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Blaugust 2015, Day 2 – How I Prefer to Communicate

Many bloggers communicate with our readers more through social media than through the comments on our actual blog these days. What is your favorite way to communicate with your readers? – Void

My favorite way to communicate with the people who read my blog is by blogging. I am appreciative of everyone who visits this blog on a regular basis; I assume that they do so because they enjoy reading what I write more often than they do not. I hesitate to aggregate them, then, as “readers” because that sounds a bit impersonal and stand-offish to me. If I were running my blog as some sort of business and trying to sell something, then perhaps things would be different, but as it stands, I do this because I truly enjoy doing it – one could say that I do, indeed, love it – and that this is reflected in the fact that I strongly prefer to communicate with people who read my blog(s) via the actual blog posts and in subsequent comments.

I am active on Twitter and passive on Anook. I use Twitter primarily as a means of communicating with people as human beings about things that I think are interesting or humorous. I have learned to restrain myself over time as my rather juvenile sense of humor is at times more obnoxious than hilarious; this usually results in a Tweet that is deleted a couple of minutes later. Twitter doesn’t have editing capabilities like blogging platforms do and severely limits the length of one’s message, so I tend to emphasize levity over gravity and humanness over being a human who plays games when using Twitter.

I’m on the fence as to whether I want to continue to publicize my daily posts on Twitter because that feels spammy to me; my Tweet history is made up entirely of things that I’ve said that hold up under scrutiny and that I do not feel embarrassed about having said. I’m already satisfying the requirements of the Blaugust Challenge by cross-posting to Anook which is a bit of a chore. Doing it again on Twitter makes it feel mechanical to me which is the polar opposite of the authenticity and emotion that permeate my writing. I understand why Jeromai hates Twitter – I’m following just over a hundred people and I have enough trouble trying to keep with my timeline in the context of sifting through cat pictures and ceaseless retweet barrages to find things that I’m interested in. (For the record, I’ve retweeted cat pictures.) It’s a mechanical process that places additional demands on my time; these demands tend to take time away from living my life.

If something’s going to be taking time away from my life, I’d strongly prefer that that something is a thing that I love doing. I love being able to spend hours writing and editing a blog post. I love being completely satisfied with my work. I’ve learned to love doing this even if it means I’m only publishing one or two posts per month. That’s where the people who read my blog get my most heartfelt self, and that’s why I prefer to communicate with others in the context of the “long-hand” written word over any other medium.

Blaugust 2015 Initiative Page

8 thoughts on “Blaugust 2015, Day 2 – How I Prefer to Communicate

  1. I like commenting on blogs, those times I have something to say. Or I just like the post i dont like commenting them on twitter and id rather have ppl commenting on my blog rather then twitter. I do share posts there though as thats where most my traffic comes from.

    1. I do as well. Twitter is a nice fallback in those cases where I like something but don’t feel that I have anything substantive to say about it – I’ll just tap that little star in those cases. Publicizing on Twitter is quite effective – there have been times where I’ve clicked on a linked article in a Tweet even though I have the author in Feedly.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Telling me that you liked the post in a comment is just as good as a button click as far as I’m concerned. I don’t use Facebook, either. One of these days I’ll look into the features that free WordPress has to offer beyond displaying text and images in public places.

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Australia Women v New Zealand Women at Sydney, Rose Bowl

I name each of my posts after a random match that is happening on that particular day – the point being is that there is always cricketing happening somewhere on the globe.  It could be England-Australia in front of a packed house at Lord’s, or it could be two Zimbabwean domestic teams playing in front three people at some shit ground no one has ever heard of.

There is always cricket.

Just today, for instance, there are matches happening in the following tournaments: The Women’s Twenty20 Internationals; The Premiere League Tournament – Tiers A and B (Sri Lankan domestic); the Ranji Trophy Elite; the Coca-Cola Pro50 Championship (Zimbabwean domestic); the Big Bash League (I still cannot get over how stupid a name that is); the Caribbean T20; the CSA Provincial T20 Challenge; The England Lions tour of Bangladesh; and the CSA U19 Competition.

That’s a lot of cricket today.

And some might say that is a good thing, that it shows that our game is healthy. That’s eight different tournaments happening on all four points of the cricketing globe: Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Zimbabwe, the West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa.

The game is healthy, vibrant, growing.

Or maybe not.

The bulk of those tournaments involve the game’s shortest format, and I bet that at least half of the matches happening today are, for all intents and purposes, meaningless (the pun in that sentence will become clear later.)

The first problem mentioned in the sentence above is one we are all aware of, but the prevalence of T20 at the domestic level I think is finally starting to affect test cricket. Not only are the game’s biggest names struggling in tests, but there is a real dearth of younger crickets available to take their places, because none of them were raised on first class cricket.

(One cricketing board has outlawed twenty20 for U20s and younger – really cannot remember which one though – but good on them.)

Plus the stars of the game are being forced, for a lack of better word, to play so much freaking cricket that when they do finally get to play in marquee test series, they are just simply plumb worn out; which is why we are getting so many tests ending in three or four days instead of going the distance. (I have yet to explore the stats on that claim, but I will look into it.)

Indian batsmen, for instance, are spending six weeks playing in the IPL, when they should be in England playing county cricket and learning how to bat outside of the subcontinent.

And regarding the second problem, meaningless matches are prime suspects for matchfixing and spotfixing; they are a gambler’s paradise. (Full credit to the Switch Hit podcast for initially pointing this out to me.)

The influence of the gambling mafia’s money is a BIG problem in World Cricket, and it is a problem at ALL levels – and getting rid of the countless meaningless matches would go along way toward getting rid of this cricketing scourge.

But who is to blame for all of this meaningless T20 cricket? The fans? The players? The TV networks? The cricketing boards? The ICC? The club owners?

That’s the rub: all of the above.

And how to you fix it?  One thought: national boards should outlaw its younger players from playing in domestic tournaments outside of their home tournament. For you have to say that on the surface, the BCCI’s decision to not allow is players to play County Cricket looks like the right decision – but it also hamstrings player development.  (Again, just an example, I don’t mean to single India out.)

I think the answer lies is in us, the fans. I really do. We are clamoring for more cricket, more cricket, more cricket – just look at all of us begging for more five tests series, for example?

It is up to us to let the ICC and the national boards know that we do not want more cricket, we want better cricket.  And when we are given better cricket, we need to support it by paying for Willow TV, buying kits, becoming members, supporting corporate sponsors…etc.

Right now boards in Bangladesh and Australia are being forced to organize T20 mercenary tournaments to survive, let’s give them another means.

It’s of course, not that simple, and we might have even gone too far down the road to turn back; but in order for test cricket to survive, we all need to start getting used to having less cricket.

Sure, it is great having the Caribbean T20 to watch today on ESPN3, and I am looking forward to watching the Bangladesh Premiere League, but I would gladly do without both if it meant Australia and India were 1-1 going into Adelaide.

And there are prime examples for the ICC to look at.  The NFL is printing money by the truck full, yet the season only lasts from September through January.  Players AT MOST play in 23 games a season (16 regular season, four pre-season, four inthe playoffs and Super Bowl.)

Obviously, such a format would never work for cricket, but there has to be a way to get our sport closer to such a model.

For the sake of the game: less cricket.

Finally, I had thought about ending this post with a note that I was no longer going to name each of my posts after a match, that I was going to stop being part of the problem. But nah, I really like it – I think it makes my blog stick out a little, so I am going to keep doing it for now.

And that’s your Saturday cricketing ramble.

Look early next week for a couple progamming notes, as well as a proper preview of the BPL (no joke.)

Until next time.

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New Zealand v South Africa at Dunedin, 1st Test

The last two days I have written about the top two fastest ODI centuries in the knockout stages of a major tournament.

Today: number three.

The match: the Final of the 2011 World Cup.

