rv09yt79CICkePS0m6eRz0JbT_oZeu4AxT9/s1600-h/DSCN4507.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5_QcybP3PmMT5Z3lv5v7oD4ItdYamwQvbfVSdcYmaSqQgN_Ma3VPqy6VE7_fKVmGMeRIcGDrbtaQ268yvcgURHHo910jvsHLf-rv09yt79CICkePS0m6eRz0JbT_oZeu4AxT9/s200/DSCN4507.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206879604568420178" border="0" /></a>Next, take a knife, and cut yourself off pieces of dough. I just cut around it, creating crescent shaped pieces. Be careful not to flatten your dough at this point. you want to keep it as fluffy as possible.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEira-vpuiitW_PaRqOGqitJjslTcahxG9nqgn67UQf8ybsrHpok4F9uqrxNm35w9S4TWE2NnRzPopjau36XYH-ugHY-83vfHJ-zZCeeablg5EyBPeETAOZK66p9u2PIycx4rSly/s1600-h/DSCN4508.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEira-vpuiitW_PaRqOGqitJjslTcahxG9nqgn67UQf8ybsrHpok4F9uqrxNm35w9S4TWE2NnRzPopjau36XYH-ugHY-83vfHJ-zZCeeablg5EyBPeETAOZK66p9u2PIycx4rSly/s200/DSCN4508.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880184389005154" border="0" /></a>OK, so you have your pieces.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KArdfgOMbpzoomgGftg6X2_afaotTWfmn8os_tMWk9vyuErSt86Q9UiskDHc9OT2ORaieH5pW6YrmTuvhYtMIRckGz6VDwYDZg7pVgyvWjKXwACxADpNYZi9y9Vhh1wsG0aZ/s1600-h/DSCN4509.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KArdfgOMbpzoomgGftg6X2_afaotTWfmn8os_tMWk9vyuErSt86Q9UiskDHc9OT2ORaieH5pW6YrmTuvhYtMIRckGz6VDwYDZg7pVgyvWjKXwACxADpNYZi9y9Vhh1wsG0aZ/s200/DSCN4509.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880188683972466" border="0" /></a><br />Next, grease your pan. I use a foil covered paper plate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KxntdBueIc_YwEVyumWQOufLd4ZxiiyZyRfVlJeIdq2LwJ8hY_OEntDtZEKX0PNz7zl3E_UVH3bj_-DpRy0k4up5b07SjxJiu6CFATdK0MRvzgrm-GXbn7rqhf04JVQCv9Nk/s1600-h/DSCN4510.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KxntdBueIc_YwEVyumWQOufLd4ZxiiyZyRfVlJeIdq2LwJ8hY_OEntDtZEKX0PNz7zl3E_UVH3bj_-DpRy0k4up5b07SjxJiu6CFATdK0MRvzgrm-GXbn7rqhf04JVQCv9Nk/s200/DSCN4510.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880192978939778" border="0" /></a><br />Put your pieces gently on the pan, and brush very lightly with olive oil.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVr_i0sPou8GhVmVHBKE_nxw4fwDC8FHQrqbLEVp-wWIgYmf3VrekUVlPQBSXuSBqKRWqJYwwGRIaDhyphenhyphenP8f5V4VSHvDryK95BbdEg52xeBDCY1Of7gQp_ulfgUS0i1wf6XRGo7/s1600-h/DSCN4513.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVr_i0sPou8GhVmVHBKE_nxw4fwDC8FHQrqbLEVp-wWIgYmf3VrekUVlPQBSXuSBqKRWqJYwwGRIaDhyphenhyphenP8f5V4VSHvDryK95BbdEg52xeBDCY1Of7gQp_ulfgUS0i1wf6XRGo7/s200/DSCN4513.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880884468674482" border="0" /></a>Set everything aside for 5-10 minutes, hopefully they will rise a bit more.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhen4tDecNmtK_UA0-LVxbCWtQku11aQWBE9R7liDYTgMQEtURfIVULBMyJS4wZnr669zZXfF8BGsxFWVgHtTHXz5Nj9Nx7bUs4nAi735jMDfAhyGfJnM8NK-YbPc61HEgTSzV3/s1600-h/DSCN4512.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhen4tDecNmtK_UA0-LVxbCWtQku11aQWBE9R7liDYTgMQEtURfIVULBMyJS4wZnr669zZXfF8BGsxFWVgHtTHXz5Nj9Nx7bUs4nAi735jMDfAhyGfJnM8NK-YbPc61HEgTSzV3/s200/DSCN4512.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880197273907106" border="0" /></a><br />I love garlic. So I take a few cloves............<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIq75EypibZLecDWwMg6UrPPzQzCKobvSN_yVY2d2OYr0zvqM32fKrAOwnElbYlSnRRXvjuw19d_xsNtOx5D-Wtpist82cB12qD94Xe5SKtd8VEXhKAWsFn4-bzGgTGL27f1sW/s1600-h/DSCN4511.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIq75EypibZLecDWwMg6UrPPzQzCKobvSN_yVY2d2OYr0zvqM32fKrAOwnElbYlSnRRXvjuw19d_xsNtOx5D-Wtpist82cB12qD94Xe5SKtd8VEXhKAWsFn4-bzGgTGL27f1sW/s200/DSCN4511.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880192978939794" border="0" /></a>And grate them onto the tops.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5JVEgw3eI4H57Dr0LdbmYCyW029fSaVeIEyUyThkK1HkQipVhq6XgIkUdwxvTIHV5UCrHjXXiOtAEckN9TdEeNkDu9sjaOIRDlDw7aIfEUyJZd69KJv0p8SkFM2IGa2c0UIH/s1600-h/DSCN4514.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5JVEgw3eI4H57Dr0LdbmYCyW029fSaVeIEyUyThkK1HkQipVhq6XgIkUdwxvTIHV5UCrHjXXiOtAEckN9TdEeNkDu9sjaOIRDlDw7aIfEUyJZd69KJv0p8SkFM2IGa2c0UIH/s200/DSCN4514.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880888763641794" border="0" /></a>I then sprinkle yet more Italian seasoning.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7uY7cAt5IK9PChdbBdTZW2kQ7ItGYIqwy_4odC93sidSEReUjvclu9W-nK8MFJKMsVMntdY7m6XKh2lZKsjFW9awNA6fn-uwWFA9q8vJUP8YzagYru6Xeqpd7cD4OC-WdsKb/s1600-h/DSCN4515.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7uY7cAt5IK9PChdbBdTZW2kQ7ItGYIqwy_4odC93sidSEReUjvclu9W-nK8MFJKMsVMntdY7m6XKh2lZKsjFW9awNA6fn-uwWFA9q8vJUP8YzagYru6Xeqpd7cD4OC-WdsKb/s200/DSCN4515.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880888763641810" border="0" /></a>At this point, you oven should be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">rippin</span>' hot. Pop them in. In about ten minutes.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f3MxYRj0wlMO_OvOSHwx5gT0lFSh21XjLG9Iyrd6kRCdZeDemTDsCqCNk_Htn91Ko6ojE7GrMrGLNrV-I_uUMfuHo1nmId8UWdj9QAyV8qc5jClmTscA6AvITjvQm3-JKfx0/s1600-h/DSCN4516.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f3MxYRj0wlMO_OvOSHwx5gT0lFSh21XjLG9Iyrd6kRCdZeDemTDsCqCNk_Htn91Ko6ojE7GrMrGLNrV-I_uUMfuHo1nmId8UWdj9QAyV8qc5jClmTscA6AvITjvQm3-JKfx0/s200/DSCN4516.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880888763641826" border="0" /></a>After about 20 minutes (you might have to turn down the oven a bit).......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4c2PaayGSV7Q3U186F_MQK_crDneoAUttlMTRGRjesvnEllBmGEPLUYM3V1zUIHhptA6SGJdPLgzTYKnPhhxeuaHaxrYpmXmsl_rOw3tdHmQt9T77U_z9LoXMjYVchVYecIw/s1600-h/DSCN4517.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4c2PaayGSV7Q3U186F_MQK_crDneoAUttlMTRGRjesvnEllBmGEPLUYM3V1zUIHhptA6SGJdPLgzTYKnPhhxeuaHaxrYpmXmsl_rOw3tdHmQt9T77U_z9LoXMjYVchVYecIw/s200/DSCN4517.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206880893058609138" border="0" /></a>Another 5 minutes or so and here they are. I recommend you put on a wire rack for about 5 minutes so they cool properly. The steam will make the bottoms mushy is you don't. These are great with salad, soups, as sandwich rolls, with pasta, with eggs for brunch, etc...etc.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdmvUjPl3TyfSZiG61C7Myyw0s0XrzNvZP8DwCF1KluhU1bw8zYZvcGJAUvBDoaT5L7PeC-EKA-tRJbYoVNXsQeDBZn5kWsM8sf4UUtkjkZq1nkvCYekf18qLrHY0JeCiH8aEO/s1600-h/DSCN4518.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdmvUjPl3TyfSZiG61C7Myyw0s0XrzNvZP8DwCF1KluhU1bw8zYZvcGJAUvBDoaT5L7PeC-EKA-tRJbYoVNXsQeDBZn5kWsM8sf4UUtkjkZq1nkvCYekf18qLrHY0JeCiH8aEO/s200/DSCN4518.