tomorrow is june 1. if you live in florida and especially if you live on a boat that means that you must start obsessing about hurricanes. june 1 is the beginning of hurricane season. to make matters worse the media here also obsesses about it and all the businesses start to load up with hurricane emergency supplies which they place in the front of the store so you can't miss looking at them everytime you shop.
to make matters even worse, this just goes on and on and on all the way to the end of november, the end of hurricane season. the fact that i work at a marina doesn't help any. hurricanes become the main obsessive topic of discussion and the online tropical weather forcast is monitored daily. for the past several weeks at work i have been working on our hurricane preparedness plans which entail contacting all the tenants who plan to stay in the anchorage during the hurricane season and advising them, in writing, of our requirements that they must comply with. last year we were not quite as organized about the whole thing so this year i thought it would be a good idea to be a lot more organized and a whole lot more pleasantly persistent. we have deadlines this year for compliances. we are not going to make the mistake of waiting until there is actually a hurricane bearing down on us to get the tenants to get their act together. trying to get the tenants to get their act together for hurricane season is very similar to getting teenagers up in the morning before noon. i've had plenty of experience at that. ahh... i miss those days.
here's some good news...
i've been pursuing this solar idea for the anchorage. i've spoken to a local solar energy company who is willing to give us a feasibility proposal. he's going to meet with me sometime this week. he requested our past electric statements from the power company which i finally got after a bit of resistance from the city. i'm going to try to attend a meeting with this solar energy company and a few of the city commissioners. they're going to discuss the possibilities of getting more of the city and county facilities converted over to solar. fortunately there is a fair amount of state and federal funding for this from the various solar energy grants available as incentives. i don't know how far this idea of mine will go but either way it's an education for me and just maybe someday soon we'll proudly have those big solar panels on our rooftop. it certainly makes sense for the anchorage to capture the power of the sun just like all the boaters in the anchorage have already done plus i think it would be very good pr for the city. our building is seen by thousands everyday in their cars as they travel the highway that crosses over that big 65' bridge.
as far as my own boat goes, well.. things aren't going all that well. we've cancelled our bahama trip since there's no way the boat will ever be ready to go anywhere by july. this is all due to the fact that john has too much on his plate, too much to do and i am absolutely no help at all. apparently i am not very good at doing much of anything on the boat. everything i try to do turns into a major argument of sorts and then, being the person that i am, i get frustrated and give up. i have no skills at preciseness and perfection. i do not have the brain of an engineer. i am sloppy, messy and careless. i have no eye for accuracy or detail. i really wish there was some kind of boat restoration school i could go to to learn how to do all this. there are a lot of things i seem to be able to do very well.. but they just come naturally to me. this whole boat restoration process does not come easily to me. i realize now that what we really need is a clone of john. someone who is precise, accurate and anal and doesn't mind his work being constantly critiqued by the captain. according to him i am pretty much just a useless bozo and plus i have a bad habit of leaving the premises when things get ugly and mean. i retreat and go back into my own little dream world where everything is pleasant and calm and peaceful. i don't do well when surrounded by negativity and unpleasantness.
such is life. i will try to find a way to improve myself and not be so darn sensitive. i know it's important to try to do better. it's good to challenge yourself to do things you never thought you could do. all i have to do is get past the constant criticism and possibly get a new brain, one that could default to precise and accurate engineer mode if need be.
but.... i like my bozo dream world. it's a nice place. of course the longer i stay there the less i really care to return. some might call it inner peace. once you find it you never want to let it go and you begin to realize that all the other stuff is just "stuff". you can still strive to be productive, strive to improve yourself, strive to have more compassion, to be less judgemental and to do what is right but there begins to be less and less room for the statu quo and for the thoughts and actions of those who contaminate everything good with their stress, discord and disturbing emotions that consumes their lives.
i believe that the very purpose of our lives is to be happy. i believe that when people are happy then they are more likely to treat others with love and compassion and far more likely to achieve their goals. i'm not quite sure why there are so many unhappy people... so many people with all these negative emotions in our society. could it be some kind of bio-chemical imbalance related to diet or lack of exercise?? are their malfunctioning neurotransmitters unable to put them in that happy place?
maybe it's all those chemicals in our water and all those damn pesticides...............
either way or whatever i'm not sure if people can actually choose to be happy if their brain won't cooperate with them.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
here's some sad and disturbing news.
i saw paul mccartney on qvc!
he was pimping his new album and of course talking about himself.
it is apparent that he likes to talk a lot about himself. he has this horrible new song out now where he sings about well... himself.. and how he's lost his love, he has too many things on his plate and so on. well it is really just a shame for him, losing his love and all that. maybe if he spent less time thinking about himself all the time and all his self importance he might actually have time to think about someone else besides his almighty self. i took a look at his website. it's embarrassing. multiple shots of him posing like a cheesy pinup girl. i wonder who told him to do that. he looks ridiculous. i can't even stand to listen to him anymore. he's the material girl in drag with too much makeup, too many face lifts, an obvious hair replacement and it's just not funny.
i saw paul mccartney on qvc!
he was pimping his new album and of course talking about himself.
it is apparent that he likes to talk a lot about himself. he has this horrible new song out now where he sings about well... himself.. and how he's lost his love, he has too many things on his plate and so on. well it is really just a shame for him, losing his love and all that. maybe if he spent less time thinking about himself all the time and all his self importance he might actually have time to think about someone else besides his almighty self. i took a look at his website. it's embarrassing. multiple shots of him posing like a cheesy pinup girl. i wonder who told him to do that. he looks ridiculous. i can't even stand to listen to him anymore. he's the material girl in drag with too much makeup, too many face lifts, an obvious hair replacement and it's just not funny.
here's an easy cheap little entree:
portobello paillards with spinach, white beans & caramelized onions - 4 servings
portobello paillards with spinach, white beans & caramelized onions - 4 servings
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup soy milk
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
4 portobello mushroom caps
3 cloves garlic
1 pound spinach
1 15-ounce can white beans or cannelli beans
3/4 cup vegetable broth
heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over medium heat. add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, 8 to 10 minutes. reduce heat to very low, season with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15 minutes transfer to a bowl and keep warm.
meanwhile, place soy milk in a small bowl and place breadcrumbs on a large plate. dip each mushroom cap in soy milk, then dredge in the breadcrumbs.
heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. add mushrooms, gill-side down. Place a heavy, heatproof plate or pie pan on top of the mushrooms and cook until golden brown, pressing down on the plate periodically to flatten them, about 6 minutes. carefully remove the plate using an oven mitt or tongs, add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and turn the mushrooms over. replace the plate and cook, pressing the plate once or twice, until the mushrooms are golden brown and cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes more. remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. add garlic and cook until fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds. add spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. stir in beans, broth and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
cut each mushroom into thin slices and serve over the spinach. Top with the reserved onions.