As anyone who’s anyone knows, the match damn near bled intangible cricketing moments – it was soaked in players recognizing the situation and upping their game just one more notch to compensate.

The match was played in a pressure cooker, and a handful of players responded with the performances of their lives.

It also included a fabulous century from Sri Lankan batsman, Mahela Jayawardene, the third fastest ODI century in the knockout stage of a major tournament: and just like Clive Lloyd yesterday, it happened in the final of the World Cup.

Two out of the top three so far, amazing.

The scene: India v Sri Lanka. Mumbai, April the 2nd, 2011. 42,000 people at the Wankhede Stadium and the whole of India watching, the whole of world cricket watching…

I don’t need to go too much into detail, but Sri Lanka were 122-3 through 27.5 overs when Jayawardene strolled to the crease. He went on to score 103 runs off of only 88 balls, an efficient and much needed knock for Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately, he could not quite put together a long enough partnership to get his team over three hundred, and Sri Lanka ended at 274, setting an achievable target for India, the hosts.

Fortunately, however, Lasith Malinga also siezed the moment: getting Sehwag out lbw for a duck, and getting Tendulkar out for only 18.

But the final drop of magical waters were left for the captain, MS Dhoni, who hit a lovely 91 not-out off of 79 deliveries…

…and of course, he hitting the game winning runs with a magnificent six…

Go ahead, watch it again, you know you want to:

This is where we come to the crux of this whole argument, as Dhoni’s 91 will long be remembered as a phenomenal performance under the most extreme pressure imaginable, but Jayawardene’s is long forgotten, despite the fact that he hit that random number of 100, and that he did it under just as much pressure.

Well, not just as much, but still a great deal….

I am really enjoying researching these posts, but I don’t know how much I enjoy writing them, as I feel like they are one giant contradiction, a touch farcical, largely inaccurate, and a little aimless.

But I guess I am proving my own point from a few days ago: the only way to know which cricketers step up their game when it matters, is to watch a whole lot of cricket…

I will never forget Dhoni’s innings, surely, despite the fact that he didn’t reach a meaningless triple digit amount of runs.

Tomorrow, parts four and five, combined into one post.

On the pitch: test cricket!

So, if you will excuse me…

Until tomorrow.

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The Waiting

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for Test cricket to be back. Only five more days until Australia versus South Africa.

Five measly more days.

Totally doable considering it has been almost two months since the last Test (India versus New Zealand in Bangalore).

The longest wait between Test matches was of course during World War Two.

I have written about the last match before the war previously, but I have never explored the first match to take place after the fighting was over: New Zealand versus Australia at Wellington on 29 and 30 March, 1946.

It was Australia’s first Test match in New Zealand, and the visitors won the one-off match by an innings and 103 runs.

The hosts won the toss and chose to bat, only to collapse for only 42 all out. The highest score for the Kiwis was a measly 14 for Verdun Scott. Australia went on to amass only 199 before declaring (I think) and forcing the follow on – and promptly bowling out their hosts for only 52.

The match was a disaster for New Zealand, and there is really not a whole lot more to say about it.

The match did feature Walter Hadlee for the Kiwis, who would go on to be one of the most powerful men ever when it comes to cricket in New Zealand until a poorly thought out recomendation in 1980 that South Africa be granted Test status put a black mark on his legacy.

Mr. Hadlee was also, of course, the father of Sir Richard Hadlee, the greatest New Zealand cricketer of all time.

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One Response to The Waiting

  1. jan says:

    I share your excitement about #AUSvSA series. Last time these two met it was spectacular!
    However living in GMT+1 timezone while Brisbane is in GMT+10 is going to prevent me from watching. If only The British Empire had chosen to make its penal colony closer to Europe 🙂

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Tempeh Meatballs (Meatless Meatballs v2)

This seriously might be the BEST thing I have made to date. Seriously. We are now officially addicted to these meatballs to the point where my husband is asking for meatball sandwiches for breakfast. I use fresh handmade tempeh by Barry’s Tempeh which is made in Brooklyn and my own breadcrumbs.

I know a lot of you can’t get fresh tempeh so I cannot vouch for how good this recipe will be with store bought tempeh but if you are going to try it, use Soy Boy tempeh.

I am indebted to Isa Moskowitz and her book, Isa Does It! for the initial tempeh cooking method. But the rest of my recipe diverges from hers. I have a two step process with these meatballs which I believe ensures max flavor. First, after assembly, I bake them and then when we are ready to eat them, I heat them up in my cast iron skillet with a little oil.

Also, as you can see in the picture, we are not a drown-our-meatballs-with-sauce kind of family but feel free to dump as much sauce over your meatballs as you wish to! Or make meatball heroes with sauce or sandwiches with ketchup. Whatever works!

Note: If you don’t feel like sautéing onions and garlic, you can use a teaspoon each onion and garlic powder. Add more, to taste. Also, add a flax egg to moisten the mixture (1 tablespoon of ground flax + 3 tablespoons water.)

Tempeh Meatballs, makes 24 – 30 *
1 lb. soy tempeh
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon tamari
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (oregano + marjoram + thyme + basil + rosemary + sage)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (nooch)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, optional

Break up the tempeh in crumbles. They don’t have to be too fine, just so that the block is broken up. Add to a pot along with the water and tamari. Mix it all together to try to coat the tempeh with the tamari. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Every few minutes go in with a wooden spoon and break the tempeh up even more.

Let the tempeh sit and cool. In the meantime, dice an onion into a small dice and mince the garlic. Place in a pan and water or oil sauté until soft.

In a small bowl, mix together the miso and tomato paste. Add it to the tempeh along with the onions and garlic, the Italian seasoning, salt, breadcrumbs, nooch and parsley if using. Mix well.

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form balls by really packing the mixture together, rolling the mixture between your palms.

Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely.

At this point, you can store in the refrigerator and/or the freezer. When ready to serve, heat a small amount of high heat oil on a cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one, a nonstick pan will do. Once the oil is hot, add the balls and roll them around coating the whole ball with oil. Cook for a few minutes until heated through.

If you are making a big bowl o’ spaghetti and sauce, get it ready before the balls are ready and then serve as pictured. Or toast the bread or hero and pile the meatballs in. Enjoy!


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Some thoughts on Blog Awards

blog awards

I remember when I first started noticing award buttons on blogs. Sprinkled down the right side of the page, proclaiming everything from Sunshine to Versatility to Beauty. Huh, I wondered. A Liebster Award? What does that entail? And more importantly, how can I get one?

It wasn’t too long after I started blogging regularly that I started getting nominated for things. I’m not saying that to brag; I think it’s just an integral part of blogging on WordPress. Do it long enough, be engaged enough, read a large enough pool of other blogs, and sooner or later, you’ll have accrued several “Congratulations!” comments on your About page.

As you can imagine, I was really excited the first time I was nominated for an award. I spent hours (literally) devising clever answers and coming up with the list of blogs that I, in turn, would honor with a nomination.

But then I paused.

Instead of publishing the post, I let it languish in draft state over the weekend. Come Monday, I had decided not to post it.

At their best, Blog Awards are a community-driven form of recognition. They’re low-impact, entertaining, and help you to get to know your blogger a bit better. It’s a way for bloggers to share links to other blogs they admire, a way to build cohesion and a mini-community within the mind-boggling 75 MILLION WordPress sites in the world. I also genuinely enjoy reading them; they’re sort of like virtual icebreakers, and the questions that people come up with are often quirky and clever.

On the other hand, blog awards are, in an almost ironic way, the opposite of inclusive. Like I said, I always read blog award posts because they’re light & easy. But the whole time, I’m thinking nervously to myself, Will MY blog be included on the list? Have I gotten tagged this time, or did I get passed over in favor of someone more popular/eloquent/entertaining?

