"Running races" written by Janelle on estrip.org

05/02/09 03:38 - 57ºF - ID#48573

Running races

I'm hooked.

I've only run three 5ks.

I'm not exceptional at it.

But I can't wait for the next run.

There's an internal drive to do the next race to get the faster time or to run a longer race and to keep physically pushing myself.

Somehow, improving my race times or running longer routes by myself isn't a legitimate feat unless I do it with a mass of sweaty people on a Saturday morning.

The free meal and beer is a motivating factor, too, I suppose.

Props to (e:James) who ran a spectacular 23 minute 5k today in the race!

Permalink: Running_races.html
Words: 101
Location: Buffalo , NY

04/20/09 01:06 - 44ºF - ID#48452

School Board

I've had some minimal exposure to the Buffalo public schools and those exposures have caused me concern.

I've been wondering how to get more involved or follow more closely the situation of schools in Buffalo. An opportunity became apparent when (e:Drew) and I found out that someone we know, Rebekah Williams, is running for school board. She told us that generally only 5% of eligible voters vote in the school board election!!

So I'm going to take the first steps in getting involved by 1) educating myself on the candidates and 2) voting in the election.

The election is Tuesday May 5th. And at the bottom of this article

is some information on upcoming debates so you can meet the candidates.

I'm probably going to the debate on the 27th. If anyone wants to come along, give me a holler!

libertad writes at 07:13:49 05/05/09 - Comment #48155: Thanks James. I figured it out. I was number 45 at about 3:30. We have the same polling place Janelle.

janelle writes at 05:03:02 05/05/09 - Comment #48150: I voted. At 4:45pm. And I was number 57. Now, I know that this is a neighborhood with families with children. How is it that I am number 57? Seriously.

james writes at 03:08:37 05/05/09 - Comment #48143: You can vote for a max of three people. There are eight columns and one row. You just click three people and pull the leaver.

libertad writes at 02:55:50 05/05/09 - Comment #48142: I am so confused. I wish I could see what the ballot will look like. I'm not even sure how many people to vote for? Oh well I am going now so I guess I will figure it out.

james writes at 10:16:32 05/05/09 - Comment #48138: If it helps the last guy, Fred Yellen, is no longer on the ballot.

libertad writes at 09:14:11 05/05/09 - Comment #48137: Not sure if you voted yet but I found this candidate questionnaire. I spent the AM going through whatever I can find on them and still am quite unsure. Licata definitely is a yes but I haven't decided on others. The time is ticking!

:::link:::

If anyone has any other last minute resources, I can check the site again before I go to vote.

james writes at 12:04:08 04/21/09 - Comment #47782: I neglected to mention that John Licata, Byron Macintire, and Ros Hampton are all great candidates as well.

james writes at 05:18:29 04/20/09 - Comment #47769: It is tough to see the difference though Jim when things are done by committee and not from the top down. ^_^

jim writes at 04:21:27 04/20/09 - Comment #47767: My mistake!

james writes at 03:35:23 04/20/09 - Comment #47762: I am not her quasi-campaign manager. I just do a lot of stuff for her.

janelle writes at 02:02:17 04/20/09 - Comment #47757: Wah, Buffalo is so fricking small. I had no idea James was her quasi campaign manager! Will he be at the debates?

jim writes at 01:39:45 04/20/09 - Comment #47756: Also, (e:james) is Rebekah's quasi-'campaign manager', or close enough, so supporting her supports him and makes all the time he spent away from me on my birthday worth it :)

Permalink: School_Board.html
Words: 145
Location: Buffalo , NY

04/16/09 08:59 - 37ºF - ID#48398

Relief from pain through pain

My sensitivity to smoke has drastically increased over the past year. It only takes small exposures to smoke now to convince my sinuses to produce gallons of mucus to stuff up my nose and drip down the back of my throat producing that lovely scratchy, throat clearing, coughing sensation known as post nasal drip. When my sinuses are stuffed and my head full of pressure, I walk through my days in a sort of fugue. It will take a solid week before I clean it out of my system through cup after cup of hot tea, hot showers, and lots of nasal irrigation.

The only real life from the condition, I discovered, is running. The 20 minutes I ran yesterday, my body was so absorbed by the good pains of running that the bad pains of post nasal drip faded away.

If only I can run 24-7 through the next week until it clears out.

Permalink: Relief_from_pain_through_pain.html
Words: 154
Location: Buffalo , NY

04/05/09 03:03 - 44ºF - ID#48299

Chicken Pho

Yesterday was a rainy cold day so it seemed like a perfect time to finally attempt chicken pho soup.

I spent yesterday afternoon buying the ingredients. And in the evening I put together the broth for the basis of the soup.

I couldn't find chicken necks/backs/etc... so I bought 2 chickens. One I chopped up to make the stock and one was cooked to make the chicken meat for the soup. The one that made the stock was falling apart tender at the end, and it's waiting in the freezer to be transformed into chicken noodle soup or egg noodles and chicken.

Today I finished off the broth by skimming the fat and pouring it through a sieve to strain off all the spices and what nots added for seasoning.

Then I put together the bowls of soup. Rice noodles in the bowl. Top with chicken, cilantro, diced scallions, and pepper. Pour 2 cups of broth in the bowl. Basil, mint, limes, diced chili peppers, fish sauce, and chili garlic sauce on the side to add as desired. Yum.

Permalink: Chicken_Pho.html
Words: 181
Location: Buffalo , NY

04/05/09 01:37 - 42ºF - ID#48298

Shopping Tip

Ever go to Wegmans looking for fresh herbs and wonder at the cost of them?