1 large red onion
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup soy milk
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
4 portobello mushroom caps
3 cloves garlic
1 pound spinach
1 15-ounce can white beans or cannelli beans
3/4 cup vegetable broth
heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over medium heat. add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, 8 to 10 minutes. reduce heat to very low, season with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15 minutes transfer to a bowl and keep warm.
meanwhile, place soy milk in a small bowl and place breadcrumbs on a large plate. dip each mushroom cap in soy milk, then dredge in the breadcrumbs.
heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. add mushrooms, gill-side down. Place a heavy, heatproof plate or pie pan on top of the mushrooms and cook until golden brown, pressing down on the plate periodically to flatten them, about 6 minutes. carefully remove the plate using an oven mitt or tongs, add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and turn the mushrooms over. replace the plate and cook, pressing the plate once or twice, until the mushrooms are golden brown and cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes more. remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. add garlic and cook until fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds. add spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. stir in beans, broth and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
cut each mushroom into thin slices and serve over the spinach. Top with the reserved onions.
i was staring at the sky and the clouds today then i read this:
the sharpest image ever taken of the large "grand design" spiral galaxy m81 is being released today at the american astronomical society meeting in honolulu, hawaii.
the galaxy is similar to our milky way, but our favorable view provides a better picture of the typical architecture of spiral galaxies. though the galaxy is 11.6 million light-years away, nasa hubble space telescope's view is so sharp that it can resolve individual stars, along with open star clusters, globular star clusters, and even glowing regions of fluorescent gas.
the galaxy is similar to our milky way, but our favorable view provides a better picture of the typical architecture of spiral galaxies. though the galaxy is 11.6 million light-years away, nasa hubble space telescope's view is so sharp that it can resolve individual stars, along with open star clusters, globular star clusters, and even glowing regions of fluorescent gas.
cool.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
a grand total of 17 of us carpooled to see pirates #3 on sunday night. big screen high tech nonsense on the open seas for 3 loooonnnggg hours and let me tell you it was just exhausting. i had no idea what was going on, i fell asleep 3x's, i ate a $7 barrel of popcorn all by myself and when it was over i feel like i had just woken up from some kind of drug induced hallucination. i was, though, facinated with the davy jones character and his creepy alive octopus beard and stared at it throughout the film. someone kept throwing popcorn on my head and i wish i had brought a blanket.
monday we had a great afternoon memorial day get-together cookout at the anchorage. i forgot to take pictures. rumor has it that the other dockmaster has been secretly meeting up with one of the female anchorage residents for afternoon quickies in his suv. there are witnesses. they're both married to other people. i don't really think of myself as much of a prude but this is just tacky and trashy behavior. i really have no respect for people who sneak around like this on their spouses. apparently the female involved has quite a history of this type of thing and lost custody of her young children from a previous marriage because of it. she attempts to put on a good front as if she's somewhat classy and well educated but for some reason she forgot to include common decency and morality. i have never been able to figure out why married people do this. obviously they don't really love their spouses much so why the heck are they still married. how can they go home at night to their spouses and pretend like nothing happened? why don't they just divorce the whole marriage thing and be free to screw to their heart's content? i don't get it at all. one day the crap's going to hit the fan at work and it's not gonna be pretty.
the way people treat others is really what matters here, especially the way people treat others that they supposedly care about, are in love with, married to or whatever. no doubt there are many who should never get married mainly because they're just too self centered and they're not willing to compromise. maybe there's nothing wrong with being too self centered. everybody's different, everybody has a right to be the way they are. to me being married is like having a life long best friend partner, someone who you can trust, someone you can rely on, someone who wouldn't ever want to hurt you or belittle you, someone who understands you and accepts you for what you are, and someone who treats you with respect and kindness. i guess that's hard to find sometimes or maybe alot of people just don't have that much love in their hearts to share.
and one more thing.... i have an xm radio now, thank you very much. i got the radio for free but of course i had to pay for the membership. yesterday i had it on all day at work and i like it a lot. the singer songwriter station played some excellent music, music that you would never hear anywhere else. they played the entire "without gravity" album (which was really weird bc no one plays them) finn brothers ( like them very much), and a bunch of other stuff that is unheard of on radio. i like the way this station plays several or more of the same artist in a row and i especially love being able to see who's playing. it opens up a whole new world of artists for me to discover. i can take it to work and in the car on road trips and the best part is that i can take it on the boat wherever we may roam to.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
saturday i cleaned the apt, scrubbed the floors, did the laundry and paid some bills. i didn't really feel very good which was odd since i normally feel really super so the rest of the day i just layed on the sofa and stared at the water. i think it was something i ate. i've become very sensitive to bad food.
today and tomorrow are long days at work and tonight we all going to see pirates's 3. i pre-purchased the 16 tickets and i got little pirate party goody bags to put the tickets in. i think it's kind of funny. the goody bags are actually little paper treasure chests. i was looking for some chocolate gold coins to put in them but i couldn't find any.
some of the movie goers are transient cruisers who have no cars so we are carpooling them to the movies. no doubt tomorrow i'll feel sick again since one of my weaknesses is movie theater popcorn which i eat way too much of. i might just bring my own popcorn this time. i don't know if my stomach can handle another assault of bad food.
at the anchorage we now have a group of young people from denmark who flew to miami to buy a big old sailboat and sail it back to their homeland. they took on a few young girls as crew help and attempted to cross the gulf stream to bimini but had to turn back bc of high wind and big ass seas. some of the crew abandoned ship when they got back to florida probably due to the stress of it all and now the remainders are just hanging out in the anchorage waiting for the winds to change. they're fairly young, in their twenties and 2 of the guys look as if they could be on those abercrombie window displays. all of them are very very nice though. i'm sure they're anxious to get back home.
the saga of my attempt to help this guy and his girlfriend at the anchorage recover from alcohol addiction might be working out pretty good. they both seems to really be taking this to heart and are desperately trying their best to stay on the program and diet that i suggested. it's been a week now and he's been calling me on his progress. yesterday he called to say he was having a sugar craving attack and wanted some alternative ideas to control it. i told him peanut butter and bananas works pretty good. i think he now understands the big picture... and of the damage alcohol can do to. i think he's seriously amazed at the fact that he might just be able to kick this thing and actually have a future and a life ahead of him that doesn't include drugs and alcohol addiction. he's been constantly getting high or drunk since he was in his early twenties and now he's almost 40. i don't think he ever really thought he could get out of this hole. if this is successful then i will be very encouraged to keep trying to help others.
hi ho hi ho it's off to work i go...
today and tomorrow are long days at work and tonight we all going to see pirates's 3. i pre-purchased the 16 tickets and i got little pirate party goody bags to put the tickets in. i think it's kind of funny. the goody bags are actually little paper treasure chests. i was looking for some chocolate gold coins to put in them but i couldn't find any.
some of the movie goers are transient cruisers who have no cars so we are carpooling them to the movies. no doubt tomorrow i'll feel sick again since one of my weaknesses is movie theater popcorn which i eat way too much of. i might just bring my own popcorn this time. i don't know if my stomach can handle another assault of bad food.
at the anchorage we now have a group of young people from denmark who flew to miami to buy a big old sailboat and sail it back to their homeland. they took on a few young girls as crew help and attempted to cross the gulf stream to bimini but had to turn back bc of high wind and big ass seas. some of the crew abandoned ship when they got back to florida probably due to the stress of it all and now the remainders are just hanging out in the anchorage waiting for the winds to change. they're fairly young, in their twenties and 2 of the guys look as if they could be on those abercrombie window displays. all of them are very very nice though. i'm sure they're anxious to get back home.
the saga of my attempt to help this guy and his girlfriend at the anchorage recover from alcohol addiction might be working out pretty good. they both seems to really be taking this to heart and are desperately trying their best to stay on the program and diet that i suggested. it's been a week now and he's been calling me on his progress. yesterday he called to say he was having a sugar craving attack and wanted some alternative ideas to control it. i told him peanut butter and bananas works pretty good. i think he now understands the big picture... and of the damage alcohol can do to. i think he's seriously amazed at the fact that he might just be able to kick this thing and actually have a future and a life ahead of him that doesn't include drugs and alcohol addiction. he's been constantly getting high or drunk since he was in his early twenties and now he's almost 40. i don't think he ever really thought he could get out of this hole. if this is successful then i will be very encouraged to keep trying to help others.
hi ho hi ho it's off to work i go...