Perhaps that’s part of the reason why the term “award” confuses me. After all, they’re not really awards in the traditional sense, are they? And by “award,” I’ll defer to the Oxford Dictionary’s definition: “a prize or other mark of recognition given in honor of an achievement.” But if any blogger can “win” an award (and very, very easily, I might add), then I think that’s a diminishment of the original term. Instead, I see them as occupying a space somewhere in between field-day ribbons, those strange MySpace chain letters from years ago, and the factually suspicious articles my dear, confused aunt is always posting on Facebook.

Let me be clear: I’m not advocating the abolishment of blog awards. Heck, I’m going to continue to read them the same way I’m going to keeping looking at the weekly “What were they thinking?!” photo gallery over on Yahoo celebrity, because dammit, it’s FUN.

But maybe, instead of calling them “awards,” we should admit what they really are: A spotlight of sorts, an impermanent Blogroll where suggestions and pathways to other parts of WordPress are fleetingly posted and quickly forgotten.  I also think that for people who aren’t on WordPress, blog awards can be not only confusing, but alienating. A lot of my readership comes from Facebook, because people who I’ve known for years have come to respect my opinions, and I wouldn’t want to thrust something that seems like an inside joke in their face in return.

If the point of blog awards is to humanize bloggers by prompting them to share little-known facts about themselves, then I question the validity of that, too. After all, isn’t that the point of regular posts? I would hope that by sharing my interpretations of books and movies and by reflecting on the difficulties and joys in my life, that those who read my blog are able to get a sense of who I am. I always feel deeply rewarded, for example, when I read a work of fiction like The Inheritance of Loss or Cloud Atlas and think afterwards that I managed to get a sense of the author’s personal psychology.

But, if you’d like to know more about me, some pure, cold, hard facts, then consider the following:

Every day I wake up reluctantly and usually hit the snooze button a minimum of three times. I despise being late but I am always late to everything. My heart bursts whenever I think of my little sister, of whom I am so proud and protective, and I have a latent sense of guilt that I went to college so far away and left her alone to slog through high school. I think the worst feeling is the sense that your dignity has been (temporarily) removed. I unconsciously count steps when I’m climbing stairs, but it’s been 4 1/2 years since I took a math class and I can’t remember how to calculate slope. I’ve lived through 21 summers and 25 winters. Sometimes I think about all the crazy people who were in high school with me and it scares me to think that now they can vote and drive cars and buy houses and make big decisions. And sometimes I worry that I was a little too influenced by The Fountainhead.

Now, the verdict: Was that paragraph interesting to read? Perhaps. But I’d like to think that you could learn more about me from reading about how much I hated The Wolf of Wall Street and how much I loved The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Saying “I am, I am, I am” is a very direct and superficial way of introducing yourself, and I find that the most interesting people, and books, and movies, and yes–BLOGGERS–reveal themselves little by little.

So go ahead. Keep writing, bloggers. Because I’ll be getting to know you through every single sentence you share.

20 thoughts on “Some thoughts on Blog Awards

  1. Very Interesting. Now you make us all look like fools! Ha!!
    Nah!! just kiddin’, I know, I was getting tired of getting awards, and you might recall I specifically asked people not to nominate me.
    Speaking on your query of ‘if anyone can win a blog award…..’, I suppose that’s why, nobody really wins an award, they just gets nominated 🙂 Like Leonardo DiCaprio.
    And Blog award or not, you did get o write a load about yourself in the end 😉
    But I do agree, one can get a vague insight into a persons personality through his/her writings.

    1. Oh dear, that wasn’t my intention! I just felt bad for ignoring all my nominations. I do remember you asking people to please stop nominating you for things…that was pretty funny 🙂
      You are right, that big paragraph toward the end was quite indulgent on my part, but I think it’s ok just this once.

  2. A bit late to the party, but I understand – I’ve been nominated quite a bit through the years but have stopped doing them/responding to them because as much as I’m flattered, I also don’t like people feeling left out, and I also think it’s a little pointless (to be very blunt), especially to people who have been blogging for a while. It is a lot like chain emails circa the 90s/early 2000s! I occasionally do blog posts highlighting what I’ve been reading around the blogosphere too, so would rather highlight things in that more organic way 🙂 Your post definitely gets to the core of something that’s been bothering me recently.

    1. I’m usually several days behind on reading blogs, so no worries 🙂

      They are quite similar to chain emails, though not quite as bad. I much prefer “Blogger Love” type posts, where you’re required to write something meaningful about the blogs you admire, so I’m glad to hear that’s what you do! It doesn’t help that the graphics for the Blog Awards are usually really poorly designed & pixelated.

  3. You are dead on. This is why I do Featured Blogs on my blogs. That way it is more personal. I stopped responding to blog awards. Instead, I highlight blogs from time to time in a different way, the way I know how. However, there is this tight competition right now that I actually want to get a good shot at. Please vote for me — > It is a shameless plug ’cause I need reinforcements. 😆 You know how I highlight other blogs on my blog.

  4. It’s always nice to be recognized by other bloggers, but I can definitely understand your sentiments. I’m curious about how you were influenced possibly too much by The Fountainhead… hmmm…. see it totally works, now I want to know more…

    1. haha yeah, I sort of wrote that paragraph in one go and then looked back and thought hmm, should I put in more mundane stuff? Like that my favorite color is blue? Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless. 🙂 (Oh, and I read The Fountainhead in my high school libertarian phase, and now I look back and am slightly disturbed by how much I identified with it haha). Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  5. I agree entirely. But heh, I won’t turn them down anyway! I like it that they make my blog look really successful to outsiders, even though wordpress people know other wise!

    1. haha I think they’re the mark of a successful blog both outside of and on WordPress!! I’ve always liked your Friday Shout-Outs series, btw. I think that’s another good way to promote/share other blogs. I might steal that idea sometime.

  6. I agree with you! While it’s so lovely to be given so-called ‘awards’, I worry about excluding people when it comes to passing them along. They seem a bit ‘Hotmail chain letter circa 2001’ sometimes. I’ve decided that I won’t really do them anymore, because I prefer to interact with people via the comments rather than on a congratulatory basis… even though they are a bit of fun! Unless I win the Nobel Peace Prize or something, then I’ll totally post about it. Love your paragraph by the way. 🙂

    1. Thank you! I’ve been on the verge of putting up a blog award post several times, simply because I am always really, really happy & flattered whenever I get nominated. But yes, I do think it’s better to engage with your readers/other blogs via the comment section. And I’m happy that there’s already such a strong precedent of responding to comments on WordPress (unlike on some other blogging platforms like Blogger and Bloglovin, as I’ve noticed).

  7. Thanks for talking about this. I’ve felt exactly the same way, and the most awkward part for me is when it’s my turn to choose my list of 5 or 10 bloggers to pass the award along to. That alone has stopped me from participating, even though I enjoy the recognition and the chance to do the little meme post when I receive the award. I don’t like the idea of singling out a group of bloggers. Of course, then it becomes awkward to not properly “receive” the award as well, but I just realized that if and when I receive an award again, I’ll just let the giver know why I’m not passing it on.

    1. Thanks for your comment, and yes, it is quite awkward, isn’t it? The best response I’ve seen to blog award nominations is “Thank you XX. Your nomination is reward enough for me 🙂 “. I might deploy that sentiment from now on.

  8. I did the exact same when I was nominated for one recently- as nice as it is to acknowledge and congratulate each other, I would rather people engage with me in comments! Nice blog 🙂

    1. Thanks 🙂 And glad you feel the same way. I was 1/2 afraid that some people might get offended by this post, but everyone has been really understanding! I guess it’s something that everyone has to make a decision about sooner or later.

  9. Beautifully put! I have to agree. These awards are kind of patting ourselves on the back, and now that I think of it they are a bit alienating, even for WordPress readers in some cases. What I like about them however is promoting other blogs.
    That paragraph was awesome btw, you didn’t really prove your point, by writing it so well 🙂
    To me the best (or maybe favorite) way to get to know people is the comments section and like you say the blog posts. Hell, even what you blog about is indicative of who you are to some extent.