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206900370735296514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />the pizza is the same, except you roll it out as thin as you can, drop it onto a foil covered paper plate (or toss if you want to have fun), make your edge, brush very lightly with olive oil, put a very thin layer of <span style="font-weight: bold;">sauce</span>, (recipe below) then cheese and bake for about 20 minutes on highest heat until cheese browns slightly. To emulate the "pizza stone effect" I just drop my near finished pizza onto a hot, dry skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, this will crisp up the bottom perfectly. Always let your pizza settle for about 5-10 minutes. I learn this rule every time I go for my second piece, because I rarely wait for the first one. It is MUCH better!! Always have a glass of red wine with this.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sauce for Pizza</span><br />I make a simple sauce using a half a yellow onion, a small handful of celery tops and a few cloves of garlic, minced, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">sauté</span>ed with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and some capers. When the veggies are about to turn brown, I add a good scoop of tomato paste, and about 2 cups of water. I simmer this down until it is nice and thick. You could blend it at this point to get a nice consistency for your pizza, but you could also leave it "chunky". A few basil leaves are not unwelcome either.<br /><br /><br />B<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">on </span>a<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">ppetito!</span>!Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-51509975083450715402008-05-28T10:46:00.001+08:002008-05-28T10:46:12.578+08:00A "conspiracy theory" a few months ago.. now its a factMore pain for the people who would just love to see some real "change" not just great speeches. <br/><br/><a href='http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TShPYA-OuPs'>read more</a> | <a href='http://digg.com/politics/A_conspiracy_theory_a_few_months_ago_now_its_a_fact'>digg story</a>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-52684328890910429592008-03-17T18:59:00.002+08:002008-03-17T19:52:35.071+08:00Even More Exciting updates!!We are officially done with 3rd year! We wrote our diagnostic exams, ended our OR and Skills labs, and wrote our final exams! Did pretty well as usual, though no academic scholarships this semester. <br /><br />Also, my official duties as 3rd year coordinator of the SB CON are nearly over. I am happy with my contribution, but in all honesty, relieved. I wrote several letters on behalf of our student population. Likely nobody will give me any certificate for it, but I also participated in the decision making processes of our Student Body heavily. My list of accomplishments included:<br /><br />1. Active participation and attendance of 90%+ of all scheduled meetings with SB. (out of approximately 30 or so scheduled meetings). Signatory on a corresponding number of duly witnessed and written resolutions. <br /><br />2. Participation in protection and maintenance of student rights such as protection of student participation in extra curricular projects, creation of an RLE syllabus, tuition fee increase consultation and discourse with the administration and Supreme Student Council meetings regarding future student body participation.<br /><br />3. Participation in projects such as Nursing Day (a lead coordinator, participant), Tanghal Galing II (team coordinator) Recognition Ceremony semester 1 (team coordinator), Recognition Ceremony semester 2 (Emcee, coordinator), CON website (originator, lead coordinator), T-Shirt (delivery coordinator), Orphanage Outreach (participant, volunteer coordinator), NCP Seminar (coordinator)<br /><br />With all that wrapped up, Karen and I have been enjoying our vegetarianism (though I am still a student in this regard). A recent trip to Bliss Cafe got us invited to Jim and Shanti's house for a wine and cheese party. We had a great time there, met new and interesting people, and played a marathon game of Cranium, a game I had played with my brother et al once before. Karen was invited to show some of her art in <a href="http://www.blissnbaguio.com">Bliss Cafe</a>. I have put the links on my link section, and they can be seen at <a href="http://karenmurry.carbonmade.com/">her portfolio site here</a>. I am real proud of her, and her work is just great. I talked her into creating the portfolio online just for the heck of it. This is just the stuff she has done in the past 2 weeks, mind you. Another work in progress, I guess you could say. <br /><br />Our friend Al came back for a vacation from Iran, in between semesters and the Iranian new year. I think the time away was a bit hard on him in some way. He seems a bit "off". Anyways, we and the gents downstairs are thrilled to have him back. We have had a few sessions with them already. Amir seems to have met a good match recently, Sheen, a nice English major also studying at UB. We hope him the best, he was unlucky a few times, but he "got back on the horse" and seems to be enjoying himself. <br /><br />Grace and Mao invited us to join them in Burgos again. We have to reluctantly decline. Too much to get done before our guests arrive only 7 days from now!Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-89041632927673909602008-03-02T11:27:00.002+08:002008-03-02T12:03:56.674+08:00Some updatesWell, another couple of weeks, and it will be another year down, and one to go! I can't wait to see my mother and grandmother who will be visiting when we are finished for our mini summer break at the end of this month. <br /><br />We rearranged our living room, with the help of our landlord who allowed us to store some stuff in the attic area. We have more of a lounge zone, rather than a sprawling living room now, with our Persian carpet as a featured piece, and we closed off the second opening of our hallway to warm up the home, and add some interest to the room. <br /><br />We spent a wonderful day last week with very "in need" children at an orphanage. We organized a group of the <span style="font-style:italic;">college of nursing</span> officers, got some much needed supplies such as disposable diapers, antibiotics, and other items, and set out early in the morning. When we arrived, the children were REAL amped up and excited to get visitors. The orphanage is an aging facility, with an infant wing of 10 infants, and a toddler/child wing of about 