Saturday, May 26, 2007
i was thinking about some of the weird jobs i had b.c. (before children). i'm not sure if this is all of them. there's probably a few more. it was all quite an education in the real world.
furniture store merchandizing & inventory office work... apparently there were no sexual harrassment laws at this time to protect young innocent females right out of high school. i had my own office though and so, for a very short while, i thought i was pretty cool. "men will be men" as they used to say and so just deal with it.
drug store pharmacy aide... filled prescriptions using a manual typewriter to type rx labels. both pharmacists were chain smokers and the delivery guy smelled always had liquor breath. old time pharmacy with some very interesting things in all those little wooden drawers behind the counter. very educational.
nursery school teacher assistant...on a farm run by a perverted man of the cloth who was sleeping with the nursery school teacher. took the tots on daily nature walks around the farm. lots of fun until the man of the cloth went bankrupt.
garden state race track horse walker..rampant drug use by humans (mostly mexican cocaine addicts) and horses. work hard and watch your back. not at all a safe place for a young woman. always have a buddy with you and never ever mention the animal abuse.
assembly line packaging herbal essense shampoos....got fired, rehired then quit. interesting but stupid job. i was pretty sure they were packing more than just shampoos. the whole place smelled like mafia.
wholesale plant nursery field work.... quit the 1st day at lunchtime and when home. too much like a prison camp.
retail plant nursery.. greenhouse work in the middle of the summer will make you sweat off 30 lbs in a hurry. adopted by sweet old owner (with 2 lazy ass sons) as favorite daughter. quit one day and drove 34 hrs straight with dog and cat to louisiana pulling a uhaul trailer.
humane society.. office admissions and adoptions, kennel care, massive amounts of unwanted pets, afternoon euthanasia, care of injured & orphaned wildlife, rescuing the injured and the sick. rehabilitation. cruelty investigator and nervous courtroom appearances. burned out.. nightmares and evil, evil humans.
veterinary assistant.. receptionist, kennel care, lab and surgery assistance. castrating a goat is a very odd thing to do. was laid off because owner/head vet did not want pregnant woman working in his hospital. he said they made him nervous. he had a habit of calling me "darlin" while spitting tobacco into empty coke cans.
it's interesting to think back about the things you've done. at the time you just don't realize the impact it's having on your life or what it's teaching you about society.
furniture store merchandizing & inventory office work... apparently there were no sexual harrassment laws at this time to protect young innocent females right out of high school. i had my own office though and so, for a very short while, i thought i was pretty cool. "men will be men" as they used to say and so just deal with it.
drug store pharmacy aide... filled prescriptions using a manual typewriter to type rx labels. both pharmacists were chain smokers and the delivery guy smelled always had liquor breath. old time pharmacy with some very interesting things in all those little wooden drawers behind the counter. very educational.
nursery school teacher assistant...on a farm run by a perverted man of the cloth who was sleeping with the nursery school teacher. took the tots on daily nature walks around the farm. lots of fun until the man of the cloth went bankrupt.
garden state race track horse walker..rampant drug use by humans (mostly mexican cocaine addicts) and horses. work hard and watch your back. not at all a safe place for a young woman. always have a buddy with you and never ever mention the animal abuse.
assembly line packaging herbal essense shampoos....got fired, rehired then quit. interesting but stupid job. i was pretty sure they were packing more than just shampoos. the whole place smelled like mafia.
wholesale plant nursery field work.... quit the 1st day at lunchtime and when home. too much like a prison camp.
retail plant nursery.. greenhouse work in the middle of the summer will make you sweat off 30 lbs in a hurry. adopted by sweet old owner (with 2 lazy ass sons) as favorite daughter. quit one day and drove 34 hrs straight with dog and cat to louisiana pulling a uhaul trailer.
humane society.. office admissions and adoptions, kennel care, massive amounts of unwanted pets, afternoon euthanasia, care of injured & orphaned wildlife, rescuing the injured and the sick. rehabilitation. cruelty investigator and nervous courtroom appearances. burned out.. nightmares and evil, evil humans.
veterinary assistant.. receptionist, kennel care, lab and surgery assistance. castrating a goat is a very odd thing to do. was laid off because owner/head vet did not want pregnant woman working in his hospital. he said they made him nervous. he had a habit of calling me "darlin" while spitting tobacco into empty coke cans.
it's interesting to think back about the things you've done. at the time you just don't realize the impact it's having on your life or what it's teaching you about society.
Friday, May 25, 2007
last year i found this healthy food pyramid in a book that i had read about super nutrition. the 30 yr. study, explained by the scientists who wrote this book, showed that this is the diet of the healthiest and the longest living people on this planet. it's very easy to understand. i printed this pyramid out by the dozens and gave it to everyone i knew. i hung one on my refrigerator to remind me to plan my meals accordingly. it makes perfect sense.
now, why is it that this seems to be some kind of big mysterious secret? why is it that no one that i come across in my daily life has any inkling or desire to think past their last hunger pangs?
i realize that i do not often come in contact with anyone who actually thinks twice about the health and quality of their foods. i do not know anyone who actually cares about planning a week or even just one day's worth of what it takes to fuel themselves with the nutrients that their body needs.
everyone is either not interested or they have an excuse.
sometimes i try to compare this lack of interest to other things we do in our lives. say, for instance, we want to go on a trip, maybe a vacation by car. so we hop in the car and start driving. we drive and drive just watching the scenery and enjoying the view. problem is.. we've forgotten to actually plan out the trip and we have no idea how to get to our destination. we just keep driving without ever thinking about whether or not the tires are bald, whether or not there's plenty of oil in the crankcase or even ever watching the fuel gauge. we just drive until the car finally stops running and dies along the side of the road somewhere. maybe that's not such a great example but whatever..
you get up in the morning and the last thing you bother to think about is what you need to put in your own body that day and that week to make it run smoothly and without a breakdown. when hunger strikes you grab "something to eat". you go about your busy day. there is always someplace nearby where you can buy "something to eat". this seems to be the way it is for most everyone. i'm not sure why that is. for those who are actually at home much of the time it doesn't seem to be much different. they put together some kind of toxic, tasty convenient meal that really isn't meant to be eaten by humans at all.
a more sensible and thinking person would think about this alot more carefully. they would realize that there is really nothing that they do day in and day out that is more important than what they feed themselves. they would take the time to track down high quality nutrition that fit into their budget. they would teach themselves to quickly and easily plan out each day's meals as if it were their top priority. they would realize that this is their only lifeline.
every other animal on the planet does this without thinking. they search for what they need to survive. they don't eat things that are going to poison them, make them obese or give them heart disease or diabetes.