    1. Aww thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed this post. I tried to keep it pretty tame so that I didn’t offend anyone. Because as you pointed out, they are a good way of promoting other blogs and getting to know people. I just prefer a permanent Blogroll feature where I can showcase the blogs I really, really enjoy and am willing to read every day. And comments, of course!!

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A Little More Each Day

One working mama learning to run & to maintain my 100+ pound weight loss!

Friday Favorites from the road

on February 20, 2015

I’m in Memphis for work for a couple of days and it seriously colder and icier than I was expecting. Yesterday navigating icy sidewalks in heels and a skirt was dicey. I will confess that it’s been harder to stick to my usual healthy habits on this trip because the world (or at least the Peabody) is working against me. 😦 You guys know that I’m a big believer in starting with a healthy breakfast to get my mindset right to resist the temptations of conference food and snacks. I packed my trusty oatmeal packets (more about that back here) only to find out that there is no coffee maker in the hotel room. It’s been ages since I’ve had that issue. No problem – I just hung the card on the door to order oatmeal and fruit from room service for breakfast in the morning. That might have worked, except it never arrived. Grrr. I called and they promised it was coming but when nothing had shown up 15 minutes later, I called back and cancelled it because I had to go. I stopped in the deli down in the lobby and resisted the giant dessert selection calling my name to buy some yogurt and a fruit cup. I ate my yogurt and opened the fruit cup to find moldy blueberries. Yuck. They offered a new one but I just got a refund and headed to the conference, where as expected, breakfast was a large array of bagels, muffins and croissants. Le sigh. First world problems, I know, but starting my day without my healthy routine made it so tempting all day to slip-slide away and say that this trip didn’t count in terms of food. I know I can’t keep doing that, so I’ll try to hold it together for another couple of days. (PS Apologies for the giant chunk of whiny text!)

They did have yogurt cups but they were the full fat, full sugar ones from Yoplait and I was too shocked by the calorie count for a little cup to take one. Yikes!

They did have yogurt cups but they were the full fat, full sugar ones from Yoplait and I was too shocked by the calorie count for a little cup to take one. Yikes!

Okay, enough whining. Negativity is rarely a good thing, which brings to my first favorite post to share from this week. Negative self talk is such a struggle for me, in terms of being kind to myself about the things I do, the things I eat, how I look in the mirror, etc. I absolutely agree with Laura over at Mommy Run Fast in her post about negative self talk this week – this is probably the biggest key to truly adopting a healthy lifestyle. She includes some tips for managing the negative self talk, including noticing the negativity and practicing countering positive talk, but I particularly appreciate that she doesn’t pretend these things will “fix” negative self talk. This is something that will always pop up for most people. Hopefully it gets less often over time as we develop a healthier self image, but it will be something that requires constant awareness and practice. Yesterday I practiced this by countering the little voice in my head that said “wow this skirt used to be a lot looser on you” and replaced it “wow does this fit well and look great!”

For more awesome, positive self talk, check out Tiina’s fabulous post You’re not a tree, about stepping outside her comfort zone and tackling new challenges. It is so easy to stay with what is easy, with what we’re already comfortable with, but every once in a while we need to stretch those limits in order to grow. That’s going to trigger a lot of doubt and negativity for a lot of us, but Tiina does a great job showing what can happen when you embrace to possibility of that kind of challenge. You rock Tiina!

With the winter weather, travel interruptions and work stuff, I’m in that early-mid training cycle blah phase. I know if I want that speedy half marathon in May, I need to stick with training and not wimp out now! My body is fine – it’s totally my mind that’s wandering. To keep things going, I’ve decided on a few little rewards for myself. First up, if I do EVERY workout in the training plan for the next two weeks, I’ll treat myself to the new Kelly Clarkson album. Two weeks seems like a good short term goal. I’ll pick a new goal after I achieve that one (ideas?). Hitting every workout means not skimping on strength training twice a week in addition to the runs. This week Jennifer over at Running on Lentils had an interesting post about strength training plans and mixing it up periodically. I like the idea of changing your strength training plan from month to month, to keep things interesting for your brain and your muscles. This weekend, I’m going to look at coming up with a new routine for my next couple of weeks just to mix things up from my usual squats and planks and push ups. If that’s a “no big deal” workout for me now, I need to step it up in order to benefit from it.

What are you guys up to this weekend? I know a lot of people are still struggling with the cold and the ice and the snow. Bundle up! Stay warm and stay sane! Spring will be here soon (right?).

4 responses to “Friday Favorites from the road

  1. Yall are gonna kill me. It’s supposed to be in the 70s here tomorrow! Should be a good weekend though. Tennis tomorrow and Sunday (if we don’t get rained out) and also hoping to get a few more Oscar movies watched and also The Kingsmen. We will see if all that pans out 😉

    Stay warm!

  2. Aww, this gave me the warm fuzzies. Thanks for the shout out!

    And I freaking hate the options that they give at conferences. I try to do the best that I can, but they go out of the way to make it difficult to eat healthy. You would think with as health conscious as people are these days that they would do a better job.

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A Little More Each Day

One working mama learning to run & to maintain my 100+ pound weight loss!

Friday Favorites: Looking up a bit . . .

on December 11, 2015

It is Friday (finally!) and I’m breathing a little easier today. Thanks for your kind comments yesterday. Having a plan, having that exam behind me (fingers crossed I passed it!) and having a weekend ahead of me without anything huge looming all have me feeling a little brighter today. I got through last night’s snackfest meeting with only one regrettable choice, which makes me feel a lot better about heading into tonight’s Christmas party. I’m also planning on treating myself to a nice hour of running tomorrow, which I am definitely looking forward to. When did I become that person? With my cough, I may not go far or fast but I’m gifting that time to myself anyway.

Speaking of gifting, today I am re-gifting some of Oliver’s old toys to a neighborhood in home daycare. While O is theoretically on board with this plan, he’s four and there may be drama if someone came to our house to take his toys, so I decided to load them up to deliver them today. One of the toys we’re donating is a plush Superman that says appropriately comic-book-y things when you touch him, like “Time for a superhero team up!” and “I’ll use my heat vision” and boom, pow, etc. That thing has talked the ENTIRE time I’ve been in the car today because it’s very sensitive to vibration apparently. I’m ready to throw it out on the side of the road. Thank goodness I’m not a litterer.

I've definitely got to get this car full of toys delivered before I go meet O for a cookie decorating party at 3!

I’ve definitely got to get this car full of toys delivered before I go meet O for a cookie decorating party at 3!

This week, I saw a great post on Avoiding food guilt during the holidays that included a lot of tips from the Sweat Pink community that I’d highly recommend checking out. I love the quote at the top of the post “Because guilt is stupid and food is delicious.” Absolutely! I also liked the tip about only eating homemade treats – because those are the most unique and “worth it” – and adjusting your focus toward counting your blessings instead of your calories.  I confess, I also ADORE Christine’s approach to the season here. 🙂

I get emails with articles from my gym, Lifetime Fitness, and almost never share them because some of their advice tends toward the not-evidence-supported end of the spectrum and my scientist brain HATES that stuff when it is presented as fact. However, this week I got an article about reasons we regain weight and it included refreshingly little wack-a-doo with some good things to think about. I did a good job addressing a long term plan for healthy eating and setting new non-weight loss goals while I lost weight, but I definitely fall short in the stress management part of the equation. I also like the advice about re-evaluating your why, because that definitely changes over time. My “whys” for losing weight weren’t necessarily the same as my “whys” for maintaining and that’s definitely something I’ll be re-evaluating again as I head into the new year.

