My poor d-cam is done for. It no longer works. I found this out yesterday when I wanted to take a picture. *sigh* I bought my camera when I was in Japan 3 years ago and I loved it because it is blue. It can no longer take pictures, however. It's screen always shows black (even though you can still see all the sub menu items on the screen) when trying to take a picture. I think something is wrong with the lens. :( My poor camera .. I loved you but it's time to move on.
I now need to decide what my next camera will be. Since my last one was a Sony I will likely not get another one -- I don't want it to fail on me after only 3 years again. I might opt to get an SLR (Tony and Ben have them and they look amazing) but I'm not sure how much I will actually use it. If not an SLR then it will be a point and shoot again.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Good Way To Start Your Day
A year or so ago I used to wake up early to go to the gym before going to work. Today I was finally able to motivate myself to wake up early and get an "early" morning work out. I was out of the house by 7:30am today and got an hour in at the gym. After all is said and done (including time for makeup and hair ^_^) I was in the office by 9:20am today. *woohoo* I feel really energized and like I've accomplished a lot already. I hope this accomplishment bodes well for my Monday and for the rest of the week.
I already know of at least one bummer this week: having to commute up to the city for work. Grrr ... well hopefully I won't have to do it too many times this week. Commuting to the city is such a pain in the rear. You waste so much time sitting on the train (takes me about 2 hours for a total commute time) and I'd much rather go back to my normal 3mi. commute.
I already know of at least one bummer this week: having to commute up to the city for work. Grrr ... well hopefully I won't have to do it too many times this week. Commuting to the city is such a pain in the rear. You waste so much time sitting on the train (takes me about 2 hours for a total commute time) and I'd much rather go back to my normal 3mi. commute.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
New Blog about Food
I have decided to create another blog which chronicles my adventures in the kitchen:
Strawberries and Blueberries
Strawberries and Blueberries
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Farm Animal Truffles
These farm animals are just too cute. I'm not someone who celebrates Easter but I may just need to pick up a few of these cute guys. Williams Sonoma is selling these chocolates for Easter. The chocolates are almost too cute to eat. My favorite ie either the piggy or the cow ^_^
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Prius is Worse than a Hummer
March 7, 2007
Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro
Staff Writer
The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.
Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.
The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?
You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.
However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn’t be writing this article. It gets much worse.
Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.
The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.
“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.
All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?
Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet.
When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.
Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.
The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.
So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.
One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.
story
I guess everyone who thinks they are doing well for the environment should think again >_<
Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro
Staff Writer
The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.
Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.
The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?
You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.
However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn’t be writing this article. It gets much worse.
Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.
The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.
“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.
All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?
Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet.
When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.
Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.
The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.
So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.
One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.
story
I guess everyone who thinks they are doing well for the environment should think again >_<
Saturday, March 17, 2007
St Patty's Day Saturday
For some incomprehensible reason I woke up at 8.30am today. It is Saturday. I woke up earlier today than I normally do for work. I should go back to sleep but can't. I decided to wake up rather than toss and turn and inevitably waking Ming up. He's been working really hard this past week (waking up early and sleeping late) so I want him to get as much rest as possible.
I decide to wake up and start my day. Yesterday all the weathermen had forecast a beautiful day -- high of 80 in San Francisco. It is mid-march and we were going to expect summer weather? I was nearly giddy with joy thinking of all the things I could do to enjoy the lovely weather. As I walked into the living room (the curtains were open) I saw, with much dismay, overcast skies. Nooooo! Where was my beautiful sunshine that I'd been seeing all week? Gloomy clouds don't translate into warm breezes and sipping mai tais (ok, so maybe I'm stretching the mai tai thing) on the porch. Grrr... Maybe it will burn off and the skies will be sunny again. I hadn't, afterall, seen the sky at 8:30am all week so this could be considered normal.
I woke up and started to do some random things around the house killing time and waiting for my french bread batard to rise. I haven't blogged in awhile and I forgot to mention that last weekend I made french bread (for the first time) and Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef.)