sometimes i think maybe we have been designed to purposely lack the innate common sense skills of eating for nutrition, unlike all the other animals of this planet, because we have no predators and this might be nature's way of controlling the human population.... by human stupidity and a disgustingly bad diet. it seems to be working quite well.
so... here's a simple plan. put this pyramid on the fridge. it is not rocket science. although i would have an extremely difficult time eating 7-13 servings of vegetables everyday.. you get the picture. plan out a week's worth of meals as if someone had given you a project to do at work. it gets easier and easier. if you're going to be out most of the day, then for god's sake take your food with you. you will save more money than you can imagine. instead of staring at your laptop or the boob tube at night put some thought and effort into your own self. it will be well worth the effort.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
now it's pouring rain.
i am under my blanket
with toby and my version
of strawberry
shortcake and
i have dripped
strawberry juice
all over myself.
it is all good. we need this rain and toby likes strawberry juice.
and it's getting old.they told me at work that the mayor is going to ride around with me all day in my boat on national river clean up day. maybe i should get a pedicure. my boss told me to be nice to her.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
rediscovering a once forgotten grain. this is good very good for vegans.
quinoa is a species of goosefoot. it is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal as it is not a grass. its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but the commercial availability of quinoa greens is currently limited.
the Incas, who held the crop to be sacred, referred to quinoa as "chisaya mama" or "mother of all grains", and it was the inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using 'golden implements'. during the european conquest of south america quinoa was scorned by the spanish colonists as "food for indians".
francisco pizarro might have known a thing or two about new world conquest, but he would have made a lousy nutritionist. after toppling the incan empire in 1532, the spanish conquistador filled his ships with potatoes and corn destining them to become major players in the european diet while leaving a third crop to wither. turns out, the fields pizarro neglected to harvest were filled with the world's most nutritious grain: quinoa [pronounced keen-wah].
"quinoa is a true wonder food," says daniel fairbanks, ph.d., a professor of plant and animal science at brigham young university. "it has about twice the protein of regular cereal grains, fewer carbohydrates, and even a dose of healthy fats." plus, it's considered a "complete" protein, which means that, like meat, eggs, and dairy, it packs all of the essential amino acids your body needs to build muscle.
unfortunately, not much has changed in the almost 500 years since pizarro pillaged the incas. more than ever, nutritionally inferior foods, such as corn, potatoes, rice, and wheat especially the refined versions fill our plates, while quinoa gathers dust on grocery-store shelves. and that's a shame, because besides being great for you, quinoa is the rare culinary triple threat: delicious, easy to prepare, and ultra-versatile. ready to harness the full power of this superfood? here's everything you need to know to make it a staple at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
quinoa has an addictive nutty flavor, cooks up quicker than rice, and can be used to make pilafs, risottos, salads, soups, and even desserts. the downside: few people know where to find it, let alone how to prepare it. typically, you can locate quinoa in the rice aisle or the health-food section of your grocery store. you can also stock up at edenfoods.com.
as for preparation, the simplest way is to cook quinoa like pasta: fill a large pot or saucepan with water, and bring it to a boil. add just about any amount of quinoa, turn the heat to low, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. drain the water and allow the quinoa to cool.
cook up a big batch and store it in tupperware in your refrigerator, and you'll have a ready-to-eat side dish like rice or pasta that goes with just about any meal. (to warm, microwave it for 60 seconds.) or you can be far more creative. for instance, quinoa can be used to...
power up your breakfast: combine a cup of cooked quinoa with ½ cup milk and ½ cup frozen blueberries, and microwave for 60 seconds. this makes a great alternative to oatmeal.
redefine dessert: in a blender, puree two very ripe bananas with 2 cups soy milk. combine the mix with 2 cups cooked quinoa, ½ cup raisins, a tablespoon of honey, and a teaspoon of cinnamon, and simmer for 10 minutes.
"quinoa is a true wonder food," says daniel fairbanks, ph.d., a professor of plant and animal science at brigham young university. "it has about twice the protein of regular cereal grains, fewer carbohydrates, and even a dose of healthy fats." plus, it's considered a "complete" protein, which means that, like meat, eggs, and dairy, it packs all of the essential amino acids your body needs to build muscle.
unfortunately, not much has changed in the almost 500 years since pizarro pillaged the incas. more than ever, nutritionally inferior foods, such as corn, potatoes, rice, and wheat especially the refined versions fill our plates, while quinoa gathers dust on grocery-store shelves. and that's a shame, because besides being great for you, quinoa is the rare culinary triple threat: delicious, easy to prepare, and ultra-versatile. ready to harness the full power of this superfood? here's everything you need to know to make it a staple at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
quinoa has an addictive nutty flavor, cooks up quicker than rice, and can be used to make pilafs, risottos, salads, soups, and even desserts. the downside: few people know where to find it, let alone how to prepare it. typically, you can locate quinoa in the rice aisle or the health-food section of your grocery store. you can also stock up at edenfoods.com.
as for preparation, the simplest way is to cook quinoa like pasta: fill a large pot or saucepan with water, and bring it to a boil. add just about any amount of quinoa, turn the heat to low, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. drain the water and allow the quinoa to cool.
cook up a big batch and store it in tupperware in your refrigerator, and you'll have a ready-to-eat side dish like rice or pasta that goes with just about any meal. (to warm, microwave it for 60 seconds.) or you can be far more creative. for instance, quinoa can be used to...
power up your breakfast: combine a cup of cooked quinoa with ½ cup milk and ½ cup frozen blueberries, and microwave for 60 seconds. this makes a great alternative to oatmeal.
redefine dessert: in a blender, puree two very ripe bananas with 2 cups soy milk. combine the mix with 2 cups cooked quinoa, ½ cup raisins, a tablespoon of honey, and a teaspoon of cinnamon, and simmer for 10 minutes.
here's some more quinoa recipes: http://vegweb.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=bc5f8856e14e889184cddd64df9fd0a7&action=search2
it's a cheap healthy alternative and you can also sprout it.
the last time john went up to phila his mom gave him my "personal vibrator" as she calls it. everyone at christmas got a "personal vibrator" from the christmas grab bucket. i had forgotten to pack it when we left to go back to florida.
the conversations at christmas were interesting and amusing as always.
mom-mom: does everyone know their personal vibrators are? i can't find mine.
joan: "mom, will you stop calling it a vibrator! it's a massager, not a vibrator.
the conversations at christmas were interesting and amusing as always.
mom-mom: does everyone know their personal vibrators are? i can't find mine.
joan: "mom, will you stop calling it a vibrator! it's a massager, not a vibrator.
oh god it's pirate's 3 and we, the anchorage pirate wannabe's, are gathering together on sunday night to attend what is probably going to be another really bad movie, just like last year. it's all in fun though. actually i really don't mind sitting through any bad movie as long as i get to look at johnny depp. and yes i do still remember how bad pirates 2 was but we had a good time trying to figure out what the hell was going on. i'm never sure if these films actually have a story line or if all the directors are just taking some kind of crazy pills. they make no sense to me whatsoever and by the end of the last film i felt like my head was going to explode... but hey it's big box office disney so i guess it doesn't matter.
after the movie we're all meeting up at a new place called "davy jones locker". it's a pirate-style caribbean ale house and grill. oh... i'll have to come up with a good pirate outfit to wear to the movie. i have a bag of fake gold coins which i am going to number. each pirate will pick a coin. at the ale house i will chose a number and whoever has the coin with the correct # on it will get their bill paid for by everyone else, if that makes any sense. we also have bubbles, eye patches and pirate tattoos for all... and of course we will have lyrics to our favorite song so we can all sing along together at the pirate ale house.
yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. http://buccaneer.boourns.net/piratesong.zip
we pillage we plunder, we rifle and loot.
drink up me 'earties, yo ho. we kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot.