Speaking of the new year, I think I’ve found one of my goals for the 2016. I very strongly identify as a reader and most people who know me would say the same. However, I’ve gotta confess that since having a kid (yes, this is totally his fault – for once something that isn’t my job’s fault!) my time to read has gone out the window. I read blogs and articles on my phone scattered through my day but the time to actually sit and absorb a book – that rarely happens now. I saw this post of 21 books from the last 5 years that every woman should read and realized I’ve only finished 2 of those. Can you guess which ones? I’ve started several others, but they are amidst the giant stack of books on my bedside table and cluttering my Kindle that I’ve never gotten around to reading. In my need to be kind to myself, giving myself more time to read would be a great gift. We’ll be realistic and say that I’ll finish at least 10 of these (not counting the two I’ve already read!) in 2016 and that audiobooks while I run totally count!

I promise myself I'll get to this stack over the break!

I promise myself I’ll get to this stack over the break!

PS Speaking of reading, check out this free downloadable collection of stories “You can do hard things.”

This afternoon we’re going to attempt a Santa visit. Cross your fingers for me! At 4, O is still wary of Santa. His stranger anxiety has always beaten out any joy of Christmas when it comes to meeting Santa and we’ve never had a particularly pleasant encounter. Maybe this is the year? O has asked to go today so fingers crossed it will go well! The window of Santa magic is small and seems to be getting smaller, so I want to soak it up. Confession time: While I acknowledge that for me, my parents were Santa and that for Oliver, I’m Santa, a part of me still believes or maybe just hopes that Santa is real for those who need him. Does that make me nuts? Maybe don’t answer that . . .

Have a great weekend! Be careful maneuvering parking lots and streets – things always get nuts this close to Christmas!

11 responses to “Friday Favorites: Looking up a bit . . .

  1. That book The Runner’s Brain is on my list to read! Glad you passed both your exam and your food-filled meeting yesterday! Hope this weekend’s party and Santa visit go well!

  2. Anna says:

    Love your 2016 goal. I used to love to read, but rarely take the time anymore. Have a great weekend!

  3. I’m with you on making time to read. I just don’t read often enough! Great reminder!

  4. When I had a home daycare, there was a toy in my house that would randomly start making noise. I know it was just sensitive to movement too, but it sure was freaky! I never ever read books. Unless it’s a running book, then I’ll finish it in a day or two! I need to get the running brain book!

  5. So funny, I was just wistfully thinking to myself this morning that I never read book books anymore, and that I’d like to get back into the habit of reading in 2016. I don’t even have a good excuse, I’ve just fallen out of the habit. And I am team O on the Santa thing. I will be 36 next week and have an irrational fear of mascots or people “dressed up”, Santa included!

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Monday, February 10, 2014

You Make My Heart Sing / My Creative Scrapbook

I hope all of you are doing well today :)  Here's another layout I created using the February Main Kit from My Creative Scrapbook.  It features the Love Notes collection from Crate Paper.  You can't tell in the photo, but Reese is wearing a cute little Valentine shirt.  I make it black and white because there were a lot of colors going on that didn't really match up to my papers.

I really love the light teal colors in this line, especially matched up with the reddish pink color.  I decided to layer several of the papers behind my photo.  Behind that is a lot of modeling paste over a chevron template, some watercolor paints and some stamping.

I love layering the embellishments.  Paper on top of chipboard on top of paper with some cord smushed in.  Just keep playing with it until it looks right to you.  I don't like for my pages to get too bulky, so I try not to stack things too high.

A close up of some of the paint, stamping and paste.

Here you can see the dimension a little better.  I just love all the texture here!

These pre-made fan pieces are so fun and cute :)

Be sure to check out all the fun kits HERE.  I made four layouts and five cards with my kit, and I still have product left over!  I just never seemed to run out.  So pick one up today if you like what you see :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

  1. Gorgeous page. Love your mixed media background and the softness of the watercolors. You do layering with such ease that I am in awe.

  2. Such a beautiful page, Missy!! I love the mix of modeling paste and stamping in the background!


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Sunday, November 2, 2014

Creative Scrappers #281

Happy November, y'all!  I hope you're having a great weekend.  The weather here in Florida has been gorgeous!  It's cool and crisp and feels fantastic for a change.  No humidity in the air makes for great hair...haha!

Are you ready for another sketch reveal from Creative Scrappers?  This one is awesome (well, they all are), and I had a great time using it as inspiration for my layout.

Check it out:

I used some of the gorgeous new September Skies collection from Heidi Swapp.  The colors and patterns are so beautiful...and I just love the color magic die cuts!  I began with white cardstock, a Crafter's Workshop stencil and some modeling paste.  I used a diamond shape this time around...for no particular reason except that I hadn't used it in forever.  I went back through the stencil with some acrylic paint and my finger to add some messy diamonds in matching colors.

I also added some triangle stamping around the page.  That is from the stamp set in this collection.

I love this "amazing" stamp.  I stamped it a few times until the ink was gone. I love that faded look.  Here you can also see the textures created from the paste.  That orange flower is one of the color magic die cuts.  They're all white until you spray it with mist, rub it with ink, or rub it with paint, which is what I did.

I really love these transparency words!  And there are triangles, too!  Super adorable.  I added some machine stitching, stickers and washi tape to my top section.

I have never loved wood veneer as much as I do these words...oh my gosh.  I painted this one pink.  A very easy way to add color, and so much fun!  I wish I had about a million of these!

One more shot of the painting and paste texture.  I also painted the wooden camera.  Nothing fancy...seriously.  Just dipped my finger into the paint tube and rubbed it on!  Very scientific...haha.

You should definitely hop on over to the Creative Scrappers Blog and check out the rest of the team's designs.  And don't forget to upload your layout by the end of the month for your chance to win a prize pack from Paper Camellia

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Happy Scrappin'!

  1. This layout is amazing Missy!! Perfect take on the CS sketch, and I love all of the awesome Mixed Media you used in the background!!

  2. So much goodness here, love! The happy palette is so striking, and I adore all your "messy" elements! Just look at those big, piercing eyes. Such a beauty!

  3. Your layouts are always so inspirational, especially the way you create mixed media backgrounds with so much texture! You're the reason I learned about Creative Scrappers. You've also inspired me to scrap with this Heidi Swapp collection that's been sitting on my desk.

  4. This layout is just too amazing for words!! I love all the diamonds so much! The colors are fantastic together, and I love how your used September Skies!! I'm in love!


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Vegan Tuna Salad Sandwich/Sushi and Carrot Ginger Mojito

Canned tuna is one of those things that I have struggled with giving up since trying to make the change to vegan. It just has something about it that I crave. If you are one of my non vegan friends, you are probably thinking why would anyone want to give up tuna, its delicious? Well mercury toxicity and BPA toxicity are a couple of reasons that I really try to avoid any canned fish in general. Overfishing and unsustainable fishing methods is also another couple of reasons I discovered this when I blogged on this issue a while ago (The canned tuna debate).

I admit I have actually been better in recent times to avoid canned fish entirely and other seafood.  A big thing that has stopped me craving tuna is re-educating myself on the reality of the detriment it may have to my health and trying avoid toxins while I endeavour to start preparing myself to have a baby. By the way that’s still a secret! I am still in the stages of getting all my tests done and get any deficiencies sorted before we start trying. I am about to start another detox soon with guidance of my new naturopath, which I’m really excited about! Marco thinks I am the only person in the world excited about doing a detox, especially since my first detox a few years back was so difficult. However, over the last 3 and a half years I have learned a lot and my tastes have really changed. I feel more in control and equip to be able to enjoy the ride this time.

Anyway back to cooking… I tried to make a Mock Tuna Salad with tempeh a while ago. If found the texture was there, but not the fishy taste. So I tried again with chickpeas, umeboshi vinegar and nori. This time I managed to get the taste, but the texture was probably a little to fine. Besides that I much prefer this recipe and found it really versatile for making sandwiches and sushi and it passed the flavour test with Marco and Mum (who said I thought you don’t eat tuna any more).