Here are some photos of those cooking endeavors:
I am pretty happy with the way the french bread turned out and the shaking beef. These are definitely two items to be added to my repetoire. The shaking beef was really good and we gobbled it down immediately. I served it on a bed of lettuce instead of watercrest, no matter, it was still delicious. For more info about shaking beef, go here
Fast forward back to today ...
I made a huge batch of dough last weekend so today I am using up the rest of the french bread dough. I am going to make another batard since Ming really likes them and we bought some fixings last night to put on top of the bread (for our breakfast/brunch.)
It is now nearly 10am and I think I have come to grips with the realization it will not be beautiful and suny 80 degree weather. It will be dismal and overcast and we've got dinner in the city tonight for Pat's birthday. Damn, there had better be some green beer to make up for the lack of a sunny day
I decide to wake up and start my day. Yesterday all the weathermen had forecast a beautiful day -- high of 80 in San Francisco. It is mid-march and we were going to expect summer weather? I was nearly giddy with joy thinking of all the things I could do to enjoy the lovely weather. As I walked into the living room (the curtains were open) I saw, with much dismay, overcast skies. Nooooo! Where was my beautiful sunshine that I'd been seeing all week? Gloomy clouds don't translate into warm breezes and sipping mai tais (ok, so maybe I'm stretching the mai tai thing) on the porch. Grrr... Maybe it will burn off and the skies will be sunny again. I hadn't, afterall, seen the sky at 8:30am all week so this could be considered normal.
I woke up and started to do some random things around the house killing time and waiting for my french bread batard to rise. I haven't blogged in awhile and I forgot to mention that last weekend I made french bread (for the first time) and Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef.)
Here are some photos of those cooking endeavors:
I am pretty happy with the way the french bread turned out and the shaking beef. These are definitely two items to be added to my repetoire. The shaking beef was really good and we gobbled it down immediately. I served it on a bed of lettuce instead of watercrest, no matter, it was still delicious. For more info about shaking beef, go here
Fast forward back to today ...
I made a huge batch of dough last weekend so today I am using up the rest of the french bread dough. I am going to make another batard since Ming really likes them and we bought some fixings last night to put on top of the bread (for our breakfast/brunch.)
It is now nearly 10am and I think I have come to grips with the realization it will not be beautiful and suny 80 degree weather. It will be dismal and overcast and we've got dinner in the city tonight for Pat's birthday. Damn, there had better be some green beer to make up for the lack of a sunny day
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Adieu to Snow Season
We've had record (well, what I believe is record) high temperature lately. It has been in the high 70s for the past few days and it will continue to be warm. In Truckee, one of the more popular cities in Tahoe, it is in the mid-60s. By now I would normally have gone up to the snow 6-12 times. This season I have not been up to Tahoe at all because there hasn't been any snow up there. The few storms we did have didn't pile on much snow and it has all melted away. With the warm temperatures around I doubt that we'll get enough snow to make it worth my while to make the drive to Tahoe.