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
we extort and pilfer, we filch and sack.
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
maraud and embezzle and even highjack.
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
we kindle and char and in flame and ignite.
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
we burn up the city, we're really a fright.
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
we're rascals and scoundrels, we're villians and knaves.
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
we're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs.
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
we're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads,
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,
drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
in case anyone is wondering.. this is what some grown ups do who don't live in the "real" world anymore.
at work i was given the pleasure of trying to come up with something to enhance our newly painted public men's and women's bathrooms. after several months of on and off, trying to imagine something appropriate and simple i finally came up with this the other day. it is just a fish, plain and simple. a fish with beautiful simple colors. it will be stenciled on like a border of fish after fish all along just one wall. each one will in vary in color. i will use shiva oil art sticks and then seal the finished designs with a waterproof satin polyurethane.
for a while i had thoughts of murals and all sorts of mind boggling ideas, all of which were just too time consuming and too busy. i did not want to spend weeks sitting in the public bathroom michelangelo-like trying to create a wall mural that would probably wind up too bizarre for the general public so i opted out for simple.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
la dame et la licorne
i was wondering what the title of this song meant.
i was wondering what the title of this song meant.
isn't this tapestry beautiful. too bad i didn't get to see it. i think i could stare at it for hours.
the lady and the unicorn ( la dame à la licorne) is the title of a cycle of
french tapestries often considered one of the greatest works of art of the middle ages in europe. they are estimated to have been woven in the late 15th century (c. 1490), in flanders.
the tapestries are commonly interpreted as depicting the six senses - taste, hearing, sight, smell, touch, and "a mon seul désir" (meaning: "to my only desire"), often interpreted as love or understanding. each of the six tapestries depicts a noble lady with the unicorn and some include a monkey or a lion in the scene. the pennants, as well as the armor of the unicorn and lion in the tapestry bear the arms of the sponsor, jean le viste, a powerful nobleman in the court of king charles vii.
the tapestries are done in the style of mille-fleurs (meaning: "thousand flowers").
the cycle is currently held in the musée cluny (musée du moyen-age) in paris where it has resided since 1882.
the tapestries are commonly interpreted as depicting the six senses - taste, hearing, sight, smell, touch, and "a mon seul désir" (meaning: "to my only desire"), often interpreted as love or understanding. each of the six tapestries depicts a noble lady with the unicorn and some include a monkey or a lion in the scene. the pennants, as well as the armor of the unicorn and lion in the tapestry bear the arms of the sponsor, jean le viste, a powerful nobleman in the court of king charles vii.
the tapestries are done in the style of mille-fleurs (meaning: "thousand flowers").
the cycle is currently held in the musée cluny (musée du moyen-age) in paris where it has resided since 1882.
Monday, May 21, 2007
my best pizza so far.
far far better than restaurant pizza. john agreed. i even made the whole grain crust which had just the right amount of crispiness. organic mushroom, garlic, onion and green pepper and homemade sauce. also lots of olive oil, oregano, fresh ground pepper, sea salt, red pepper and tons of fresh picked basil. no cheese. i really don't like cheese anymore. it gives me a stomach ache and a gross bloated feeling. there's probably a good reason for that.
the fellow at the anchorage who went off the drunken deep end has come out of his boat after several days and is a broken man for sure. he is crying out for help so a few of us have decided to give him whatever support he needs to recover from this horrible hole, this horrible disease of addiction. he's just too young to give up on and seriously, i have never seen anyone who so honestly desperately wants to change. no matter what anyone says, i still think people like him deserve a chance to regain their life and their sanity, no matter what horrible crazy things they've done. tossing them aside like trash or putting them in jail isn't going to solve the problem. the problem will still be there.
yesterday while i was at work i talked to him for some time about how and why people become addicted. as we talked he hung his head and cried. i told him that i knew he never wanted to grow up this way and that it wasn't his fault. i told him there's a way out of this and that i will help him get out if he is serious. i typed a 3 page routine, a lifestyle change, a daily regime of super nutrition and supplements that he has to adhere to, strictly adhere to without exception if he really wants to recover. the information that i gave him is based on the last 2 years of research that i've read about on addictions, the bio-chemical repair, the recovery diet and so on. he's got the "book", he's got the supplements and the regime. i also gave him plenty of studies that have been done throughout the country that support this bio-chemical repair and change of diet. he's also got the support from me and a few other people who will be there to help him with whatever he needs. he's pale and shaky from years of poor nutrition and alcohol abuse. i explained to him that in order to recover he has to seriously heal himself, by pumping super nutrients into his body and replacing all that is missing in his body and his brain's messed up chemistry. i have a positive feeling about this.
john doesn't think i should help him. he thinks that this guy is a waste and belongs in jail. i just can't give up on someone who looks at me like a lost stray injured dog crying out to be rescued. there's a good decent person in there somewhere just dying to get out and be normal and healthy again. i can feel it.
we'll see how it goes this week.
it's very interesting to me to try and understand just how the standard american diet might have, well does have, such a disastrous affect on our mental health. i think there is definitely a strong connection there between addiction, mental/emotional instability and the poor diet of our society. much like the connection between the epidemic of disease in this country and the standard american diet, there has to be a connection with diet and mental health, a healthy brain function and emotional happiness as well. it just all makes perfect sense. there is no other good reason for the vast amount of addicts and those with mental illnesses and emotional disorders in our society and among our species who basically have a diet of processed refined crap that just sucks the life out of us and does not support basic human health, physical or mental. i am constantly surprised that this is not addressed more by the professionals but dare i say that it all goes back to those who pay for the research, those who stand to profit the most from the ills of our society of humans. they are the ones who pay for and support the research but the research that they support is only the research that is in their best interest. if the research were to show that all we needed to do was to support a healthy, holistic food supply to our suffering people then guess what.. guess who wouldn't be reeling in the profits?
bottom line.. alcohol is not only highly and sneakily addictive, it is also a serious toxin, plain and simple, and just like the crap food and all that refined sugar it sucks the life right out of your cells leaving you with a weakened system susceptible to dis-ease and poor health. even when consumed in "moderation" as some call it, you're losing more than you're putting in especially if you eat a highly refined diet.. so in order to compensate for your "artificial fun" or artificial relaxation you'd have to constantly be replacing what this toxin is sucking out of your cells with lots and lots of vitamin and mineral foods and supplements (especially b complex) just to stay minimally healthy.
is it really worth all that?
i don't think so.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
well josh got a 3 hr. car share ride from the houston airport back to austin thanks to the ad he placed at the last minute on craigslist. that was good timing.
laura has moved once again to another apt, this time only temporarily for 2 months until she can move permanently to auburn in august.