30. These kids are either abandoned, or have been seized by the government due to poor living conditions. When they walked by you, they would touch you as they walked by. Many would just attach themselves to your legs. They really seemed to thrive on human touch. The tireless people running the facility were very thankful and appreciative of our help that day. We went food shopping, and bought a large amount of fresh vegetables and fruits, as the facility director requested that they are usually under stocked with such things. The condition is entirely ironic, because La Trinidad is the proverbial capital city of the "Salad Bowl" of the Philippines. We cooked up chicken/pork adobo and chop suey, and left behind 20-30 kilograms of vegetables and fruit. After, we played games, sang songs and held, rocked and changed babies. <br /><br />Inevitably, one is faced with a plethora of inner thoughts when visiting such a place. Why is the government not providing more for these few numbers of neglected innocents? How could someone have such poor communal or familial ties to allow this to happen? And on and on. Apparently, government funds are dispersed to the orphanage through an agency, that further lines the pockets of several sub agencies until it reaches it's final destination, usually 1/10 of the original amount. If there was ever a good argument against government funding, here it is loud and clear. Ease the taxation of businesses, and allow an orphanage to be directly sponsored by unburdened corporate entities (such as my school, formula companies, etc). The orphanage told us that even though they are a government agency, the majority of their funding and ability to survive comes from private contributions. Considering the huge amount of bureaucratic tendencies of government agencies here and everywhere else, they likely consume most of their government allowance just keeping up with paperwork.Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-79008355384073267422008-02-17T08:16:00.002+08:002008-03-02T12:03:56.675+08:00On a happier noteKaren and I went to <a href="http://www.blissnbaguio.com/">Bliss cafe</a> for Valentines. They held a limited engagement vegetarian buffet, with two sets of music from a wonderful vocal quintet. It was a real nice and romantic evening. We are hoping Jim, the owner, will be able to open his other business idea, a "canteen" style food offering at the Buddhist temple about 100m from our school. The place is great, there is a Zen rock garden, lots of interesting books, real good music and free weekend art films. It is a fairly unknown establishment among locals so it is funny to go there and see all these Swiss and Germans and Americans packed into the place from time to time. Jim is an American Ex-Pat from Chicago. He and his wife have been all over SEA for the past 20+ years, or so. They have settled in Baguio, and now they run what must be the most pleasant restaurant in the city. All the food is prepared by his wife Shanti, and from scratch, on the spot. Even the rice. That makes for a long evening, which actually turns out to be perfect, as the number of local art exhibition, interesting books, posters and artifacts from Jim and Shanti's travels engages the mind in pleasant ways, and puts the prospect of food on temporary hold, at least until it is served. The menu has many offerings, but most notably to me are the set meals. They consist of entree, salad, dessert and beverage for about $5. They are either Indian, Korean, Mexican (yes, Mexican!) or what I don't exactly know called simply and wonderfully, "Heaven" and "Earth", but we love it. There is NO MEAT whatsoever in any of it, and Shanti has a knack for making some pretty accurate interpretations of meat products out of Soy, gluten and who knows for sure. Anyways, we are going tonight to eat and watch "<a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1006527-elephant_man/">The Elephant Man</a>".Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-35479461073764027472008-02-17T07:59:00.007+08:002008-03-02T12:04:19.557+08:00My charmed lifeI always seem to be at the center of disaster... Eathquake, flood, landslide, typhoon... Now fire... Part of my school burned down yesterday right before my eyes. Nobody was hurt thankfully. I have never seen a large building engulfed in flames before in person. Brought back some unpleasant memories. It was pretty unreal. Waiting for the locusts that should be arriving any minute now...<br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=bfFpDiCb5XE&feature=related"><br />http://youtube.com/watch?v=bfFpDiCb5XE&feature=related</a>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-5855488653050982402008-02-11T19:44:00.000+08:002008-12-10T10:04:46.584+08:00After a long hiatusI saved up some stuff to type.<br /><br />Anyways, grats to Skyler for having the "<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojegxxNc5QlsNKuw4eLdJMzl5RZNI0Q1Pf3uvZkZDCCe-K9XdmBkOKLzOE4RYDRX-RVULBrzG0NQdk1GmNr8ZyML1BmL5e0FMTGfc3susYwMN3WZelfb7ggZgaLRBCVfRnLTTag/s1600-h/P1060022.JPG">biggest beard</a>" in the family. I am not exactly sure what entails the grand prize, but it should really be something. That thing is way, way large, and quite in charge.<br /><br />Since November, I guess a few interesting things have gone on with us. The bad news, one of our good Iranian friends left, and decided to stay home, rather than return to school. Then one of our Kuwaiti friends. Sad. We really loved those guys and their company. But, we did manage to have a great time during our holidays. We took two of our friends to Sagada, went caving, and had a nice time. We went to Burgos, and really, really, really, quiet and deserted beach. We had the whole place to ourselves, with our friends Grace and Mao.<br /><br />Our hospital dutues have been fairly exhaustive this semester. Learning a lot during them, thank goodness. Having some issues with the administration, and teachers. That will not go away in my or my grandchildren's lifetimes I guess. There is just a lot of "poop" here in certain areas that seems a little too ground in.<br /><br />I really wanted an<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC"> eee pc</a>. I got this crazy idea to get one, then backed out. I will wait for the 9 inch screens and Wimax. Speaking of computers, I am living the Linux life now. Totally gave up Windows, and never looking back. I recommend "<a href="http://www.puppylinux.org/user/viewpage.php?page_id=1">Puppy Linux</a>" to anyone. It is 100 MB only, and runs off of your ram. Everything is easy enough to learn, and it won't overwrite your old OS should you need to go back. I put it on a friends ancient computer, and it runs like a scalded cat. Don't toss out that old computer yet!