*sigh* Well I must bid adieu to Tahoe and wait until next season to make use of my boarding equipment
*sigh* Well I must bid adieu to Tahoe and wait until next season to make use of my boarding equipment
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Milk Bread
With my previous mention of bread I decided that I wanted to try my hand at bread making. My first foray into the world of bread would be to make milk bread. Milk bread is something I ate as a kid. It's a very soft type of bread, individually portioned out. It is topped with a sweet glaze and I used to eat it for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
The ingredients for milk bread. Excuse the skim milk, we normally buy low fat but all the low fat milk at the store had an expiration date which was too close to today
Me forming the bread into individual rolls
The rolls in the pan, shaped and waiting to proof some more. Proofing is when the bread grows larger in volume
The finished milk bread
Milk bread -- before consumption
The milk bread ended up turning out pretty well for my first try into breads. I didn't do such a great job forming the dough into perfectly portioned rolls but all and all, I am happy with the end result. The next question is how long it will last before we consume everything
The ingredients for milk bread. Excuse the skim milk, we normally buy low fat but all the low fat milk at the store had an expiration date which was too close to today
Me forming the bread into individual rolls
The rolls in the pan, shaped and waiting to proof some more. Proofing is when the bread grows larger in volume
The finished milk bread
Milk bread -- before consumption
The milk bread ended up turning out pretty well for my first try into breads. I didn't do such a great job forming the dough into perfectly portioned rolls but all and all, I am happy with the end result. The next question is how long it will last before we consume everything
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Artistic Bread
We all know what artisan bread is: bread which is hand made (so it's got a few bumps and isn't quite as clean cut as Wonder bread) and is generally a lot more expensive but also more tasty. A few of us know what artistic bread is. Artsitic bread is bread which is shaped into creatures or some simple shape. The japanese are probably the most well known when it comes to artistic bread. Their love of beautiful foods has lead them to create cute little creatures out of bread. I have seen turtles, porcupines, etc formed of bread in various Japanese bakeries.
I recently stumbled upon a picture that puts the Japanese artistic breads to shame:
Those creations are actually bread O.o This is made by some shop in Paris. The full article can be found here. I think I should go to Paris now to try out this artistic bread and see if it is as tasty as it looks
I recently stumbled upon a picture that puts the Japanese artistic breads to shame:
Those creations are actually bread O.o This is made by some shop in Paris. The full article can be found here. I think I should go to Paris now to try out this artistic bread and see if it is as tasty as it looks
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Daylight Saving 2007
This Sunday is daylight saving time. Everyone in the US loses an hour. :( The rules for daylight saving changed this year in order to try to conserve more energy and ... blah blah blah. For some background on the changed date:
On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress. Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.
more details
The one bright side to all of this is that we are expected to have a high of 78 degrees on Sunday. It'll be a beautiful day and even though we all woke up earlier we will have a gorgeous day to enjoy. What will you do to make the most out of the day? If I am feeling particularly motivated I'll wash the car and perhaps even BBQ again
On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress. Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.
more details
The one bright side to all of this is that we are expected to have a high of 78 degrees on Sunday. It'll be a beautiful day and even though we all woke up earlier we will have a gorgeous day to enjoy. What will you do to make the most out of the day? If I am feeling particularly motivated I'll wash the car and perhaps even BBQ again
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Turkey in March
We had BBQ turkey tonight. Why did we have turkey? We had turkey because
1. we were craving it
2. it was a nice and sunny day, perfect for BBQ
3. we have been using a fool proof recipe for the past 2 years and the turkey is always juicy and delicious
Here's a pictography of the turkey and the cooking process:
Ming getting ready to BBQ the turkey
The turkey, all ready to go into the BBQ. It's legs and wings are covered to protect them from getting burned to a crisp
Ming checking the BBQ to make sure it's cozy enough for the turkey
2 hours later a perfectly cooked turkey
As always, the turkey was scrumptious. We started off by brining it overnight in a salt based solution. We then took it out this morning to dry out for a bit. 2 hours into the BBQ and the turkey came out, ready to be consumed :) I forgot to take a picture of dinner because we were so hungry and we ended up scarfing it all down.
I know that a lot of people don't like turkey because they don't care for the taste or it's normally too dry. One of these people was my auntie. She absolutley didn't care for turkey until she tried our BBQ turkey. It made her a convert and ever since she had it, she's never looked back. When we tell her that we are having turkey she's at our house as fast as the car can get her here.
