Month: July 2004

Breakfast was a quarter of a cantaloupe, a glass of orange juice, and three cups of coffee. I weighed 157 pounds.

Lunch was two grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches and a bottle of Saranac Pale Ale

We went to a Third of July Picnic for dinner. It was a BYOB/covered dish affair. We brought pizza pinwheels and strawberry jam bars. I had some of each, as well as two hot dogs with chili, mustard, and onions, some potato salad, a vegetarian pasta salad, and… oh… innumerable beers.

A long time ago, somebody at the University decided to pick a young man out of the coal mines and sponsor him for a college scholarship. That young man went on to get a degree and helped found an engineering firm. In the heyday of such firms, they were bought out. He took his profits and bought himself a restaurant, where he installed himself as bartender. One day his nephew came in and asked him to pour him a beer. He decided to teach him a lesson and pulled him a draft of the heaviest beer they had, a porter from America’s Oldest Brewery. The boy loved it. Today, that boy is the master brewer at a New England brewery. The father of the boy — who is now a father himself — put on a very nice fireworks display for all the folks at the picnic. Isn’t it funny how events are connected?

Vienna Beef is claiming the record for the world’s longest hot dog. The giant frank measures 37 feet, two inches.

The monster wiener was unveiled at the Taste of Chicago festival yesterday, to celebrate the start of National Hot Dog Month.

But it wouldn’t be much of a dog without the toppings. The giant frank is garnished with a gallon of mustard, a gallon of bright green relish, 140 tomato slices, four pounds of chopped onions and 70 pickle spears. [Associated Press]

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Associated Press. “HOT DOG! A new record?” San Luis Obispo Tribune. 2 July 2004. <www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/weird_news/9065520.htm> (2 July 2004).

Are noon and midnight 12 a.m. or 12 p.m.?

This is perhaps the trickiest time question of them all. The best answer is that the terms 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. cause confusion and should not be used.

To illustrate this, consider that “a.m.” and “p.m.” are abbreviations for “ante meridiem” and “post meridiem.” They mean “before noon” and “after noon,” respectively. Of course, noon is neither before nor after noon; it is simply noon. Therefore, neither the “a.m.” nor “p.m.” designation is correct. On the other hand, midnight is both 12 hours before noon and 12 hours after noon. Therefore, either 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. could work as a designation for midnight, but both would be ambiguous.

To get around the problem, the terms 12 noon and 12 midnight should be used instead of 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. For example, a bank might be open on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Or, a grocery store might be open daily until midnight. If you are making schedules, times such as 12:01 a.m. (one minute after midnight), or 11:59 p.m. (one minute before midnight) also can eliminate ambiguity. This method is used by the railroads and airlines. [NIST]

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NIST Time and Frequency Division. “Time Questions and Answers from NIST.” NIST Physics Laboratory home page. 24 May 1994. <physics.nist.gov/News/Releases/questions.html> (2 July 2004).

Breakfast was a bowl of cold cereal, a glass of orange juice, and two cups of coffee. I weighed 155 pounds.

I walked over to the HUB at lunch with some of the guys from the office — also about three miles, round trip — and had Panda Express mandarin chicken and kung pao chicken with chow mein noodles and a fortune cookie.

Your life will be happy

and peaceful.

Lucky Numbers 6, 8, 12, 14, 36, 43

After work, Gretchen and I sat on the porch and had two bottles of Saranac Pale Ale.

Dinner was chicken and snow peas — made with the first harvest of our own garden sugar snap peas — and a spinach salad with cucumber (from the CSA), grated Parmesan cheese, and a red wine vinegar and oil salad dressing (recipe below). We had another bottle of Saranac Pale Ale with dinner.

Chicken and Snow Peas

This recipe is one that we apparently made up in June of 2001 by surveying and then combining all of the parts we liked from all of the chicken and snow pea recipes we could find. This one turns out to produce a quite authentic version that you may find difficult to distinguish from Chinese take out. (★★★★☆)

Makes two servings.

• 1 Boneless Chicken Breast, cut into small, bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• ½ Onion, chopped
• 1 cup Celery, sliced
• 1¼ cup Snow Peas

Marinade

• ¼ cup Soy Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Sherry
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Ginger
• 2 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon Crushed Chili Peppers
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

Cooking Sauce

• 1 tablespoon Sherry
• 2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 1 tablespoon Corn Starch

1. In a bowl, combine all of the marinade ingredients except the sesame oil. Add the chicken and toss to coat, then stir in one tablespoon of sesame oil and let marinate for two hours.
2. In another bowl, combine the cooking sauce ingredients. Set aside.
3. Place wok over high heat. Add two tablespoons olive oil and heat to smoking.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve the marinade.
5. Add the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until it is opaque and pieces have some nice color on them (about three minutes).
6. Remove the chicken from the wok.
7. Add the celery and onion to the wok and stir-fry until the onions are translucent (about five minutes).
8. Add the snow peas and stir-fry for another 1½ minutes.
9. Return the chicken to the wok.
10. Stir in the reserved marinade and the cooking sauce and heat until thickened.