<br /><br />Karen and I had the same American patient (she had the 7-3, me, the 3-11 shift).. It was great, because everybody including the Doctors were afraid of the guy, and we just charged in a saved the day for the guy. It felt great to be working for what will likely be a more typical patient for us, and he really tested our abilities. We did great, and so did he. (He was discharged the day after our last duty day after nearly two weeks, and I got to congratulate him on his way out ) It felt real good to see the product of our hard work "walk out the door" towards his health and future.<br /><br /><br />Another two months, and we are done for the year, and a break that we will be sharing with... MY MOM AND GRANDMOTHER!!!! We are so excited to have them. I can't wait to show them around.Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-27693009252699157982007-11-08T12:16:00.000+08:002008-03-02T12:05:45.488+08:00How far down can we go?Well, is this rock bottom yet? A 12 year old girl gets suspended from school for hugging her friends... What is the matter with our country? Who is making this stuff up? Does anyone need any more ammo to scrap our current model of state run school system once and for all? Your tax dollars are giving trillions to your local state coffers to come up with this tripe. Instead of producing literate and capable individuals, our school system is creating little robots. Good little, hate filled, maladjusted sociopathic robots. This is where you get Virginia Tech and Columbine.Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-63993850420526048372007-11-01T10:27:00.000+08:002007-11-01T10:32:55.183+08:00Sagada 2<!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> <div id="post_message_50750">Just felt like sharing a recent experience with coffee, and my favorite place in the Philippines. The Philippines has many areas that grow coffee. I just happen to live near the epicenter. As a result, I get all kinds of pretty damn good coffee at laughable pricing. My most recent "find" is the coffee grown and picked from Sagada. Sagada is a twisty curvy half paved, half dirt road, meandering through rice terraces, and a 6.5 hour bus ride away. This sleepy but lovely little town has some amazing caves, waterfalls and many other natural wonders. What makes Sagada, "Sagada" (and keeps me coming back) to me though is the coffee, and my morning ritual.<br /><br />So here was my daily routine while on my vacation there last week.<br /><br />It's 5:30AM. Crack of dawn is about half way done, and the sun is just hinting at poking it's head over the green mountain peaks that are fighting a beautiful and silent war with the thick morning clouds that roll in. Everything is in high contrast, Mountain ridges, switch backs and trails easily seen. Pine trees jutting above rock formations covered in thick nearly malachite colored moss... Crystal clear and the only noise is the rooster, starting his morning ritual as well.<br /><br />I put a pot of the "literally right from a natural spring" water on the stove, and when it starts to rumble, I keep about 2 cups of it in a bowl, then fill the percolator bin about half way with Sagada's characteristic ground coffee bean. A smallish light/medium roasted bean, ground coarsely. Then, back on the stove to bubble for a few minutes, then off. After a minute to allow the settling of the grains, my leather covered stainless thermal mug is filled to 3/4 full. In this coffee, you can absolutely taste the earth, the ground, the mountains, the trees, everything. Cream or sugar is completely forbidden. After a greedy sip, full of air so as not to scald, I place it down on the bathroom sink, and take a short and hot shower.<br /><br />Out of the shower, that bowl of boiling hot water is ready to do it's part. My travel kit, a Gillette Rubie loaded with a fresh Derby, a QED grapefruit and peppermint shave stick. The shave is gloriously smooth, crisp high pitched notes of that blade leaving a glass smooth face looking back at me.<br /><br />Mug in hand, 10 steps out onto the balcony at the corner, I sat on small stool placed so that I could see 270 degrees of peace, nature and profound tranquility. Just me, my coffee and the glory of mother earth.</div>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-8135879800474329042007-10-04T08:19:00.000+08:002007-11-01T10:33:28.781+08:00US claims success in war on drugs<p>I almost laughed out loud when I saw this headline <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7025308.stm" rel="nofollow">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7025308.stm</a></p> <p>The government officials are patting themselves on the back for increasing the cost of cocaine. Economics 101… Its almost comical to think that the war on drugs is practically a government subsidized commodity, like corn or pork bellies. We are footing the bill of a war against our own people, leading to increased riches for violent drug dealers (low transportation costs for “less” product and increased price per unit), more of our citizens incarcerated or killed for victimless crimes, and more people will begin to turn to cheaply made and REAL dangerous drugs as alternatives. If I was a drug dealer, I would forget pot, (acreages of land, or intense electric bills) and just make a methlab in my spare bathroom. Simple economics…..</p>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-41543298177751972462007-09-22T13:20:00.000+08:002007-11-01T10:33:55.747+08:00Interesting undergrad classes<p>I read an interesting post from a friend's blog about what he considered to be his favorite and most interesting classes in his undergraduate degree....</p><p>I'll put mine here.<br /></p><p> Anatomy and Physiology –the body is amazing, beautiful, and the most perfect thing in the universe..</p> <p>Pharmacology–painful, time consuming, boring and absolutely essential..</p> <p>Ethics– Why you “should”, or “should not”, because too often “we do” only because “we can”..</p> <p>Pathophysiology– The body is amazing, beautiful, and the most perfect thing in the universe, except when it isn’t..</p> Organic Chemistry– The blue collar science, that explains enough information to be relevant to nearly every situation encountered.. (as compared to say, Physics, IMHO, YMMV!)Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-19034330173999325902007-09-09T14:26:00.000+08:002007-09-09T14:51:09.395+08:00BlogsWe met up with our friend Alvin at Camp John Hay's country club last night. We met his lovely family who are in town as part of their annual trips that they make here twice a year, once for his Lola's birthday, and again for X-Mas. Anyways, we caught up on new stuff, laughed about old times, and had some nice food and coffee in the establishment. Alvin is nice enough to read and comment on my blog regularly, giving me the inspiration and motivation to continue with it. He asked me for advice on how to start his own, and upon further reflection, I will post the response here, as a blog of my own. So without further ado, here is my response.<br /><br /><ol><li>Do you really want to blog? - I ask this question because blogging takes more time (once set up, you can knock out a post in 5 minutes) and is a little less user friendly than some social bookmarking sites that may be more useful to the average user. I find I split my time here and at facebook. the nice thing about a blog is that everyone can go to my blog and read, whereas access to my facebook account requires your own setting up of an account. A big question that needs answering, if "no" go to question #4.</li><li>Where do I sign up for a blog? - www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com . If I am not mistaken, wordpress may have the edge these days for ease of use and flexibility if you want it, but I imagine the differences are not profound. Just pick one, and go for the free blog account (back in my day, I hadn't heard of wordpress, so I went with blogger. Either will allow you to create an overall look and theme, profile, and format for posting.<br /></li><li>Follow the directions, they are pretty straight forward. You will be up and running in about an hour with your layout and style complete, title and profile done, and maybe a pic or two and your first post.<br /></li><li>Social Networking (or facebook). This has taken over a lot of what I see people who use blogs and emails use them for. You can upload photos, send out quick notes, and keep "up to date" with people in your network. It is a cleaner interface than it's predecessor "friendster", more secure, and easier to manage. You are confined within the parameters of facebook, so if you are more creative and require more freedom, a blog might be a better fit. But if you want to be up and running in about 30 minutes with friends, family and a messaging type interface, go for facebook. I will keep my blog for now, but it's relevance has been challenged recently with facebook. Facebook does require a log in, but once you break down your facebook-less friends, they will quickly come over to your way of thinking, and soon you will be spending your time there.<br /></li><li>Another option for the type who hate typing, or want a much simpler communication tool is www.flickr.com . This is a photo sharing site where you just upload pics and share. Its an online photo album where the pictures speak a thousand words for you. A small caption, and off you go.<br /></li></ol>So, there is the sum of my knowlege of Blogging/Social Bookmarking, et al. I hope it helped.Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-70246398270526589772007-09-09T08:43:00.000+08:002008-12-10T10:04:46.990+08:00Osama bin Laden Movie Review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-VAZFcsItWY/RuNR3rlMoXI/AAAAAAAAAGw/ThQC2jbIA6Q/s1600-h/image3241533g.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-VAZFcsItWY/RuNR3rlMoXI/AAAAAAAAAGw/ThQC2jbIA6Q/s200/image3241533g.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108016419401671026" border="0" /></a><br />So, I signed up on facebook last week after almost a year of continuous bombardment from friends and relations. Glad I did. Nice little site, and a nice way to keep in touch. Anyways, I stumbled upon the movie review application, so I quickly reviewed a bunch of films in my typical sarcastic way, when looking through the news, noticed that our good buddy Osama has released his own cinematographic epic.<br /><br />I figure that I'll give my take on his latest offering. Tentatively entitled, "Convert ye masses, lest ye be killed, and oh yeah, capitalism sucks" that hit the theaters world wide this week.With a team of the finest make-up crews, Osama appears youthful and swarthy, his 0.4m long usually "salt and peppered" beard dyed a deep, rich black. He sits calmly and confidently in this feature film, wearing a white shirt and yellow shawl, that costume designer Alijjiba Majinniiyad made from Osama's wardrobe further conveyed the upbeat message of mandatory religious conversion and rejoicing in the failure of the Western World possible. The set director, Hafaad Hunnaji, bravely chose a "brownish" background to complement the overall message and tone of the film. Almost in spite of these memorizing special effects, the words of Osama really hit a powerful note, mostly underlining the evils of capitalism. Problematic in the plot, is the fact that his entire fortune was derived from capitalism, implicating himself. Nevertheless, Osama recovers from this oversight expertly by simply not mentioning that aspect. A true mature actor's ability to overcome the obvious hurdle showed a near Academy Awards performance. Special mention must be made to the lighting crew, who chose a "minimalist" subject in the lens obscura, dismissing past "film noir" qualities of Osama's last offering, "the October 2004 tape". From the position of the viewer, the well diffused lighting came from a series of incandescent and florescent bulbs, (25 watt former, and the 17 watt super saver types of the latter type), bringing out the rich olive, tan beige, yellow, white and the previously mentioned "brownish" hues evident in this film.<br /><br />The Soundtrack of this film, a disjointed "voice-over", seemed to be the weakest part of this already earmarked classic. Several moments of voice did not coincide with the movement of Osama's mouth, indicating further need for improvement. During the advanced screening "post interview", Osama simply made an off camera gesture of a finger dragged across his neck when asked if he planned on using the same sound crew for his next eagerly anticipated film. His current crew could not be reached for comment, their feet being held to furnace heated irons.<br /><br />To summarize, Osama has once again proven that he is more entertaining than ever, at the top of his game and relevant to his cause, to beat both Big and Little Satan. His offer for the world, and especially American's to "convert to Islam" proves his realistic short term objectives, and the aforementioned diatribe against the evils of capitalism come at a timely moment in history, when everyone is looking for communism and despotism to answer the needs of the workers of the world. 