i am back to work everyday now for the next week or so. 2 days ago one of our regular liveaboards had a major fight with her boyfriend, an intoxicated fist fight of sorts over his alcoholism and she wound up with a seriously beaten face and a major black eye. this isn't the first time this has happened and this last time was over the edge. she should have had him arrested but well..she had been drinking too. he's now staying on a friend's boat who is out of town for a while and since the fight he's been holed up in there on a major alcoholic indulgment. i think he's come to shore a couple of times to make a liquor store run. it's very disturbing. on the one hand i feel protective over this woman, we all do as we are a close knit group here and beating women is as always a bad bad thing.. but i have this gnawing sad feeling for this guy, a man who is normally a kind friend to all and who has now gone off the deep end into alcoholism and has now been ostracized from our little community, has no one to talk to about his disease, has no home, no job, no nothing. even his own father who lives in a nearby town has abandoned him and has told everyone that he is just a piece of worthless shit.
for the past 2 days i have just been looking out at that boat he staying on and wondering what a horrible place he must be in right now, in his head he must be so tormented with his disease and to the point of total despair. at one time a month or so ago he actually told me that he wanted to quit drinking and i told him i would help him if i could. now it seems that he's just locked himself up in that boat and isolated himself from any kind of help. i worry that he's going to kill himself. his girlfriend and i are friends and we talk alot about her problems. she has an alcohol problem too but it's not the staggering falling down kind like his so apparently she doesn't seem to want to change her behavior just yet. at least she had the common sense this time to put an end to the relationship and has told him that if he comes near her she's calling 911. uggg...
on a lighter note there is "national river clean up day" next month, june 9. the city is going to participate and the anchorage is, of course, the hub. so i have been told that i will in charge of this and head it up for the entire city and lead the community of cleaner uppers in all their various boats around the shorelines of our city in my skiff. that should be fun. afterwards the city is sponsoring a bbq and picnic in the park for all those who helped in the clean up. i've done this before just not on such a large scale. i just love organizing these kinds of events.
i've contacted a solar company in miami who is on the state's list of approved contractors to give me a proposal for a photo voltaic system at the anchorage. the state has an energy program that grants up to $100,000 rebates for commercial systems installed by an approved contractor. i hope to hear from them soon. i have no idea just yet if i can persuade the city to go for this grid pv system but for now i will just try to find out if it's actually feasible before i present the idea to them. i really want the anchorage to go solar. this company also has a system that is made to withstand hurricane force (150 mph) winds.
i think it's going to be a beautiful day today at work. today i work all day from 7-6. it's a little slow now at work so i think i'll work on some projects, the 2007 hurricane/tenant plans, which are always a pain in the butt, get some fish emulsion fertilizer for the garden, which is growing nicely and maybe even get some new shower heads for the women's showers. they've been whining about it lately.
that's all for now.
laura has moved once again to another apt, this time only temporarily for 2 months until she can move permanently to auburn in august.
i am back to work everyday now for the next week or so. 2 days ago one of our regular liveaboards had a major fight with her boyfriend, an intoxicated fist fight of sorts over his alcoholism and she wound up with a seriously beaten face and a major black eye. this isn't the first time this has happened and this last time was over the edge. she should have had him arrested but well..she had been drinking too. he's now staying on a friend's boat who is out of town for a while and since the fight he's been holed up in there on a major alcoholic indulgment. i think he's come to shore a couple of times to make a liquor store run. it's very disturbing. on the one hand i feel protective over this woman, we all do as we are a close knit group here and beating women is as always a bad bad thing.. but i have this gnawing sad feeling for this guy, a man who is normally a kind friend to all and who has now gone off the deep end into alcoholism and has now been ostracized from our little community, has no one to talk to about his disease, has no home, no job, no nothing. even his own father who lives in a nearby town has abandoned him and has told everyone that he is just a piece of worthless shit.
for the past 2 days i have just been looking out at that boat he staying on and wondering what a horrible place he must be in right now, in his head he must be so tormented with his disease and to the point of total despair. at one time a month or so ago he actually told me that he wanted to quit drinking and i told him i would help him if i could. now it seems that he's just locked himself up in that boat and isolated himself from any kind of help. i worry that he's going to kill himself. his girlfriend and i are friends and we talk alot about her problems. she has an alcohol problem too but it's not the staggering falling down kind like his so apparently she doesn't seem to want to change her behavior just yet. at least she had the common sense this time to put an end to the relationship and has told him that if he comes near her she's calling 911. uggg...
on a lighter note there is "national river clean up day" next month, june 9. the city is going to participate and the anchorage is, of course, the hub. so i have been told that i will in charge of this and head it up for the entire city and lead the community of cleaner uppers in all their various boats around the shorelines of our city in my skiff. that should be fun. afterwards the city is sponsoring a bbq and picnic in the park for all those who helped in the clean up. i've done this before just not on such a large scale. i just love organizing these kinds of events.
i've contacted a solar company in miami who is on the state's list of approved contractors to give me a proposal for a photo voltaic system at the anchorage. the state has an energy program that grants up to $100,000 rebates for commercial systems installed by an approved contractor. i hope to hear from them soon. i have no idea just yet if i can persuade the city to go for this grid pv system but for now i will just try to find out if it's actually feasible before i present the idea to them. i really want the anchorage to go solar. this company also has a system that is made to withstand hurricane force (150 mph) winds.
i think it's going to be a beautiful day today at work. today i work all day from 7-6. it's a little slow now at work so i think i'll work on some projects, the 2007 hurricane/tenant plans, which are always a pain in the butt, get some fish emulsion fertilizer for the garden, which is growing nicely and maybe even get some new shower heads for the women's showers. they've been whining about it lately.
that's all for now.
Friday, May 18, 2007
arpad pusztai was fired from his job with the research institute, rowett, due to his findings on the gm potato. rowett is funded by monsanto.
Arpad Pusztai, Ph.D., received his degree in Chemistry in Budapest, Hungary and his B.Sc. in Physiology and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of London in England. Over his nearly 50-year career, he worked at universities and research institutes in Budapest; London; Chicago, U.S.; and Aberdeen, Scotland (Rowett Research Institute). He has published close to 300 primary peer-reviewed papers and wrote or edited 12 scientific books. In the last 30 years he pioneered research into the effects of dietary lectins (carbohydrate-reactive proteins), including those transgenically expressed in GM crop plants, on the gastrointestinal tract. Since his contract was not renewed with Rowett as a result of disagreements, Dr. Pusztai has been lecturing on his GM potato research all over the world and acting as a consultant to groups starting up research into the health effects of GM food.
http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/a.pusztai/
Arpad Pusztai, Ph.D., received his degree in Chemistry in Budapest, Hungary and his B.Sc. in Physiology and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of London in England. Over his nearly 50-year career, he worked at universities and research institutes in Budapest; London; Chicago, U.S.; and Aberdeen, Scotland (Rowett Research Institute). He has published close to 300 primary peer-reviewed papers and wrote or edited 12 scientific books. In the last 30 years he pioneered research into the effects of dietary lectins (carbohydrate-reactive proteins), including those transgenically expressed in GM crop plants, on the gastrointestinal tract. Since his contract was not renewed with Rowett as a result of disagreements, Dr. Pusztai has been lecturing on his GM potato research all over the world and acting as a consultant to groups starting up research into the health effects of GM food.
http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/a.pusztai/
Thursday, May 17, 2007
i will do the most productive thing possible at every given moment. ... however....
a big piece of my heart just left to go back to austin.
see ya in august.
hope you had enough time to unwind a little bit.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
saturday, may 12 was the first time i had ever attended a college graduation ceremony. i guess that seems strange. 
