"Tourism is overrated..." written by Tinypliny on estrip.org

07/10/10 10:03 - 72.ºF - ID#52144

Tourism is overrated...

when there is a bucketload of work hanging on your head.

I recently visited with my brother in NYC (he is a brand new New Yorker). In the past, whenever my brother and/or I have been to the city, there was never enough time to do all the things we wanted to do. But now that one of us actually lives there, suddenly, there seems to be a dearth of things to do.

We hardly went out and cooked non-stop at home (a hidden sign of stress and general worry). We made some awesome complicated meals - but that is hardly touristy. The desire to do touristy things seemed to have vanished. I thought it was just me, but apparently my brother who has been in NYC for a month now hardly veers out of his home-office-gym-home route.

A tiny voice in my head keeps saying that I am not working hard enough and that my commitment to effectively fast-track academic milestones needs to quadruple. I think I agree with the tiny voice. But, all the same, it makes me sad that the romance of NYC seems to have suffered from a work-related paralytic stroke.

Permalink: Tourism_is_overrated_.html
Words: 196
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 07/10/10 10:03

Category: music

07/08/10 09:26 - 83.ºF - ID#52126

I feel the earth move!

How cool is acoustic Paul Gilbert singing Carole King?

Yep. Ãœbercool. The complete version in it's full glory. Check out the blow-your-mind guitar solo!

Oh, and this has got to be the coolest musical theatre parody of the song:

Permalink: I_feel_the_earth_move_.html
Words: 50
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 07/08/10 09:32

Category: the odes

06/30/10 02:08 - 54.ºF - ID#52062

Topical laughs

Ha. Ha.

{For those not caught up yet. ;-)}

Permalink: Topical_laughs.html
Words: 16
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/30/10 09:56

Category: eating in

06/26/10 05:36 - 74.ºF - ID#52046

Spirit of summer salad dressing

And you thought it was impossible to capture the essence of summer in a salad dressing, didn't you? Well... you were mistaken.

The inspired spirit of summer salad dressing:
-- Extra virgin olive oil
-- Granny Smith Apples
-- Super ripe heirloom tomatoes

-- Garlic (smashed with the apples, oil and tomatoes in a mortar and pestle)
-- Ripe oranges
-- JalapeÃ±os
-- Green onions
-- Salt
-- Black pepper.

Blend all of this together in a blender and voila, you have spirit of summer in the blender jar. I recommend tossing kale, red-onions, roasted almonds and strawberries with this dressing for a super-awesome summer salad. :-)

Permalink: Spirit_of_summer_salad_dressing.html
Words: 110
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/26/10 10:47

Category: science

06/25/10 11:48 - 70.ºF - ID#52033

What everyone needs to know about glycemic indices.

I was getting ready to rant about how glycemic indices are not the whole truth for diabetics. However, I found that this fine woman has done it for me already and written it REALLY well.

I highly recommend that all of you check out her article when you get a chance. We may not all be diabetics but I can guarantee that many of us are living with some amount of insulin resistance.

The take home point is that the sooner we get rid of a good portion of pure carbohydrate sources in our diet (and replace it with raw/cooked produce), the longer we can expect to live without diabetes and other chronic diseases. There is no such thing as "good carbs" - it is just a euphemistic marketable term for carbohydrates that are complexed with more fiber. Why not then just consume more fiber sources (produce) that are complexed with natural micronutrients (minerals and vitamins)?

It's about time the food and dieting industry stopped misinforming and influencing the population. And by population, I do mean doctors and nutritionists as well.

Permalink: What_everyone_needs_to_know_about_glycemic_indices_.html
Words: 182
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/25/10 11:51

Category: music

06/19/10 11:40 - 71.ºF - ID#51971

Unsyncopated Ensemble Beats

Apparently this track has some of those.

What on earth is an unsyncopated ensemble beat? Do people outside of Pandora's offices even know whatever it means?

Unsyncopation aside, electronic musicheads on (e:strip) - any tips on finding music similar to this particular track? The track sounds a bit like Prodigy's staggered-big-beats-bass-line old stuff but I am not sure who else sounds similar - any clues?

PS: Yes, I know it's on the Matrix soundtrack but most of the other tracks are lame - perhaps they aren't unsyncopated enough. Who knows... I tried building a song-based channel but Pandora's similar music engine seems to be churning out pretty dis-unsyncopated music. I also sampled Rob Dougan's other stuff. But most if it is rather slow and puts me to sleep. The Rob Dougan radio on Last.fm switches to E. S. Posthumous and the rest of the neo-cinematic ilk - but this is clearly an underground big-beat club dance track.

Permalink: Unsyncopated_Ensemble_Beats.html
Words: 162
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/19/10 11:47

Category: buffalo

06/19/10 09:50 - 72.ºF - ID#51970

Have scissors. Will travel.