4.5/5 stars.Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-7518115105406125442007-08-26T23:14:00.000+08:002008-03-02T12:08:12.632+08:00Mean, Bad, Awful. And that's the good part.This is horrible. It is bad enough we are in this mess. What a world we live in!<br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20430153/">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20430153/</a>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-43490073613295219842007-08-26T20:47:00.000+08:002007-08-26T21:39:35.144+08:00Food!<p class="MsoNormal">Well, crack the champagne, I think I have finally solved a near 3 year quest that has caused me great pain and discomfort. Yep, I finally figured out how to make <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobo">“Adobo”…</a>. This seemingly simple dish requires a steady hand, and attention to detail that I have found out through a number of poor examples can easily put this dish on an “Expert only” basis….</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, I will demystify the experience for all here on how I did it. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">First, and most obviously, the 1 kilogram of adobo cut chicken. Yes, there is a cut named after the national dish of the <st1:country-region st="on">Philippines</st1:country-region>, (though this probably only exists in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>, anyway)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You take this chicken, and first rinse it well. And then start to notice something. This poor wretch of a bird has not undergone hormone therapy and been pumped full of “broth” to increase it’s bulk. Translation? The meat is almost “dry” for better lack of terminology. What this means to you and I is that a good quality Philippine chicken is delightfully susceptible to marination, because all the little porous tissues are empty, rather than full of “filler”… See more info on this <a href="http://www.cspinet.org/nah/vlog/poultry.html">here</a>. That is why all the marinating in the world does little good to birds from the US or Canada (my experience with both, not knowing what goes on with Euro-Poultry)... However, I digress.....<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">SO, you take this wonderful "dry sponge" of a chicken, cut into approximately 20 pieces or so for the average 2lb bird, "adobo cut" (essentially, the whole chicken is cut up, leaving the bones in) and after the wash, put in 1/2 cup of cane vinegar and 1/4 cup of soy sauce, then about a dozen <a href="http://www.da.gov.ph/tips/calamansi.html">calamansi </a>(or key limes) and put in the "ref" (refrigerator) for at least and hour. Then you take your caldereta (big pot) and add about 2-3 TBSP of oil, and go back to your chicken, and look at how it has absorbed most of the marinade. That is a good thing. Dump the excess out, and then put it into the pot, and get things going, hot and loud. Add 4-5 medium sized potatoes (patatas), two onions (sibuyas) and about 6 cloves of garlic (bawang). Get all that frying up nicely, stirring every couple of minutes. Some "juice" from the vegetables, marinade and cooking process should be starting to come out. After 15 minutes or so, it is time for the serious part, and seemingly benign. Add about an ounce more of soy, and an ounce of vinegar, a TBSP of brown sugar, and a half TSP of coarse ground/cracked black pepper, bay leaf and cup and a half of water. Bring this to a rapid boil, then turn it down to simmer for 45 minutes. When you come back to it, it should be darker in color than when you left. This is good. The sugar, and onions and process made it dark, and the taste should be a little tart, a little sweet, and kinda gravy-ish from the breakdown of the potatoes. You can add a bit more of whatever to balance, and it should be balanced. Serve with rice (duh), and fresh cut bananas, (as learned by "Aunty Lisa") ...<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br />The dish, as far as I know, is known to be rich, if not a bit oily. A good accompanying dish would be the other bane, and as yet unconquered, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinigang">sinagang</a>. A tamarind based soup that would cut away any excess "grease" from the adobo. Enjoy!<br /></p>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-47033954030661551582007-08-16T22:57:00.001+08:002007-08-18T10:37:12.289+08:00Herps and Cat5 twisters<span class="postbody">So, after a week of a shy, quiet, kinda grumpy looking turtle, he has gone through a metamorphosis, so to speak. He is finally eating, I bought him some turtle food, but he is eating the apples and other stuff, as long as it is "in the water". (a la Jesse's 6th grade report of the majestic sperm whale)<br /><br />I was in the hardware store buying him a basking light, I came across some plastic paint roller containers. they are ramped on one end, and go to a depth of a 6" deep pool at the other end. I bought two, and put food in one, and keep the other clean. He went right in and started eating. He walks around in his "habitat" now like a king, "long neck" looking around at everything. I was real worried he wasn't gonna make it. It looks like he is fine now.<br /><br />I talked with a pet store owner. They had about 30 of these for sale. They are endemic to this region, and are 50% aquatic. They have semi-webbed toes and like moderate to cooler climates. This one seems to be a potential sub-species of the one that <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">YAVON</span>, not Jesse, linked in the comment page from my last post. The elevation here is 1500 meters and a cool 75 degrees average temperature, whereas the one classified in the website is a lowland turtle, requiring tropical temperatures. Good for a pet owner, keeping anything above 75 degrees here is hard. It's getting cold, even for an adipose and "keratinized protein" covered person such as myself.<br /><br />Oh yeah, there is another "super typhoon" headed towards the Philippines again. Looks like the bulk may go over top of us.<br /><a href="http://www.typhoon2000.ph/activeflash/stormloop"><br />http://www.typhoon2000.ph/activeflash/stormloop</a><br />look about 2 inches to the left of the "Eye".. That's Baguio!<br /><br />We have found a great way to save time and money here. We pay our friend's mother to do our food shopping for us. Here is our latest list of goods. total cost $20 a week, including her cut.