Divide into two servings and serve over white rice.

Basic Vinaigrette

This Red Wine Vinegar and Oil Salad Dressing Recipe makes a nice, light basic vinaigrette, courtesy of Susan Chance-Rainwater and the kitchen of the Rainwater Reptile Ranch. Not ambrosia, but quite good. (★★★★☆)

• ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• ½ teaspoon Oregano
• ½ teaspoon Thyme
• ½ teaspoon Mustard Powder
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 dash Cayenne Pepper
• 1 dash Salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker. Shake, chill, and serve.

Soy Sauce – Information types Recipes about soy sauce

When it comes to Chinese food, few ingredients are more essential — yet at the same time more misunderstood — than soy sauce. We pour it on rice, use it for stir-frying and as a dipping sauce; still, the difference between light and dark, slowly aged or chemically manufactured soy sauce is not well-known.

Charcoal Grills

There are a lot of different kinds of charcoal grills that offer many different features. I’ve tried to pick the best from the simple kettle grill to large full function charcoal grills that can cost well over $1,000. Pick the grill that is right for you and right for your pocket book. These grills represent the diversity of charcoal grills whether you are looking for one that can smoke, one that can grill like no ones business or just let you cook up a simple meal.

Hugo-Nominated Fiction: 2004

A list of the Hugo-Nominated Fiction, given for work in the field of science fiction or fantasy appearing for the first time during 2004, with links where available.

7-Eleven: News Room – Fun Facts & Trivia

Some history on the original convenience store — who’s 76th birthday is July 11, 2004.

Edible Tulip: Ham & Cheese Quesadilla

Pictures and recipe for a really tasty looking quesadilla.

Health News Article | Reuters.com

A study of more than 71,000 nurses found those who ate a “prudent” diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes and whole grains were less likely to have strokes than nurses eating a more typical American diet.

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I am currently reading Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength by Bill Phillips. I felt I needed some guidance in my workouts and this was indirectly recommended by the Amateur Gourmet (who is taking the bar exam to become a lawyer, but really ought to write comedy).

Bill makes the point that many people who work out actually train their bodies to stop making progress. Many workouts, as do many diets, ignore the fact that the body adapts to its conditions. For instance, I started walking over lunch because it is relatively easy, not too physically damaging exercise. When I weighed 180 pounds, I felt I was doing pretty well to walk a mile or two. Now that I weigh 155, I can walk over four miles fairly easily in my lunch hour and not really even break a sweat. Sure, I am in better shape, but I am also carrying 25 fewer pounds than when I started so I am actually doing less work. Using my current walking regimen I am getting just about all that I can out of my lunchtime walks. I cannot improve any more. I could walk for more than an hour. That would assume I could find another hour to spend simply walking. A possibility, but if we take this argument ad absurdum then we see that eventually my conditioning will be such that my body is used to walking 24 hours (without sleeping, eating, or anything else) and at that point I will not be able to improve any further, lest my walking for today bump into the start of tomorrow’s.

I have noticed the same thing in my workouts at the fitness center. While the early workouts were quite productive — having had almost no exercise for the prior fifteen year period — I seem to have settled into a constant weight level on all exercises. I feel good after the workout, but I can tell that my muscles are not being really challenged, though I find that I am not really able to increase the weight level.

Bill talks not about the number of repetitions or the resistance of an exercise, but rather the intensity level — an odd concept that I scoffed at in print, but understood lifting the weights themselves. I tried his technique tonight on my upper body, and though I was unable to meet my plan — Bill is big on planning your workout and comparing your actual workout to the plan — I definitely felt that burn I felt during my first days back at the gym a few months ago.

Here is the workout:

1. Incline Press: 12@50, 10@55, 8@60, 6@65, 8@60, 7@50
2. Lateral Raise: 9@60, 7@65, 5@70, 3@75, 4@70
3. Reverse-Grip Pulldown: 12@90, 10@100, 6@105, 4@110, 7@100, 12@75
4. Triceps Extension: 12@30, 10@35, 8@40, 6@45, 12@40, 12@30
5. Biceps Curl: 12@40, 10@45, 8@50, 5@40, 5@30

The Triceps Extension — the exercise I am worst at — is the only one I managed to meet my plan for. I do not feel too bad, since this is my first attempt at this technique. I will make some adjustments to the weights next time I do my upper body. My next visit will focus on the lower body. I also want to consider three workouts a week — as Bill recommends — rather than my current two.

Breakfast was an omelette with salsa and onion and pepper sautéed in marinade, two slices of toasted Italian bread, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee. I weighed 155 pounds.

Lunch was a garden salad with feta cheese, chow mein noodles, and Balsamic Vinaigrette and two slices of Italian bread. Afterwards, I went for a four mile walk around campus.

Gretchen and I each had two glasses of apricot slush after work since we were down to only one beer in the refrigerator.

Dinner was a bowl of ham and bean soup that Gretchen made today, along with three slices of garlic bread and half of a bottle of Saranac Pale Ale.