I got a smashing haircut from an actual celebrity hairstylist today. Not just a celebrity in the hairstyling world in NYC but a celebrity in the true Hollywood sense. :-)

You can see him in the wedding scene in a recent film called "When in Rome".

He has cut and styled Robert DiNiro's and Madonna's hair and till recently, used to run a hair salon right in the heart of Union Square, NYC. However, ownership of a big and affordable house and westside Italian family roots beckoned in Buffalo and he moved here earlier this year.

So, if you are game for a celebrity hairdo and some riotous banter, head over to SuperCuts near Delaware and Amherst and ask for Roberto. I guarantee it will be an entertaining one. ;-)

Permalink: Have_scissors_Will_travel_.html
Words: 133
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/19/10 09:51

Category: eating in

06/18/10 09:11 - 65.ºF - ID#51942

Breakfast lentil Smoothie

I have a new breakfast favourite and recipe was a complete accident.

I had chopped granny smith apples and carrots for a salad yesterday but in a moment of distraction, I tossed them in when I was sautÃ©ing green onions and garlic today.

When I realized that it was not zucchini but granny smiths, I stopped sautÃ©ing. The onions were still translucent and not browned. I added cooked french lentils and kidney beans, brought it to a boil and purÃ©Ã©d it all. Garnished it with powdered coriander, cumin and fresh coriander leaves and thinned it out with water and freshly-squeezed lemon juice.

And that's what I am having for breakfast - spiced and steamy lentil smoothie with carrots, apples and onions. It's delicious! :-)

Permalink: Breakfast_lentil_Smoothie.html
Words: 127
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/18/10 09:11

Category: buffalo

06/13/10 12:12 - 65.ºF - ID#51872

Mystery Insect

Does anyone know what this mystery insect is?

It looks like a millipede but is waaay too fast and light. I see it sometimes scurrying on the walls of my flat.

tinypliny writes at 05:56:05 06/17/10 - Comment #56843: what is a google goggle? :)

enknot writes at 05:50:03 06/17/10 - Comment #56838: Looks like it's time for google goggles.

tinypliny writes at 09:18:18 06/15/10 - Comment #56766: Ooh - what a cool idea. I don't have any such thing and often grab bugs with my hands (and get grossed out a day later if I rip out a leg or two).

libertad writes at 09:15:04 06/15/10 - Comment #56764: That is what I was thinking. I have a container set a side just for capturing and releasing insects. It is a plastic deli container and works great because it has a thin lid that I can slide under the container once I have the bug in it. I don't think I have ever injured one in the process. They can withstand losing their legs anyways.

tinypliny writes at 08:59:28 06/15/10 - Comment #56755: I think they are light enough that they float to the ground and scamper away. How do you capture them without squishing them?

libertad writes at 11:34:04 06/14/10 - Comment #56744: I hate those things. I know they kill other bugs and stuff but they "bug me out". I capture them and throw them out the window. I wonder if they are OK after the fall from a second floor apartment window?

leetee writes at 11:40:44 06/13/10 - Comment #56717: way back when, after we had just moved to this house, part of pmt gave us a ride home very late at night. we offered a tour of the house. and would you know it, as soon as i turned on a light, one of those little creepy things ran right in front of us. i stomped the thing super quick and embarrassed. scared me...

tinypliny writes at 12:39:13 06/13/10 - Comment #56665: hehe I just threw that one into the trash. It was hovering dangerously close to my clothes closet and no one wants one of these crawling around in their shirts and socks.

terry writes at 12:27:17 06/13/10 - Comment #56664: scooterjeramorph!!!!

they are my favorite house pet, they eat other bugs supposedly, which is good. but i try to weed out the ones that feel comfortable scuttling around in the not dark by throwing them out the window.

heidi writes at 12:19:39 06/13/10 - Comment #56663: Scutigeridae
:::link:::

tinypliny writes at 12:19:37 06/13/10 - Comment #56662: Ohhh! :::link:::

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Myriapoda (Myriapods)
Class Chilopoda (Centipedes)
Order Scutigeromorpha (House Centipedes)

I see.

tinypliny writes at 12:18:11 06/13/10 - Comment #56661: Scootergeramorph?! Is that a real word?!

Does it sting or bite?

paul writes at 12:15:40 06/13/10 - Comment #56660: It is called a house centipede. Some people call it a scootergeramorph, or something like that.

Permalink: Mystery_Insect.html
Words: 33
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/13/10 12:12

Category: science

06/13/10 11:50 - 65.ºF - ID#51871

Spit for the Cure

We had a massive recruitment campaign yesterday and persuaded around 1000 people to donate their saliva to cancer research at Roswell. It's amazing how much dependent our quality of research is, on the type and number of people who decide to participate.

Permalink: Spit_for_the_Cure.html
Words: 41
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/13/10 12:15