<br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal">Shopping list<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Product<span style=""> </span>Quantity</p> <table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border: medium none ; border-collapse: collapse;" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Tokwa</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">¼ kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Cooked sausage (red)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">¼ kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">chicken (adobo cut)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 kilo </span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Pork chops</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">½ kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Milk</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 x 250 ml tetra box</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Eggs (red)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">2 piece</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Eggs (white)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">6 piece</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Bangus (in vinegar)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">3 pieces</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Yakult</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">2 pack of 6</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Gardenia whole wheat bread</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">½ loaf size</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Century tuna in brine (or oil)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">4 cans</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Red/green tomatoes mixed</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Large peppers (red/green)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Cilantro</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1/8 kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Parsley</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1/8 kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Onion (red)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">½ kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Onion (yellow)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">½ kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Garlic</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">¼ kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Seasonal fruit #1 </span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">e.g (apples or oranges)</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Seasonal fruit #2 </span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">e.g. (longsones or <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">chico</st1:place></st1:city> or mango)</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Seasonal fruit #3</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">bananas</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Potatoes</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1<span style=""> </span>kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Celery</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 bunch</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Baguio</st1:place></st1:city> Beans</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">¼ kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Eggplant</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">6 pieces</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Coconut cream or powder</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">2 cans (or 2 packages)</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Calamansi </span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">½ kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Tang or Hi-C grape (dry)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Large size (500g)?</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Peanut butter (dark color, from wet market) in plastic container</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 jar (large)</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Cucumbers</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Rice (jasmine long grain)</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 kilo</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Vegetable oil </span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">500ml</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Benguet blend coffee</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">¼ kilo fine grind</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Coffee mate</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">1 box</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Black pepper</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">One packet</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Curry spices</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">One packet</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Cumin seed</span></p> </td> <td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 158.9pt;color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color;" valign="top" width="212"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">One packet</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><span class="postbody"><br /></span>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-73707660651351044432007-08-10T20:42:00.001+08:002008-12-10T10:04:47.831+08:00A new addition to our home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTySz9c_4Zh2gWO2Y1GEHUFisFRipXqzHstE5nnjzlLcsINwhzOE4U2gffFgBNB8BjvlSlocAeZtfbqGx_7h8tGdsnI75_eVs6yOH7lfIdYVeJcDRpC2WNT5vR0fXsamZjXXj/s1600-h/turtle1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTySz9c_4Zh2gWO2Y1GEHUFisFRipXqzHstE5nnjzlLcsINwhzOE4U2gffFgBNB8BjvlSlocAeZtfbqGx_7h8tGdsnI75_eVs6yOH7lfIdYVeJcDRpC2WNT5vR0fXsamZjXXj/s320/turtle1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097051685701602226" border="0" /></a><br />Well, we were out the door for our exams this morning after a 3 day tropical storm, and we find this little guy in the driveway in a cold dirty puddle. So, we took him in and cleaned him up and now we have a 2lb liability on our hands. I have several urgent emails with pictures out to a) identify and b) get rid of him safely. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZEIuy2R66In8QvTTi4-U3VS4raL9IEmPbc-KMYk9kY8lpSW5hnRhNmgJ2cOwQ4DPdlIebsN7lWs8rPnpp3eg3PZMlh161JFE9hUG11WYLAxRX1zUQ5o9_3iM0Ranzj-2fS8d/s1600-h/turtle2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZEIuy2R66In8QvTTi4-U3VS4raL9IEmPbc-KMYk9kY8lpSW5hnRhNmgJ2cOwQ4DPdlIebsN7lWs8rPnpp3eg3PZMlh161JFE9hUG11WYLAxRX1zUQ5o9_3iM0Ranzj-2fS8d/s200/turtle2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097052922652183490" border="0" /></a>A pet like this is a lifelong commitment, and if he is wild, I would like to return him to what is is supposed to be doing. here is my email going out....