Go to An Chau International Market, a Vietnamese grocer, on Niagara St.

Get a large clump of basil in a baggie for $1.00.

Get a large clump of mint in a baggie for $1.00.

Get a bag with 20-25 thai serrano hot peppers for southeast asian cooking for less than $1.00.

Permalink: Shopping_Tip.html
Words: 63
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: sims

04/04/09 10:47 - 34ºF - ID#48280

New Sims Family

I started a new family and I acted with slightly more moderation.

I had my Lady Sim, Sienna, procreate twins, which are still a lot of work since they tend to want to be fed, played with and diapered both at the same time. So I forced a new person to move in with us to be the twins care taker. My house is a gigantic gothic house complete with attic. So the twins' nanny lives up stairs in the attic.

I still needed some extra help around the house so I called for the Maid service. Then I made the maid a permanent addition to my house so she does all the cleaning up and meal preparation. I moved her up into the servants quarters as well.

Having servants isn't all I thought it would be. It's actually quite demanding to boss them around all day. You have to constantly stay on top of them. The maid isn't very self directed so I have to direct her in her cleaning all day. And I swear that nanny just leaves the babies lying around wherever. I even have to remind them to use their designated bathroom/shower instead of the good bathrooms and to take their meals and their rest after the family is taken care of.

It's hard life for Sims rolling in the Simoleons.

Permalink: New_Sims_Family.html
Words: 226
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: sims

04/03/09 08:42 - 56ºF - ID#48271

Babies falling from the skies

6 babies is 6 too many in the Sims world.

The problem with conjuring 6 Sims babies with the cheat code is they are all named "baby girl" or "baby boy". They all look like the same wriggling lump of Sims baby flesh, so it's difficult to remember what you did for which baby.

I bought a gigantic new space to house all the babies. And I had three adults to take care of the babies. Three adults were not sufficient to take care of the babies. The babies all cried for attention at the same time; needed fed at the same time; and needed diapers changed at the same time. By the time you got through the cycle of care, it was time to do it all over again. With maybe a few split seconds to run to the bathroom or stuff your face in the fridge.

It only took a few minutes for the cries of 6 babies to irritate me. So I scrapped that family.

Permalink: Babies_falling_from_the_skies.html
Words: 164
Location: Buffalo , NY

03/30/09 08:34 - 32ºF - ID#48234

SIMS II

My experiment with large Sims Families just got a lot more interesting. I LOVE CHEAT CODES.

I just discovered how to make new babies without even having a pregnancy. You do the cheat code and a new baby just shows up on the floor. So, as you might imagine, I quickly conjured up 6 new babies for my family of mom, dad, and 4 kids for a whopping total of 10 family members.

I also used cheat codes to force my oldest daughter to grow into an adult early. That's what happens in large families, right? The oldest grow up quickly to help take care of the youngest.

Then I used the cheat code to give myself $350,000. Normally, I don't care for using money cheats. I like to earn money the old fashioned SIMS way...by working. But as you might imagine, the house was busting at its seams with babies. I need space for 6 cribs. I'm thinking the social workers will take the babies away if I just let them lie on the floor. I guess there is only one way to find out though!

Permalink: SIMS_II.html
Words: 183
Location: Buffalo , NY

03/22/09 02:56 - 38ºF - ID#48154

On my way... and back....

On my way and back from my short hiking trip (see my last post) I drove through rural NY and I saw...

Reindeer
A camel
Horses
A home that looked inhabitable in which someone was actually living.
Two homes with graveyards in the backyard. I mean, they could open up their back door and touch a grave stone.
Pussy Willows which might be of interest to those planning on celebrating Dyngus day.
An all you could eat Pancake Breakfast at a VFW Hall at which point I almost stopped.
And Greek news coverage of Greek politics, American politics, Venezuelan politics and a general interest story about someone who puts blankets of lights on on all the sheeps in the herd and then trains them to perform a routine...sort of like a marching band.

Permalink: On_my_way_and_back_.html
Words: 134
Location: Buffalo , NY

03/22/09 02:41 - 38ºF - ID#48153

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge

I bundled up this morning and went hiking at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. It's a small wildlife preserve about 45 minutes from Buffalo. East on I90 and north on rural route 77.

I planned on hiking the Swallow Hollow trail followed by the Onondoga trail. Finding the Swallow Hollow trailhead was incredibly easy as it was well marked with signs.

The trail is about 1.3 miles long and takes you through a marsh area. Part of the trail is on a wide, well maintained gravel path and part of the trail is on a well maintained wooden boardwalk right above the marsh. The trail takes you directly through marsh land with an incredible variety of bird calls filling the air. Followed by marsh is a small section of pine followed by a small section of hardwood trees. Then you walk along a dike that takes you around a small marshy pond. Along the way, there is a clearing in the woods for a terrific view across the marshy pond. Standing for a few minutes I saw seagulls, hawks, blackbirds, and canadian geese. Further along the marshy pond signs indicated that you could see snapping turtles and woodland ducks, but my guess is that I would have to come back later in the spring for those sights.

It was an easy walk allowing for no illusions of trail blazing or adventure. It's a good trail for someone who wants to see nature but doesn't want to work very hard or get dirty. Good for little kids too, I would think. Possibly good for someone in a wheel chair. Not a lot of incline or decline and there is a ramp at the trail head that allows wheel chair access down to the path. I would go again just for the wild life viewing opportunities.

I tried going to the Onondaga trail to give that a try but the road to the trailhead is closed between December 1st and April 1st. I was a little disappointed that they didn't post that information on the website.