1. we were craving it
2. it was a nice and sunny day, perfect for BBQ
3. we have been using a fool proof recipe for the past 2 years and the turkey is always juicy and delicious
Here's a pictography of the turkey and the cooking process:
Ming getting ready to BBQ the turkey
The turkey, all ready to go into the BBQ. It's legs and wings are covered to protect them from getting burned to a crisp
Ming checking the BBQ to make sure it's cozy enough for the turkey
2 hours later a perfectly cooked turkey
As always, the turkey was scrumptious. We started off by brining it overnight in a salt based solution. We then took it out this morning to dry out for a bit. 2 hours into the BBQ and the turkey came out, ready to be consumed :) I forgot to take a picture of dinner because we were so hungry and we ended up scarfing it all down.
I know that a lot of people don't like turkey because they don't care for the taste or it's normally too dry. One of these people was my auntie. She absolutley didn't care for turkey until she tried our BBQ turkey. It made her a convert and ever since she had it, she's never looked back. When we tell her that we are having turkey she's at our house as fast as the car can get her here.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Hot Pot, Nabemono, Shabu shabu
I wanted a claypot because I wanted to make a claypot dish with oysters. I did my homework and found out that instead of the normal Chinese claypot (which I think looks a bit gaudy) I could do the same thing with the Japanese version. The Chinese claypot looks like
The Japanese claypot is called a donabe. It is made out of a sturdier clay and is stronger and more resistent to heat. I like the look of the donabe a lot better than the Chinese claypot
Last night I made a claypot oyster dish with my new claypot/donabe and it was really yummy. Next is going to be hot pot/shabu shabu in it -- who wants to come to dinner? ^_~
The Japanese claypot is called a donabe. It is made out of a sturdier clay and is stronger and more resistent to heat. I like the look of the donabe a lot better than the Chinese claypot
Last night I made a claypot oyster dish with my new claypot/donabe and it was really yummy. Next is going to be hot pot/shabu shabu in it -- who wants to come to dinner? ^_~
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Santa Ramen
Tonight Ming and I ate at Santa Ramen because we were craving ramen and had heard good things about this place. We also wanted to go do some grocery shopping at Marina after dinner.
We arrived at Santa Ramen at about 6.15p and there was already a line. O.o I knew the ramen was reputed to be good but I wasn't expecting a wait. We put our names on the waiting list and proceeded to wait until we were called. Luckily people ate pretty quickly and we only had to wait about 10 minutes before getting a seat in the 29 seat restaurant. We promptly ordered and waited for our ramen to arrive.
The ramen was very tasty but, as with most Japanese food, was laden with MSG and quite salty. It wasn't enough MSG to give you a headache but it certainly did make me reach for my water cup a lot. The ramen was really good. It was chewy and the broth was really tasty. Both of us had the stewed pork and roast pork in pork broth. mmm... We were lucky that we ordered when we did because 10 minutes later we saw the waitress put up a sign that said they were sold out of stewed pork.
Don't let the name fool you, stewed pork is really good. Stewed pork is really the pork belly which has been braised in a sweet, dark, salty liquid. It is the fatty pork cut of meat, found in "kau yuk mui choi" in Cantonese restaurants.
I couldn't finish all of the ramen so I asked for a to go container. The ramen was $11 per bowl. At $11 a bowl I expected that the restaurant would have some suitable take out container for the remainder of my dinner. Maybe in Japan they don't believe in take out containers (the employees were certainly Japanese and could have been born in Japan -- perhaps even the daughters of the owners) because when I asked for my to go container she came back with my leftovers in a zip lock bag. O.o Yes, my ramen and broth were all placed uncermoniously in a gallon size zip lock bag. Wow, that is the first time I've ever received a take out box that is a zip lock bag -- for broth!
All and all everything was really good and I'd go back again (1)if I didn't have to wait more than 20 minutes and (2) I only order enough so that I finish and don't require a take out container. I have heard that on weekends this place has over an hour for a wait and I'm not sure it is worth that. If you are in the area and are craving ramen, try heading over and see if the wait is short.
We arrived at Santa Ramen at about 6.15p and there was already a line. O.o I knew the ramen was reputed to be good but I wasn't expecting a wait. We put our names on the waiting list and proceeded to wait until we were called. Luckily people ate pretty quickly and we only had to wait about 10 minutes before getting a seat in the 29 seat restaurant. We promptly ordered and waited for our ramen to arrive.
