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Tinypliny's Journal

tinypliny
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01/25/2012 18:33 #55981

Awesome soup for a winter's day
Category: eating in
I wanted to get back to work fast so I made a super fast soup just now in 10 minutes flat. It was so tasty, it's all gone. I want to remember this soup on horrible days when I don't feel like cooking.

1. Heat the wok to a high temperature.
2. Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
3. Immediately add some cumin and dried chillies
4. Add chopped red onions. Stir around till coated with the cumin, chillies and oil.
5. Add chopped ripe tomatoes. Stir around for a minute or so. Smash the tomatoes.
6. Add pre-roasted acorn squash. Stir till incorporated into the tomatoes and onions.
7. Add pre-cooked quinoa.
8. Add a generous quantity of fresh basil.
9. Add some water (preferably water that has been used to cook beans or lentils)
10. Salt to taste.

And you are done. Best soup ever!

01/24/2012 17:24 #55977

Spatula of dreams
Category: eating in
Behold... and then behold some more!

image
tinypliny - 01/25/12 08:17
I never liked wood spatulas before but I now have several scratches on my big new wok and frying pans from my stainless steel spatulas. :/ Over time these scratches produce irregularities that leads to stir-fries burning easily at the high temperatures you cook them in. And I am sure bamboo is much tastier than teflon. ;-)
paul - 01/25/12 07:55
I don't love wood n bamboo ones they always seem to degrade over time. I have a stainless steal one I really love.
tinypliny - 01/24/12 23:29
that thing is HUGE. I literally have to stand at one end of my kitchen to stir things at the other end. Which also tells you my kitchen is tiny... but you get the idea!
tinypliny - 01/24/12 18:14
I have NEVER had such a nice spatula before. The possibilities are... well possibilities!
tinypliny - 01/24/12 18:13
You nailed it.
metalpeter - 01/24/12 18:08
Yes Whacking is fun I'll be right over.... Oh wait I forgot you mean the Mafia Whack and cut into pieces and then dump parts by the Hollywood sign ? HA.....
tinypliny - 01/24/12 17:54
I cannot help drooling over this spatula! :) You could easy whack people with it AND saute kale!
tinypliny - 01/24/12 17:52
that is so weird. I did not post that picture of the skies this time. It kind of got carried over from the last post. I have seen this happen before, in (e:Paul)'s posts!! (e:Paul) - is this a bug in your (e:strip) application or a bug in the camera software of ice-cream sandwich? What do you think?? This feels like a bug!
metalpeter - 01/24/12 17:32
Ah two for the price of One....

01/23/2012 17:05 #55972

Cloudy orange
Category: buffalo
Puffy and gorgeous

image
libertad - 01/23/12 20:01
I wish i wasn't in my cube.
metalpeter - 01/23/12 17:32
cool looking sky

01/23/2012 14:19 #55969

Monthly estimated data usage
Category: i-tech
I am exploring options and wondering whether to switch to mobile broadband completely. I looked at these plans:

I don't have a data plan for my smartphones yet because I use them as fancy alarm clocks and never really carry them around. I don't like having a "phone" on me. I guess it's because I don't like talking over phone AT ALL - which is a funny excuse considering only a handful of people actually have my phone number and I don't talk to them using the phone at all.

I exclusively voice/video conference through Google's services or very rarely through Skype. I am subscribed to pre-paid international talktime via Google which enable me to call family using any internet access anywhere. {I think it doesn't work without internet access - in which case, I have emergency international call minutes from Reliance.}

According to this tool:
  • I occasionally stream videos - almost all from youtube.
  • I seldom stream music. If I do, it's from pandora.
  • I never use apps or play online games.
  • I send and receive photos, files and documents all the time (with more documents than any other kind of files - but they obviously don't factor this in).
  • I surf the web all the time. Eh? Who doesn't. Everything is online. I wonder what their definition of "surfing the web" actually is.
  • I check email all the time. I am always connected.

My monthly estimated data usage is 8.27 GB/month. Does that make me an average or above-average user? I wonder...

I still don't know if I really need mobile broadband internet access. If I do get a mobile internet plan, I am not sure it makes sense to have the wired plan as well. I am thinking about this because mum wrote to me today about how she has finally ditched traditional wired access for a 3g/4G enabled USB mobile broadband access - as the primary home internet connection. She wondered if I could do this in US at reasonable costs.

Do any of you use 3G/4G networks for internet access at home through your laptops? Do you find these mobile broadbands completely replacing the need for your wired DSL/cable-modem access? What are your data estimates like? Which mobile and traditional internet providers are you with?
tinypliny - 01/24/12 12:15
LOL, were you watching the revival or the classic 70s version? So many Indian connections in that show. Somehow I never had the time to get into it. :::link:::
matthew - 01/24/12 11:44
My large amount of data usage can be summed up in two words; Upstairs, Downstairs.
tinypliny - 01/23/12 22:25
Hmm. , , 12 GB/month is top 1%. Interesting. So everyone must have a wired home connection. Mobile broadband has not replaced traditional internet quite so massively as cellphones have replaced landlines.
tinypliny - 01/23/12 22:22
Matt hit 12GB on mobile? Wow. What takes it up the most, do you think? Streaming videos? Or just uploading/downloading large resolution pics?

yes, you do have a point there. Having limits every month is no fun. Back home, I regularly went over the limit every month and paid extra sums all the time. My parents, on the other hand, seldom use even the minimum allocated data limits. So maybe mobile 3G/4G plans might work out great for them...

paul - 01/23/12 22:08
I think the cost is too extreme for your consumption. Maybe sprint with its unlimited plan. Although I have heard mixed reviews on the speed. I have AT&T unlimited which is no longer offered as an option. However, when Matt hit 12GB one month they wrote to tell him to use less or get canceled as he was in the top 1% of mobile data users. He switched to using wiring when at home which brought it down. However, if you canceled your home internet, it wouldn't work out.

01/22/2012 11:05 #55961

Happy Happy Birthday, Paul!
Category: e:strip
I am not entirely sure exactly when it is but I think this is about the right time.

First, I got some random people to pose for you.
image

Then, I baked some cakes.
Cake 1
image
Cake 2
image

I got kind of carried away. Two more.
Cake 3
image
Cake 4
image

Then I realized they are not really good for your teeth anymore. So I threw a party on your behalf because I don't like cakes too much either. These people came.
image

Thankfully all of them were very fond of cake. When it was all gone, we realized we HAD to do something special for you, our birthday boy in absentia. So we then did some communal and healthful art for you.
image

One of my guests decided that was not personal enough. So you got this mugshot:
image

Some of the younger guests thought all that was too sterile and made this instead:
image

Overall, all our sentiments are summed up (in a non-fire-hazard way) as:

image


NB: Stolen from around the web. You know who you are if it is yours. Quit whining.
heidi - 01/22/12 15:25
That's awesome, (e:tinypliny)! I'm glad there's sunshine for your birthday, (e:Paul)! Happy happy day!
metalpeter - 01/22/12 13:12
Happy Birthday Paul
tinypliny - 01/22/12 11:52
ha! I woke up and I thought, this feels like Paul's birthday. Seriously!
paul - 01/22/12 11:28
Wow thanks - that is so cute. It is actually today.