this was just a perfect day and perfect weekend for sure.
any kind of ceremony involving my children always brings out the big flood of teary emotions. i think it's the music.. pomp & circumstance immediately brought it on and i forgot my tissues. well, i don't normally carry tissues but i forgot them just the same.
all 28 of my pictures came out blurry and crappy and i took several pictures of the arms and fingers of people i do not know. 
for some reason i not only felt blessed and overjoyed to watch laura graduate but i also felt strangely the same for all the others. i thought it must be such a wonderful feeling... such a proud time in their lives. i would have proud to graduate from college.. but as it happened i didn't chose to take that road. i doubt if i would have made a very good student anyway or else i would have had a permantly dislocated shoulder from asking too many questions that no one wants to answer. story of my life....
this was just a perfect day and perfect weekend for sure.
mark and laura seem to have an extraordinarily wonderful relationship. that just makes me smile.
they've been together almost 4 yrs.
we picked josh up at the airport. the sight of his face at the airport was a very wonderful thing. it's hard for me to put into words but that boy stole my heart away the minute he was born and he still does it everytime i see him. if i wasn't me and about 30 years younger i'd definitely like to hang out with him.
the rest of the weekend was spend hanging out, going to laura's kickball game and happily munching away at the coolest little restaurants that laura had chosen for us, really good food, nice little organic veganish places. we finally got to meet mark's parents and his brother and we all had dinner together. the minute we sat down together i got the feeling that i was going to like them alot. just looking in their eyes i could tell that they were very wonderful and kind people, down to earth, no pretences, just purely great people to be with. i guess that should be no surprise though, knowing mark. being the odd self that i am sometimes i hoped that i didn't scare them too much. sometimes some really flaky bizarro things come flying out of my mouth.
they've been together almost 4 yrs.we picked josh up at the airport. the sight of his face at the airport was a very wonderful thing. it's hard for me to put into words but that boy stole my heart away the minute he was born and he still does it everytime i see him. if i wasn't me and about 30 years younger i'd definitely like to hang out with him.
the rest of the weekend was spend hanging out, going to laura's kickball game and happily munching away at the coolest little restaurants that laura had chosen for us, really good food, nice little organic veganish places. we finally got to meet mark's parents and his brother and we all had dinner together. the minute we sat down together i got the feeling that i was going to like them alot. just looking in their eyes i could tell that they were very wonderful and kind people, down to earth, no pretences, just purely great people to be with. i guess that should be no surprise though, knowing mark. being the odd self that i am sometimes i hoped that i didn't scare them too much. sometimes some really flaky bizarro things come flying out of my mouth.
of course we had to spend mother's day at the aquarium. i guess everyone took their mother to the aquarium that day. it was packed. 
these big groupers freak me out. if i ever actually see one someday underwater i'll probably pass out.
as much as i missed my little florida hideaway i really hated to leave atlanta, leave laura actually, but we'll be together again soon, in august.
these big groupers freak me out. if i ever actually see one someday underwater i'll probably pass out.
as much as i missed my little florida hideaway i really hated to leave atlanta, leave laura actually, but we'll be together again soon, in august.
we drove back to florida with josh. i think we made really good time, only 8 hrs from atlanta to jensen beach.
josh was exhausted from his end of the year final projects and presentations. it worries me that he stresses so much over his work but then again it is supposed to be challenging. i guess grad school is always hard and very demanding. he'll be alright once he gets some rest and down time. i think he's starting to unwind a bit now.
yesterday i took him to work with me and he kept me company. it's slow at the anchorage now and from now on during the summer there really isn't much happening. we just sort of hang out and hang out some more. it's a good time to catch up on some reading.
today i guess we'll go down to the beach and check out the surf. it's been really windy again so it should be interesting. we will probably go out to the boat and sit on it for a while. josh can see what's been taking us so long to finish. last night after work we stopped at goodwill and josh found a couple of real "gems". i love goodwill. then we rented a couple of movies from blockbuster. josh made the choices. we watched "children of men" which made me feel nervous and uneasy and well.. actually i really don't know what was going on most of the time.
i've been trying to think of something else to do while josh is here. he leaves on thursday. there's really not a whole lot to do here in this town like there is in bigger cities.
sometimes that's a very good thing though.
sometimes it's just good to be with the people you love the most... just doing nothing.
Friday, May 11, 2007
square grouper??
i learned about a bit of florida history the other day.
my neighbor was going down to a local hangout down in jupiter called the "square grouper". it's right on the water at the end of jupiter island where the inlet meets the ocean. she said it's a great place to sit and drink and watch the boats. it's been there forever. jimmy buffet even wrote one of his songs about it.
anyway, i asked why it was called the "square grouper". grouper is a type of fish, a fish that we all love here in florida. i have caught a few since i've been here. i thought maybe they served grouper sandwiches, square grouper sandwiches maybe.
well back in the day, during the 70's, square grouper used to wash up on the shores of florida quite frequently, apparently alot of them did along the coast and near this little beach side bar. sometimes the square grouper would fall out of the sky. one time a big one, the size of a bale of hay, fell out of a plane and crashed through the roof of someone's house. often large quantities of square grouper were tossed off of fast moving boats from south america trying to outrun the dea. it is said that if you were lucky enough to find a square grouper or two floating around or washed up on the beach you had better not mention it to the authorities if you wanted to keep it and take it home.
i was told that the salt water did not affect the square grouper and once it was dried out for a couple of days it still retained it's value.
i learn something every day.
maybe we should go down to this inlet bar and watch the boats.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
sunday was the first annual "paddle dinghy race". we made this up a couple of days earlier.
no canoes or kayaks allowed. you could only paddle. you could not use your oar locks and row.
john and i decided to join the race. 
one of the guys had a small cannon that he used to start the race. john made me duck down when he fired it off just in case he had put too much gunpowder in it like he did the last time he fired it. we decided that the race would be from the dock out to the yellow buoy and back.
one of the guys had a small cannon that he used to start the race. john made me duck down when he fired it off just in case he had put too much gunpowder in it like he did the last time he fired it. we decided that the race would be from the dock out to the yellow buoy and back.
john was psyched so i decided to give it my all. i'm not normally very competitive but hey.. 
i didn't want to disappoint him.
we were neck and neck with 2 young guys in their early 20's for a while but that didn't last long.
i put my game face on, as john told me to do.
we were doing some serious paddling, head down, non stop all the way out and back.... no fooling around.
paddle, paddle, paddle. the kind of paddling that makes your shoulders burn.
we passed those young guys at the buoy.
i didn't want to disappoint him.we were neck and neck with 2 young guys in their early 20's for a while but that didn't last long.
i put my game face on, as john told me to do.
we were doing some serious paddling, head down, non stop all the way out and back.... no fooling around.
paddle, paddle, paddle. the kind of paddling that makes your shoulders burn.
we passed those young guys at the buoy.and smoked them all but good. hehe 
the whole thing was hilarious and
we took the first place paddle dinghy race ribbon.
we took the first place paddle dinghy race ribbon.
for the last couple of days we've had mucho wind... the kind that blows all the furniture off our deck. first it was from the n.e. then it clocked around to the s.e. the wind always brings some kind of spectacular surf watching.