Tuna Salad 2

Vegan Chickpea ‘Tuna’ (vegan, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

1 tin chickpeas/ 1.25 cup cooked chickpeas

1/2 cup celery, diced

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil (optional, leave out for thicker consistency)

3 teaspoons umeboshi vinegar

3-4 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon himalayan pink salt / sea salt

1 sheet nori (cut into 5 cm strips) or  3 tablespoons crispy seaweed

1. Place chickpeas, celery, onion and olive oil into the processor. Process until the chickpeas have broken down. You may have to keep wiping down the sides with a spatula.

2. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the nori strips. Process until you are happy with the consistency

3. Add nori sheets and adjust seasoning if you need to. Then process for until the nori has been mixed through.

*Makes over 1 cup

Vegan Chickpea ‘Tuna’ Salad Sandwich (vegan, gluten free option, soy free, nut free)

sliced bread ( I used  toasted multigrain vienna sourdough)

2-3 tablespoons vegan tuna per sandwich (recipe above)

sliced tomato

fancy lettuce or mixed lettuce

any other salad items

1. Spread vegan tuna on one side of the bread. Then top with salad items and other slice of bread and enjoy.

 Vegan Chickpea ‘Tuna’ Salad Sushi (vegan, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

1 nori sheet

3 tablespoons cooked quinoa or sushi rice

2-3 tablespoons vegan tuna per sandwich (recipe above)

sliced tomato

fancy lettuce or mixed lettuce

any other salad items

1. Place quinoa in the middle of the nori sheet in a line down the middle.

2. Top quinoa with vegan tuna and salad items.

3. Roll the nori into a sushi roll. Slice in half and enjoy.

For a mid-afternoon beverage to enjoy while I watching FMTV I made this delicious juicy mocktail. Perfect for this muggy weather and to get into the spirit of detoxing.

Carrot Ginger Mojito (vegan, gluten free, soy free, nut free)

4 small carrots

2 apples

small knob ginger

3 cm wide round slice lemon (including skin)

mint leaves from 2 sprigs

cold sparkling water

1. Place all the ingredients except the sparkling water in a juicer.

2. Place the juice in a tall glass or large jar and top with some sparkling water and some mint leaves to serve.

*Serves 1

Merry Christmas to all!

Hope everyone had a good Christmas  I spent the 24th-26th preparing food and eating it. We had Marco’s Birthday Lunch with his family, Christmas lunch and dinner with my family and Boxing day celebrating with his family again for lunch.

We are off to Melbourne tomorrow  I can’t wait! All my family are down there and I haven’t been for a few years. But I am also eager to discover some of the great vegan eats down there too. I have heard that Melbourne is the best state for vegans and vegetarians. I hope I have time. Its difficult to find time to do your own thing when visiting family. I feel guilty for ditching them or that I am not making the most of my time with them. I have a very big italian family. My mum is one of 10 and most of  her siblings live down there with their kids and my father is one of four and his parents and grandmother are still alive. There is always a bit of jealously when I go between one family to the other. I also don’t know how they are going to take my new diet. They love meat down there. I know people think well they others should respect their lifestyle choice as vegan/vegetarian, but I always feel like I should be as little trouble as possible when I stay like people. Thats just the way I have been brought up and if you go against the norm then you are a problem. I am hoping I am worrying about nothing and it will all turn out well!

Over the last few days I cooked for Christmas with my family and for Marco’s family. I made another Rosemary Galette with tomatoes and zucchini, Chat Potato Salad, Sweet Potato CroquettesStone Fruit Slice, and a Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake. I ended up making everything except the Cheesecake for Christmas with my family. Unfortunately none of them even tried or asked about what I cooked. I was a bit annoyed after going to all that effort. This part of my family is very pro meat and milk. They don’t believe that food is important to be healthy and it shows. I hope they don’t read this. Its their choice anyway. At least they didn’t put caesar dressing on the other salads, so I could eat them. It’s something I suppose. They did eat my fudge, which  also brought and Marco served out. Didn’t get any feedback, but considering the plates didn’t come back with any left over I guess they liked it.

I ended up taking the Sweet Pototo Croquettes and both cakes to Marco’s the next day for his family. Considering when I met this Serbian family they ate meat for nearly every meal, they have come a long way. Most of them don’t drink dairy and make a conscious effort to not eat so much meat. It isn’t just my influence, but also cancer, intolerance and a lot of reading that has really changed their eating habits over the past 5 years. So they were really happy with everything I brought and it cheered me up.

Their were also a lot of vegetarian options at their lunch. One of the ladies brought their traditional pita, but instead of putting cheese in them, she put some with semolina and some with grated potato. They were really really good. I couldn’t stop eating them. I wish I took a photo of them. The Serbian’s have traditional called Slava, where they don’t eat any meat or dairy products for a day. So they do have a few vegan friendly recipes. Hopefully I can learn a few.

Below are some of the foods I prepared for Christmas:

Rosemary Galette with Tomato & Zucchini (vegan, nut free)

Adapted from Chloe’s Kitchen???????????????????????????????

1.25 cups plain flour

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon rosemary leaves

1/2 cup nutlex (vegan butter)

5 tablespoons ice cold water

olive oil

2 truss tomatoes

1 small zucchini

1. Preheat the oven 180 degrees and start the dough. Take a large ???????????????????????????????bowl and combining flour, sugar, salt, rosemary in a bowl. Then adding nutlex in small chunks. Use your hands to combine so it becomes like bread crumbs, then add the water, so that it becomes like a dough. Place in the fridge for 10 mins.

2. Roll out the ???????????????????????????????dough with rolling pin on baking paper. Cut out a large circle about 20cm and place into a circle baking pan. Refrigerate for 10 mins.

3. Brush the dough with olive oil, fan sliced tomatoes in the center and add the thinly sliced zucchini around the edges. Then fold down the edges on top of the zucchini and season it all with salt. Refrigerate for 15 mins.

4. Bake for 30-35mins and serve.

Chat Potatoes Salad (vegan, gluten free, nut free)

500g chat Potatoes

olive oil

sea salt

200g soft tofu

1/4 cup olive oil

1  garlic clove

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

4 shallots, chopped

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

vegan sour cream (I used Chef Chloe’s recipe)

1. Preheat oven 180 degrees. Coat the chat poatoes in olive oil and sea salt. Bake for 40 mins or until soft. ???????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????????2. In the meantime prepare the sour cream. Blend the tofu, oil, garlic, lemon, mustard and salt and place in the fridge till you need it. Should make 3/4 of a cup.

3. When potatoes have cooled down cut the potatoes in halfs or quarters. Add sliced shallots and sliced sun dried tomatoes.

4. When ready, coat in sour cream and sea salt.

Mixed Fruit Slice

This is adapted for my Stone Fruit & Berry Slice. I used nectarines, peaches, kiwi fruit, pineapple, green grapes. One thing I really changed was adding a cup of soy milk to the base of the slice when I was making the dough. I also didn’t add maple to the fruit. I just squashed them on top and added a sprinkle of raw sugar.

Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake

This recipe is from The Veggie Nook. Really easy to make. Next time I wouldn’t add so much banana and put a bit more maple syrup in the filling. It was sweet enough for me, but not for Marco.

These are a couple of recipes I have made from leftovers this week, while I was cooking:

Tempeh ‘Tuna’ Salad (vegan, gluten free, nut free)

I have been hearing about this mock tuna for a while, but I never got around to trying to make it. I looked at a few recipes, but didn’t have all of the ingredients for them. It does have the texture of tuna but not quite the fishy taste. I will have to keep trying. But otherwise a good creamy salad filling for a sandwich.