The ramen was very tasty but, as with most Japanese food, was laden with MSG and quite salty. It wasn't enough MSG to give you a headache but it certainly did make me reach for my water cup a lot. The ramen was really good. It was chewy and the broth was really tasty. Both of us had the stewed pork and roast pork in pork broth. mmm... We were lucky that we ordered when we did because 10 minutes later we saw the waitress put up a sign that said they were sold out of stewed pork.
Don't let the name fool you, stewed pork is really good. Stewed pork is really the pork belly which has been braised in a sweet, dark, salty liquid. It is the fatty pork cut of meat, found in "kau yuk mui choi" in Cantonese restaurants.
I couldn't finish all of the ramen so I asked for a to go container. The ramen was $11 per bowl. At $11 a bowl I expected that the restaurant would have some suitable take out container for the remainder of my dinner. Maybe in Japan they don't believe in take out containers (the employees were certainly Japanese and could have been born in Japan -- perhaps even the daughters of the owners) because when I asked for my to go container she came back with my leftovers in a zip lock bag. O.o Yes, my ramen and broth were all placed uncermoniously in a gallon size zip lock bag. Wow, that is the first time I've ever received a take out box that is a zip lock bag -- for broth!
All and all everything was really good and I'd go back again (1)if I didn't have to wait more than 20 minutes and (2) I only order enough so that I finish and don't require a take out container. I have heard that on weekends this place has over an hour for a wait and I'm not sure it is worth that. If you are in the area and are craving ramen, try heading over and see if the wait is short.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Real Time Weather Map
(click on the image to get a more detailed view)
With all of the rain that we've been getting it'd be nice to know what the weather forecast is, by the minute. I recently found out about Weather Underground and it shows you the weather maps in real time. Well, its got a slight delay but it is good enough for me. ^_^ It shows you when inclement weather is nearby. Yesterday I used it to determine when to go home. I left when there was a break in the weather and I wouldn't be completely pelted when I left the office.
This is a pretty nifty and useful tool. Whenever I need to BBQ again next I can use this tool to determine when we should put the burgers on the grill (and skip/miss the rain showers)
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Ming the Phone
Motorola is introducing a new phone called the MotoMing. Yes, it's Ming's namesake phone.
I must admit that it is a pretty sexy and cool phone. It isn't completely sleek but it is packed full of new features. It has a stylus (yes, this is a phone and not a palm-like device) which has handwriting recognition. You can write chinese on the screen and it will recognize it. It's really cool and I can't wait to find it in stores to try out. Needless to say since this is Ming's namesake phone he'll be trying to obtain one in the near future
I must admit that it is a pretty sexy and cool phone. It isn't completely sleek but it is packed full of new features. It has a stylus (yes, this is a phone and not a palm-like device) which has handwriting recognition. You can write chinese on the screen and it will recognize it. It's really cool and I can't wait to find it in stores to try out. Needless to say since this is Ming's namesake phone he'll be trying to obtain one in the near future
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Happy New Year
It's officially the year of the piggy this year. Happy new year everyone!
We spent the weekend cleaning house and making Chinese New Year foods. Ming bought a 6 lb chicken for dinner. I have never seen a chicken that big and trying to cook one that big is really hard. We put it in an 8qt pot and it barely fit -- next time I cook a massive chicken I'll have to put it in the 12qt pot. O.o
This marks the first year that I will have to give out red envelopes. I am armed with crisp bills and plenty of envelopes. I hope everyone doesn't decide to descend on us and make us dole out more red envelopes than I'm prepared for ^_~
We spent the weekend cleaning house and making Chinese New Year foods. Ming bought a 6 lb chicken for dinner. I have never seen a chicken that big and trying to cook one that big is really hard. We put it in an 8qt pot and it barely fit -- next time I cook a massive chicken I'll have to put it in the 12qt pot. O.o
This marks the first year that I will have to give out red envelopes. I am armed with crisp bills and plenty of envelopes. I hope everyone doesn't decide to descend on us and make us dole out more red envelopes than I'm prepared for ^_~
Friday, February 16, 2007
Disabling Your SSID
Lots of people have now learned that they should password protect their wireless network. Many others believe you should prevent your wireless network from broadcasting, thinking that it makes it less susceptible to attackers. Here's a comment about disabling the broadcast that is humorous and enlightening:
Disabling SSID broadcast makes your AP about as hidden as a duck sitting very quietly in broad daylight, in the open on a pond.