<br /><br /><br /><br />example:<br />Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 04:14:45 -0700 (PDT)<br />From: Joaquin <joaquin_kline@yahoo.com><br />Subject: Hello<br />To: mconnor@tortoise.org<br /><br />I live in the Philippines as a student. I have come across a 2 lb turtle this morning after a large 3 day tropical storm and took him in. He was sitting in a busy cold wet driveway (air temperature was about 50-60 degrees overnight in a dirty pool of water.) He will stick his head out on occasion, and has moved around in the shower stall to seek shelter under the curtain. I put down newspaper, and some tomatoes and banana. I think he took a few nibbles of the banana. I need to know what kind of habitat I should prepare for him. If I had to guess, I would say he was not from here. Baguio City is a highly urbanized city with an elevation of about 3,000 feet, but of course, I don't really know for sure. He has a single yellow stripe on his/her head. I have looked at you gallery, but nothing seems to be an "aha!" type.<br /><br />Any help would be appreciated. I have sent a few pics. He/she looks to have had some run ins with local dogs judging by his broken shell near his left rear leg, but maybe not recently, as he has no injury that I can see on his/her legs or whatnot.</joaquin_kline@yahoo.com><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3hz0N_kg8fiLwti1MrE5ufGteIPKZQMLVKHbrSR8s2ZX1lFav_c_Tk68ppqw0CAJHRroKu4xwF9q_3jwNCkyED4B3vQ404tr1-EyEvmUGiG-RrbwiSTrRRznQ1-0lcJCmhoa/s1600-h/turtle3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3hz0N_kg8fiLwti1MrE5ufGteIPKZQMLVKHbrSR8s2ZX1lFav_c_Tk68ppqw0CAJHRroKu4xwF9q_3jwNCkyED4B3vQ404tr1-EyEvmUGiG-RrbwiSTrRRznQ1-0lcJCmhoa/s200/turtle3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097053115925711826" border="0" /></a><br /><joaquin_kline@yahoo.com><br />Thanks so much,<br /><br />Joaquin, Karen, and "Henry/Henrietta"<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We need to quickly find out if he is terrestrial, aquatic or terrestrial/aquatic. We are praying for terrestrial, and local. If so, he will be on his way after a belly full of worms and bananas.<br /><br /></joaquin_kline@yahoo.com>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-37244694715317262212007-08-09T14:35:00.001+08:002007-08-09T14:39:05.923+08:00Ron Paul- Americas Last Hope<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/W6KNr1YzdPc' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/W6KNr1YzdPc'/></object></p><p>A short Youtube video I like of Dr. Paul. </p></div>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-72603353116445318122007-08-09T11:05:00.001+08:002007-08-09T11:18:38.990+08:00Let them sing it for you - your text sung by rock stars!A neat little text-to-speech applet that converts any text into a sound file pieced together using clips from pop and rock songs. There's a pretty eclectic mix of source material in there, try to work out what song each word comes from. Click onto the "read more" to check it out.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sr.se/P1/src/sing">read more</a> <a href="http://digg.com/playable_web_games/Let_them_sing_it_for_you_your_text_sung_by_rock_stars"></a>Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15635185.post-42467011936925034692007-08-01T21:48:00.000+08:002007-08-01T22:26:28.745+08:00Saw the movieWell, we saw Harry Potter 4, 5 or 6.... Can't remember how many of these they are churning out, but from what I hear, the books are better than the movies. I can believe it. Not that it was terrible, just ho-hum. Maybe not my style. The actors are starting to get long in the tooth, IMO.<br /><br />The CON activities and our full load at school are clipping away as usual. I am trying to come up with an online solution for the office. I might just go for a googlegroup page and call it good. Webpage design is way over my pay scale for now. I have some incredibly bland looking offerings from about 4 hours of hard work... It's good to know when to quit and admit you don't know what the heck you are doing, right?<br /><br />Along, the way, I did find several "new to me" things that are working out WONDERFULLY. The first, is the google toolbar. The second, is the google desktop. Both can be found by.... googling them, of course. Really, It is amazing what this company is doing. It is hard to realize just how much that I do depends directly on google. By now, many know that google is trying to press the government to open up portions of wireless networks for general public consumption and free market, rather than the telecommunication "cartels". Good luck google, once you give it to them, they have a hard time giving it back. Still, a noble effort. I wish I could thank them personally in their private jets with cigars and single malt whiskey. (their treat, of course)<br /><br />We might be going somewhere for a "team building" experience with my co-conspirators in the college of nursing student government. I am surprised at how well the group is conducting themselves. A nicer bunch of young people would be hard to find. All fairly dedicated and working well together, for the common good.<br /><br />Our first tall order at the college student government was to pull off the annual juggernaut A.K.A., "Nursing Day"... It went off without a hitch. My "food voucher" scheme was a hit, and we managed to feed 3,000 nursing students whatever they wanted <span style="font-style: italic;">to a degree</span>, for half the cost of last year's "Burger Fiasco". The much anticipated "Nursing Pageant Night" also went off well(without any input from yours truly of course), with the usual "controversy" of whomever's favorite candidates not doing as well as some other persons' favorite. I think the upcoming competition for Mr. and Miss UB will be a lock, considering the depth of our college's contestants.<br /><br />Well, another round of skills labs under our belts just passed. We focused on two major groups of nursing care, namely OBGYN stuff like delivery room procedures, delivery, newborn care, and the REAL fun stuff of catheterizing, suctioning and oxygenation. We will be going to the hospitals next week for surgical rotations. We have our "1st grading" periodic exams starting tomorrow to close out the week.<br /><br />Anyways, back to the grind...Joaquinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17636175191077250525noreply@blogger.com1