75g tempeh

2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons celery, finely diced

1 small dill pickle, finely diced

1.5 tablespoons vegan mayo

1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

sea salt to taste

1. Steam tempeh in a steamer for 20 mins (to remove bitterness)

2. Combine all the ingredients and season to taste. Serve in a sandwich, on toast or with a salad.

Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese (vegan, gluten free option)

100-150 g Macraroni (or other short pasta, use gluten free pasta if you prefer)

1/4 cup mashed pumpkin

1/2 cup milk

2-3 tablespoons nutitional yeast

2-3 tablespoons vegan sour cream (I used Chef Chloe’s recipe)

sea salt to taste

corn crumbs

1. Boil Pasta according to instructions. Then strain and set aside.

2. Heat pumpkin with soy milk. Stir till it becomes a thick sauce, then add nutritional yeast and stir. Add pasta and take off the heat.

3. Add sour cream and season with salt, then place into a baking proof dish. Top with corn crumbs and cook in the oven for 10-15mins or till golden brown on top.

The canned tuna debate and the Bake Sale at the Green Edge

This week I admit I’ve had a few slips up with my diet. There is this one brand of tuna that has beans in it, which me and Marco were addicted to. I have probably only had it twice this month. However I would really like to stop eating it in general. Why? Well there are two reasons. Firstly, many of the canned tuna’s we buy does not use sustainable fishing methods and destroys marine life. I just found out that Sole Mare, the brand that were buying regularly has the worst  rating out of all the canned tuna’s in Australia for the 2011 Canned Tuna Ranking. This is quite disappointing that they are not transparent with how they produce their tuna.

Another big reason to give tuna the flick is the  Bisphenol A (BPA), from can products and the mercury. BPA is synthetic estrogen, which companies use in lining of the can’s to avoid deterioration. This can leach out of the food and when consumed is really bad for our own natural estrogen. It has been known to cause men to have a decrease of 20% in sperm count and create problems for woman in regards to PMS and menopause (Natural & Organic Health). According to Choice, in Australia we do not have set in limit to the amount of BPA that can be present in the food from a can. The only brands that currently have no BPA are Eden Organic and Spiral. Nakula coconut cream does use BPA lining, however it has proven that it does not leach into the food. As far as I know the big supermarkets do not carry these brands, but I have seen them at independent health food shops.

So if that’s not deterring enough, there is also mercury problem. According to PETA, “Tuna fish accumulate toxic mercury in their flesh as a result of industrial pollution, and the side effects of mercury poisoning include finger curling, cognitive impairment, and coordination problems. A California boy, who was the subject of a front-page Wall Street Journal article, went from being a star athlete and honor student to being unable to concentrate or catch a football because he ate canned tuna. Even if he had eaten only half a can of albacore tuna a week, he still would have consumed 60 percent more mercury than is considered “safe” by the U.S.government.” So that convenient little can of tuna, doesn’t sound so good any more.

Other challenges I’ve had is eating out at friends places. These are the first friends that have dared invite me to dinner, with my dietary requirements of no dairy and most vegan. I guess its daunting to people. I know a few years ago someone told me they were vegetarian and I was like oh so you still eat fish right? Then when I had to give up the dairy I think I cried for 2 days. I didn’t know what else was out there. Most of us are alot more in the know about food, with all these cooking shows, but pretty much all of this knowledge is based in food from animals. Anyway, last night our friends invited us to a lovely Indian dinner at their place. The food was great and really authentic. I tried to only eat the vegetarian dishes, but I couldn’t help try their meat specialities as well. For the most part I felt really rude not trying it. Ok I was curious as well. It makes me worry about what will happen when I do make the complete stand that I will not consume animal products. I guess gradually I will pick up tips along the way that will help me to avoid meat. Its still early days and I think I am doing well.

Half a Veggie Burger from Green Edge

On brighter news, today I went to Green Edge with my boyfriend and our Mums’ for the bake sale for World Animal Day! We were really hungry when we arrived so we all shared a burger, well not 1 burger between 4, but 2 between 2. We all ordered the Veggie burger, which was a lentil pattie with mango chutney, aioli, tomato and lettuce. It also came with a side salad. It was really good and I was annoyed that Marco ordered 1 to share. We also all got their blueberry smoothies. I don’t know what they put in them but god they were good! The reason we ordered so little was we were really there for the sweets. They had carrot cake, raspberry chocolate brownies, cupcakes and heaps of different biscuits. I sampled 3 different ones, all for the animals of course. So it was definitely worth the trip. For all you guys in Brisbane, if you want a nice place to have coffee and really great brownie or cheese cake, I really recommend this place. Trust me you wont know its vegan! It has Marco’s tick of approval. For all the vegan desserts I have tried to make at home, that he has says “it’s nice, but I’d still prefer…”. These desserts are as he says ‘at the top of their game’. The staff are really friendly as well and can answer any questions you have and give great advice on what products taste the best. It’s also a supermarket, so its a wonderland for animal free products, including cheeses, ice creams and mock meat products.


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Christmas is a’comin!

It's Christmas!

For those advent calendar eaters – I hope you have enjoyed your first six treats! Only three more days until we can start driving around Lobethal looking at Christmas lights. Christmas cards are written, carols are playing and our tree is nearly up! This season excites me like bananas excite a monkey. I only wish that chocolate, pudding and biscuits were vegetables. What are you doing to prepare for Christmas?


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It's about life

Answer of Mr. Tri Djoko Assignment Chapter 5

Class 01PBT

Exercise Chapter 5 – Discovering Computer 2011 – Living in a Digital World
Page 293-294

True / False

  1. True
  2. True
  3. False
  4. True
  5. False
  6. False
  7. False
  8. False
  9. False
  10. True
  11. True
  12. True

Multiple Choice

  1. C – Ergonomic keyboard
  2. A – Predictive text input
  3. B – Multi touch
  4. C – Graphic tablet
  5. D – Voice recognition
  6. C – Music production software
  7. C – Radio signals
  8. C – Gesture recognition

  1. B.
  2. G.
  3. D.
  4. J.
  5. E.
  6. A.
  7. H.
  8. F.
  9. I.
  10. C.

Short Answer

  1. Three different types of mouse devices are optical mouse, laser mouse, and air mouse.They are differentiated by the way they detect movement of the mouse that are transmitted to the pointer. Some use light to detect movement, some use laser-based light, and others use motion-sensing device.
  2. Point; Click; Drag; Double-Click; Right-Click.Point = Move the mouse until the pointer on the desktop is positioned on the
    item of choice
    e.g. (Position the pointer on the screen)

    Click = Press and release the primary mouse button, which usually is the left
    mouse button.
    e.g. (Select or deselect items on the screen or start a program or program feature)

    Right-click = Press and release the secondary mouse button, which usually is the right mouse button.
    e.g. (Display a shortcut menu)

    Double-click = Quickly press and release the left mouse button twice without moving the mouse.
    e.g. (Start a program or program feature)

    Drag = Point to an item, hold down the left mouse button, move the item to the
    desired location on the screen, and then release the left mouse button.
    e.g. (Move an object from one location to another or draw pictures)

  3. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technology that involves reading typewritten, computer printed, or hand-printed characters from ordinary documents and translating the images into a form that the computer can process.Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) is a technology that reads hand-drawn marks such as small circles or rectangles.
  4. The most widely used biometric device today is fingerprint reader.A fingerprint reader, captures curves and indentations of a fingerprint to identify whether the ‘input’ fingerprint are the right one.
  5. Americans with Disabilities Act are rules for company with 15 or more employees to make a reasonable attempt to accommodate the need of physically challenged workers.Gesture recognition and Computerized implant devices are ways for human to provide a natural computer interface for the physically challenged people through a means of just moving a small part of the body that are still functioning.

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Archive for September, 2013

Week of 9/30

September 30, 2013 Leave a comment

All of the Lecture slides so far this year can now be found in the 8th grade filing cabinet along with the homework assignments

Monday –  Finish Lecture on Revolutions in Worldviews, reading on Isaac Newton, continue Newton film and notes.                                                                                LJHS, Slang and Nationality boxes of Worldview builder assigned for homework for Tuesday.