It thinks that not going Quack Quack, makes it invisible. If there is any kind of traffic on your AP it and it's SSID is as visible as any other AP.
Disabling SSID broadcast makes your AP about as hidden as a duck sitting very quietly in broad daylight, in the open on a pond.
It thinks that not going Quack Quack, makes it invisible. If there is any kind of traffic on your AP it and it's SSID is as visible as any other AP.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Valentine's Recap
After my oopsies I must say that dinner went very well. We had Jap chae (Korean noodles normally eaten as panchan) and double choc cake with choco frosting.
Jap chae with a Chinese twist. I added fresh bamboo shoots to it.
Chocolate cake!
mmm... cake
Jap chae with a Chinese twist. I added fresh bamboo shoots to it.
Chocolate cake!
mmm... cake
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
My V-day Oopsie
Last night I wanted to get a head start on my choco cake in preparation for Valentine's day. I wanted to have the cake made the day before so that I could add the frosting the next day, when the cake was cooled. In case you weren't aware, my previous post mentioned that I wanted to make choco cake for Valentine's day.
I got home at 9pm last night and made myself a quick dinner. By 10pm I was ready to make the chocolate cake. I was in a groove and I was doing really well (considering that I had forgotten to take the butter out ahead of time to make sure it was room temp) and it was in the oven by 10:30pm. No sooner had I placed it in the oven then I realized, "oh crap, I forgot to add the chocolate!" I made chocolate cake and didn't add chocolate -- sigh. O.o I think it must have been too long of a day for me for me to have forgotten something so crucial.
I didn't want to eat what could be terrible cake so what was I supposed to do? I cleaned up everything and started again. I ended up making another batch, with chocolate, of the cake. I was baking until nearly midnight last night! When I went to bed the whole house smelled like chocolate. O.o
The lesson that I learned is always double check that I've completely read the recipe prior to sticking the item into the oven. I hope this choco cake is good since I invested so much time into it!!
I got home at 9pm last night and made myself a quick dinner. By 10pm I was ready to make the chocolate cake. I was in a groove and I was doing really well (considering that I had forgotten to take the butter out ahead of time to make sure it was room temp) and it was in the oven by 10:30pm. No sooner had I placed it in the oven then I realized, "oh crap, I forgot to add the chocolate!" I made chocolate cake and didn't add chocolate -- sigh. O.o I think it must have been too long of a day for me for me to have forgotten something so crucial.
I didn't want to eat what could be terrible cake so what was I supposed to do? I cleaned up everything and started again. I ended up making another batch, with chocolate, of the cake. I was baking until nearly midnight last night! When I went to bed the whole house smelled like chocolate. O.o
The lesson that I learned is always double check that I've completely read the recipe prior to sticking the item into the oven. I hope this choco cake is good since I invested so much time into it!!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Baked Donuts
Donuts are so tasty but oh-so-bad for your health. Imagine my surprise when I came across this article for baked donuts. O.o Baked donuts!? I can't believe that .. well just in time for Valentine's day I suppose. It's a way to enjoy a favorite snack w/o putting your arteries in danger.
If they can make a Homer Simpson donut maker, I guess baked donuts aren't that far of a stretch.
If they can make a Homer Simpson donut maker, I guess baked donuts aren't that far of a stretch.
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