"Cooking marathon" written by Joe on estrip.org

Category: food

10/24/16 12:58 - ID#60701

Cooking marathon

After the hike I went shopping at Price Rite and the co-op for 2 hours. And then (e:terry) and I began our cooking marathon.

Terry made potato goat cheese galettes (e:60460), and I made a double batch of chana masala. It almost overflowed the pans.

Together we cut up 6 onions, 8 cloves of garlic, four tomatoes, two potatoes and something like ~1800g of chickpeas.

Now I barely have to cook this week. I feel like a mom-blogger with all this meal prep.

Permalink: Cooking_marathon.html
Words: 86
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/27/16 01:26

Category: hikes

10/24/16 12:57 - ID#60700

Reinstein woods

While (e:paul) went down to East Aurora with (e:libertad) and (e:mike), (e:terry) and I rode bikes out to Reinstein woods.

Despite it being way out in the burbs, in Cheektowaga, it's really easy to ride there.

Just go down William past Bailey, almost to Harlem. Not much to look at but the road is wide and there's little traffic.

Then once you're in Cheektowaga, there's a rail trail that runs along the tracks to Union. Then from Union, you take the huge bike lanes up Como Park Blvd to Stiglmeier. It's about 11 miles from Allentown.

I had been to Stiglmeier before but never the woods. There's these boardwalks that run over all the depressions and creekbeds.

Terry admiring the foiliage

All through the park people were dumping bird seed for the birds. Like, all over the benches and boardwalk rails. This leads to the fattest, boldest squirrels I've ever seen. They thump when they skitter between branches.

Weirdly enough the two parks aren't officially connected but (e:terry) and I found away across.

In Reinstein woods on the Beech trail, I found these little floof bugs. They're tiny bugs in a pile with fluffy white butts. They don't really move and just wave their asses back and forth.

Apparently they're called boogie woogie/beech blight aphids.

Here's a video of their squiggle dance I found on youtube.

The ride back was ridiculously windy.

Permalink: Reinstein_woods.html
Words: 251
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/27/16 01:34

Category: house

10/24/16 12:53 - ID#60698

Dehoarding, and hoarder shopping

Like (e:mike) I took time to get rid of old junk. (e:mike,60694)

I dislike keeping things around in case you 'need' them later.

I'm guilty of hoarding though. I finally got rid of my old high school and college computer, a Dell Vostro. I used it circa 2006-2012. The last 3 years the hinges were torn off so I always had to prop it up against a wall or with my knee while I worked with it. It's probably not even salvagable for donation.

A lot of what I got rid of were boxes and broken electronics but also books. Recipe books seem extra useless, when you can find millions of recipes online with reviews and pictures. If that ever goes away I'm going to guess we're also not going to have much produce year round anyway.

Saturday we went to Coocoou to look at office desks for (e:terry). The warehouse is floor to third story ceiling with vintage stuff. Like this giant fiberglass flamingo. Or rustic wooden booths that look like they're from the Roadhouse Grill. Maybe (e:terry) can set up a replica restaurant to work in.

There was only one desk he liked. It was huge and seriously hardwood, from a Xerox executive. $4500(!) - he didn't get it

Some of it was cool to see and I recognize mid-centry design is trendy but I get flashbacks to my grandparents house when I see so much junk.

Permalink: Dehoarding_and_hoarder_shopping.html
Words: 247
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/26/16 09:21

Category: tech

10/19/16 01:48 - ID#60695

Playstation VR

(e:chris) bought it for his playstation. Compared to the Samsung VR, it's way more immersive. The helmet tracks your movement in the real world and you can walk around a little bit.

The controllers are also tracked by the console and you can see them in the games - the creepiest feeling was playing this clown shooting game and your hands were carrying guns. I didn't like that.

Here's (e:paul) in VR world, about to be eaten by a radioactive shark.

Permalink: Playstation_VR.html
Words: 84
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/23/16 11:35

Category: bikes

10/17/16 11:47 - ID#60692

Pearl Street bike lanes

They converted Pearl street to two-way, and added bike lanes in each direction. I'm actually surprised it turned out well. I think they gave the car travel lanes 11 ft which would be the absolute minimum. It should calm it down. Even the new paint, pavement and lights make the street look a little less like the ass-end of Main St.

Still wondering why we aren't opting for segregated cycle tracks on these wide streets though. Easier for someone with a snow blower to maintain and no parked cars to infringe. The west side would be great for it considering the truck and fire lanes on the eastern edge.