Tuesday – Newton  Question Assignment for homework due Thursday.  Intro to Worldview Project

Wednesday – Worldview Project

Thursday – Newton questions collected. Worldview Project

Friday – Worldview Project

Week of 9/23

September 23, 2013 Leave a comment

Monday – Cognition – “Drive” video on incentives and motivation for creative thinking, discussion/activity
Worldviews – Finish Darwin, Darwin Q&A due on Wednesday

Tuesday – Worldviews – “Good to be the King” Play. Play Questions due Thursday

Wednesday Lecture # 3 Revolutions in Worldviews

Further updates to come later this week…..

Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us….

Videos seen in Class Week of 9/11

September 12, 2013 Leave a comment

Sir Ken Robinson “Changing Educational Paradigms”

“The Divided Brain”

TED “The Adolescent Brain”

Week of 9/11

September 11, 2013 Leave a comment

Monday –  Mini video – split brain and culture. Continue Lecture on Perception Cognition Worldviews.  Find Brain Article homework for Wednesday

Tuesday – mini-video adolescent brain. Read two articles in class.

Wednesday – Classroom activity on brain articles. homework for Thursday: Brain article Q&A

Thursday – Review homework  answers.  Creative thinking, critical thinking and education.

Friday – Irons Oaks field trip

Unit Vocabulary for Perception, Cognition and Worldviews

September 4, 2013 Leave a comment

Perception   Perspective   Position   Cognition   Metacognition   Bias

Orientation   Objective   Subjective   Philosophy  Meme  Values   Worldview

Paradigm  Paradigm-shift   Schema   Culture   Society   Cultural Evolution

Empiricism   Scientific Method    Natural Law   Revolution   Humanism

Social Contract  Framing    Feedback     O.O.D.A Loop   Metaphysics

Prehistoric   Ancient    Medieval   Renaissance   Reformation   Enlightenment

Scientific Revolution   Modern

Socrates   Plato   Aristotle    Cicero   Francis Bacon   Rene Descartes

Isaac Newton   Thomas Hobbes    John Locke

Charles Darwin   Thomas Kuhn   Richard Dawkins    George Lakoff    John Boyd

Mr. Little has put up a nice example of  Cornell Two Column Notes here for anyone who needs a refresher.

Week of 9/3

September 3, 2013 Leave a comment

Monday – No School

Tuesday – Introduction to Unit I. Perception, Cognition and Worldviews. Perception vs. Reality Questions assigned (Due Wednesday)

Wednesday – Review and collect homework. Unit Vocabulary.  Perception activity & Daily Board Question. Begin Lecture I.

Thursday – MAP standardized testing in IMC  (no SS class)

Friday-  MAP standardized testing in IMC  (no SS class)


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Silly Little Children

If you haven’t noticed, I don’t like politics and the way the government is ran.

Just a bunch of children

In a playground squabble

I’m better than you

Because you smell like poo

Argumentum ad hominum

In the extreme

Yet they run the world

Or pretend to

As they all lie

About being so much better

You don’t care

You don’t know

You’re all the same

Make money in fraud

Murder, slander

Then say it’s all wrong

The other guy is worse

You’ll change things

You won’t

Never do

You’re all the same

Just silly little children.

Hope you enjoy, please feel free to comment.

The Lonely Recluse.

~ by The Lonely Recluse on October 6, 2012.

2 Responses to “Silly Little Children”

  1. I enjoyed how the scenes are running out in the playground. Good work!

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Miranda has a very busy life. She’s finishing up her sophomore year of high school and hopes to get back to semi-professional ice skating in the summer. Her teachers keep talking about a meteor hitting the moon, but she hardly thinks of it. Meteors hit the moon all the time, so this must be just another assignment to add to the mounting stress.

The meteor hits, and for a bit, everything is okay. Miranda returns to school, as normal, and the teachers talk about the meteor. On Friday, a terrifying storm hits their Pennsylvanian town and Miranda’s mom takes her out of school. They go to the grocery store, grabbing all the food that they can get. They fill carts and carts with vitamens, bread, soup, crackers, Advil, and almost everything that her Mom can think of.

Miranda learns that the moon was pushed off its axis, changing the tides and a plethora of disasters. Tsunamis kill millions, along with volcano eruptions and hurricanes. The United States government is basically dissapated. Miranda and her family face a winter without heat. Soon, they begin to prepare for one survivor in the family… if that.

This is a stunning, captivating, terrifying book. I want to make sure that my family has tons of food in the house just in case. This book puts life into perspective. I want this, I want that… Miranda needs food. I think this is a memorable and perceptive diary of a teenager in the face of a disaster. She misses her old life, but learns that to survive, she must sacrifice almost everything.

I simply can’t wait to read the sequel The Dead and the Gone. I want to rush out to the bookstore now, but of course I can’t.  Life As We Knew It is highly recommended and I seriously had few if any cons about the book.


text:
Gemini PDA: the most exciting mobile product I have seen in 10 years

The folks at UK-based Planet Computers want to bring back the idea of a small, clamshell computer. And they’ve partnered with the designer of the classic Psion Series 5 to do it.

The Gemini is basically a tiny laptop featuring a 5.7 inch display, a QWERTY keyboard, and modern specs. It’s designed to run Android, but there’s also a dual-boot Linux option.

Planet Computer hopes to start shipping the first Gemini units in November, and the company is running an Indieogogo campaign in hopes of raising $200,000 for the project… More at Liliputing.

I am biased to say the least when it comes to a device like this, but look at the video below and see what you think.

The fact that the Psion 5 designers are involved is a huge plus and the heritage is shown by the clever way the hinge holds up the screen when on a flat surface. The huge battery life, Linux and Android dual-boot OS and keyboard design suggest to me that it could be a product that more than a few people will want.

Some will see it as a niche product, but I believe that niche will be big enough to get things up and running and then who knows what will follow. I have wanted a product like this ever since I had to give up my Psion PDAs, and they have have my money now.

12 thoughts on “Gemini PDA: the most exciting mobile product I have seen in 10 years

  1. I agree with Tom. Will it work? Of course, it will. In fact, I used to have a ‘case’ for one of my Galaxy S (4?) phones which had a slide out case.
    Will it sell? I am not entirely sure. As a phone, it only offers functionality when open, apart from perhaps making and taking calls. This will be its downfall. If they followed a ‘Nokia communicator’ model, where you have some functionality with the device open, it would have faired a lot better.
    All in all, I am happy that people are looking at this approach again. I have been a big fan of keyboards on phones and this will only enhance the case of the Blackberry KeyOne.

    1. Thing is that I wouldn’t call it a phone. It is a PDA with 4G for data mainly. Wireless headphones would do for calls, but I see what you mean- people may struggle to cope with not being able to see notifications in an instant.

        1. Then again. What if this can be used for real work and what if it is more practical than a tablet for writing, spreadsheet, work etc etc? It could compliment a phone as the hotspot.

          1. That is the trick though, isn’t it. How useful do they actually make it? Will it run Android and be a phone? Will it run Linux and actually let you do stuff. Will it let me update my spreadsheets and presentations on the fly, and sync them via Dropbox/GoogleDrive/One Drive?
            If it ticks all these boxes, and better than say a KEYone, it’ll be awesome. At $350, it definitely is at the right price point 🙂

          2. Well. It runs both OS so in theory does both. Not convinced it will sell very well, but could find many fans.

          3. Just realised something in that it is not a Psion. Maybe the Android or Linux OS’s will make it feel like any other device and not a true organiser/companion?

  2. This would basically replace my phone and Yoga Book I suppose. It’s a communication device, I don’t use my phone as a phone much. My Yoga Book replaces my laptop in a lot of ways, but basically it’s great for watching movies and stuff. But this, could be a nice combination of both, yet portable. At school I actually connect my Yoga Book to a digital whiteboard, if this could do that I’d be set! (I wonder if they could make the keyboard backlit, I’d be extra set!)

  3. I don’t use a Bluetooth earpiece but this plus an ear piece would be awesome for travelling – it would do 90% of what you need.

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