This week Terry and I made both a chana masala

and a terry-aki tempeh. I think I have these dishes down pat.

Permalink: Pearl_Street_bike_lanes.html
Words: 133
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/25/16 03:39

Category: working out

10/17/16 11:45 - ID#60690

Gettin' bendy

Terry and I have tried a couple times to do yoga in the living room. It's hard to keep up with these slinky Youtube yoga women, who seem to all inexplicably live in tropical retirement communities.

I can already do a yoga handstand.

Permalink: Gettin_bendy.html
Words: 52
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/19/16 01:34

Category: vacation

10/14/16 12:46 - ID#60689

Finally home

I was ready to go back home. I would have like to seen downtown Las Vegas to see if it was any different, but (e:paul) and his boss were at the conference and my flight left at 3.

I decided to walk to the airport because I didn't feel like being in a car anymore and thought I might run across something interesting. From the Cosmopolitan to the airport terminal was about an hour walk, including the pedestrian bridges.

I was actually suprised you could walk there at all but I got the idea here michaeldorausch.com/walking-from-the-las-vegas-airport-to-the-las-vegas-strip/

There was not much to see and I had to change my shirt when I checked in, I was so sweaty.

The plane ride back had a ridiuclous view. I never looked out a plane with a cloudless view. On the way to the stop over in Phoenix, you could see Humphrey's peak in Flagstaff from forever a way. The desert is really almost empty between besides mysterious groupings of trailers. I wonder why they're there.

You also could spot forest fires on the hills and the smoke choking the valleys next to them.

As you go back east so much light appears again. Almost an hour from Buffalo Chicago is completely visible. It's cool that you can see the gridlines via streetlights, just like a map.

When I got back (e:terry) brought me some vegetarian poutine. I think I realized I barely ate on this trip.

Permalink: Finally_home.html
Words: 251
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/14/16 01:22

Category:

10/14/16 12:45 - ID#60688

Lake Mead and another day in Vegas

Permalink: Lake_Mead_and_another_day_in_Vegas.html
Words: 13
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/14/16 12:45

Category: hiking

10/09/16 09:45 - ID#60687

Hiking the Red Rocks

Definitely my favorite part of Las Vegas so far. We drove out to the far west side, right up to the edge of the sprawl the park begins. The traffic was really heavy in the park loop, and there were a ton of cyclists riding around.

(e:paul) wasn't sure where he and (e:terry) had gone before. Well it wasn't in the new visitor's center area, it was at the first right turn coming in the park, in the Calico I basin. You can get right up to the red rocks with a short hike.

It really is an easy hike. Going up and down to the peaks, the climb is basically stairs - really wide and long. At the very top you keep thinking you're at the highest part, then there's another peak, and another, and another.

(e:paul) and I got up to the second highest red rock peak. It was about two peaks higher than (e:terry,55633) and him got the last time. You can see all across the mountains into the smog of Vegas from here, and there's plenty of shade to hide in on the way down.

Permalink: Hiking_the_Red_Rocks.html
Words: 200
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 10/14/16 12:40

Category: vacation

10/09/16 09:44 - ID#60686

I hate Las Vegas

Las Vegas Boulevard is an assault on all senses.

12 lanes of speeding traffic honking and barreling through pedestrians.
2 story screens screaming advertisements at you
A bigger, brighter 3 story screen, commanding you to DRINK. EAT. PLAY.
Homeless people with festering wounds begging on the sidewalk.
All while people walking by with a bag full of $9 miller lites.
Malls pumped full of perfume.
Stores with $10k fur coats and watches that cost more than my student loans.
Literally lighting water on fire in the desert.
People fighting with their prostitutes.
Strip club promoters throwing their cards at you.
Bars on the sidewalk herding you into the casino.
Desperate retirees pouring coins in the machine at 6am.

(e:paul) told me he referred to Caesar's Palace as satan's lair when he got there. I can't say I disagree.

The most impressive thing about this city is that they manage to convince so many people to move here.

Let's not ever come back here again.

Sorry if I killed your fun time (e:paul). I really tried to appreciate it lol. But you had a few more days without me, so I know you'd be fine.

The highlights I would say we found were a delicious ramen stand that was sanely priced along with a cheep beer store, right next to our hotel.

I'll update this as I think of more reasons why the Vegas Strip is the worst place in the country.