when toby and i got to the beach i could hear the roar as we walked down the little path to the dunes. the sound 
of it made my heart beat faster. as we crossed over the dunes we were welcomed by a sight that i never get tired of and i thought " this is it". we were all alone on the beach, just me and toby and i felt very fortunate. i don't know why the sight of this just amazes me every single time.
i got so mesmerized by it all that i forgot to watch my little bag sitting next to the dunes. one of those waves snuck on me and drenched all my stuff, including my cell phone. it actually stole my shorts and my beach shirt that i had worn over my bathing suit and took them out to sea. oh well... luckily i was due for a new phone. this time i'll get one that is waterproof.
toby was very amazed too and ran in and out of the foamy water like a little boston speed freak.
what the water wants is hurricanes, and sailboats to ride on its back.
of it made my heart beat faster. as we crossed over the dunes we were welcomed by a sight that i never get tired of and i thought " this is it". we were all alone on the beach, just me and toby and i felt very fortunate. i don't know why the sight of this just amazes me every single time.
i got so mesmerized by it all that i forgot to watch my little bag sitting next to the dunes. one of those waves snuck on me and drenched all my stuff, including my cell phone. it actually stole my shorts and my beach shirt that i had worn over my bathing suit and took them out to sea. oh well... luckily i was due for a new phone. this time i'll get one that is waterproof.
toby was very amazed too and ran in and out of the foamy water like a little boston speed freak.
what the water wants is hurricanes, and sailboats to ride on its back.
what the water wants is sun kiss, and land to run into and back.
i have a fishstone..........
Monday, May 07, 2007
how can you not like a guy who goes around the world photographing large groups of naked people?
it's just really cool and amusingly wonderful.
the framingham study and the shrinking brain
the research, which included mri brain scans of 1,839 people who are part of a this study, was presented wednesday at the american academy of neurology annual meeting.
compared with the nondrinkers, all of the groups had progressively greater amounts of decreased brain volume, with the biggest decrease in the heavy drinkers.
compared with the nondrinkers, all of the groups had progressively greater amounts of decreased brain volume, with the biggest decrease in the heavy drinkers.
medical researchers have found that drinking small amounts of alcohol has benefits for the cardiovascular system. neurologist carol ann paul began to wonder if it could have similar positive effects on the brain.
paul, an instructor at wellesley college in massachusetts, took data from the framingham study. that long-term medical research project has followed residents of the town of framingham, massachusetts since 1948. several years ago, the framingham researchers took brain scans of people in the community who ranged in age from 34 to 88 years.
paul says she looked at records from more than 18-hundred of these people and divided them into five groups. "and these groups were abstainers who didn't drink and former drinkers. and then I had three (more) groups: low, moderate and high drinkers. low drinkers had 1 to 7 drinks a week, moderate drinkers consumed 8 to 14 drinks per week while high drinkers had greater or equal to 15 drinks a week."
paul measured total cranial volumes and the amount of space the subjects' brains occupied inside their skulls. brains normally get slightly smaller as people age, but paul found the consumption of alcohol accelerated this process, even when she took other factors into account. and she says the more alcohol subjects drank, the more brain volume they lost.
"alcohol decreased brain volume by minus 2 point 5 percent per drink category," she explains. "normal people lose about point-19 percent of their brain per year, so this reduction is equal to one or two years of normal brain aging."
paul says she doesn't know whether or how this decrease translates into decreased brain function. but she says she was surprised that alcohol had such a deleterious effect on brain structure.
paul, an instructor at wellesley college in massachusetts, took data from the framingham study. that long-term medical research project has followed residents of the town of framingham, massachusetts since 1948. several years ago, the framingham researchers took brain scans of people in the community who ranged in age from 34 to 88 years.
paul says she looked at records from more than 18-hundred of these people and divided them into five groups. "and these groups were abstainers who didn't drink and former drinkers. and then I had three (more) groups: low, moderate and high drinkers. low drinkers had 1 to 7 drinks a week, moderate drinkers consumed 8 to 14 drinks per week while high drinkers had greater or equal to 15 drinks a week."
paul measured total cranial volumes and the amount of space the subjects' brains occupied inside their skulls. brains normally get slightly smaller as people age, but paul found the consumption of alcohol accelerated this process, even when she took other factors into account. and she says the more alcohol subjects drank, the more brain volume they lost.
"alcohol decreased brain volume by minus 2 point 5 percent per drink category," she explains. "normal people lose about point-19 percent of their brain per year, so this reduction is equal to one or two years of normal brain aging."
paul says she doesn't know whether or how this decrease translates into decreased brain function. but she says she was surprised that alcohol had such a deleterious effect on brain structure.
omg, i just realized that i'll be spending mother's day with my children!!!
this will be the best mother's day ever.
especially since i haven't spent mother's day with the both of them for a long long time, probably 7 yrs.
friday we are driving up to atlanta for laura's graduation on saturday, pick up josh from the airport, hang out together and then sunday we're all going to my new favorite place in atlanta, the georgia aquarium. i already have tickets for 4pm.
this is too good to be true. 
it will be a great weekend. i'm getting choked up just thinking about it.
p.s. when laura was a tot, she clung to me like velcro and the only way i could get her to sit in one of those photo studios and not cry was to give her a box of raisins. i thought she was going to grow up to be really shy. hehe.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
there's alot of things that i could write about here on this blog, things that i think about, things that puzzle, irritate, baffle, frustrate me, some are just really stupid, some that i think are very valid. the trouble is when you actually come out and say what you really think it often offends somebody. i know that i am very critical, too critical sometimes to the point of sounding really arrogant which i honestly don't mean to be. i don't like that part of me. i really have no right to act that way. all i'm really trying to do is challenge the concepts but it doesn't always come out sounding that way. i need to just start accepting people for the way they are and the choices they make and just leave it alone and keep my big mouth shut. it's definitely not going anywhere. i'd like to find a way to channel this energy into something more positive and productive.
having said that, i really like my brain. it keeps me very entertained with questions and thoughts of why & wonder. i ask alot of questions, always, always ask alot of questions. this i know drives alot of people crazy... like a little annoying 5 yr. old who won't shut up asking questions non-stop. this is me and i have no idea why i'm like this. the funny part is most of the time no one can answer these incessant questions. i don't know why i think that is so funny but it is. it is very funny/strange to me that most people don't really question much of anything... even really simple things, basic things like what's in that stuff that you feed yourself everyday and is it actually beneficial. that's pretty basic but hardly anyone questions it.
there's alot of stuff we should question but it seems like everyone's just too busy to bother or just not interested.
in the meantime i think everyone who drinks too much should videotape themselves when they're drunk and then look at it the next morning.
i also think that there should be a huge tax break/rebate incentive for everyone who reaches a certain age, like at every 10 yr intervals, who can offer up a clean bill of health, who doesn't have such self inflictions as high blood pressure, heart disease, irritable bowel syndromes, acid reflux, diabetes, osteoporosis, who isn't obese or blubbery, addicted to anything or relying on mood/anxiety/depression drugs to get them through their day. we would have free clinics for these checkups. the government could also issue free at-home health monitors that would enable every person to gauge their daily intake of nutrients, much like the gauges in your car, indicating which nutrients you were low on and alarming you when you were abusing yourself with toxic foods.
that would be cool.
Friday, May 04, 2007
these are mary's sisters, elizabeth, joanne, ethel & margaret. after the funeral service they came back to the apt. we had a nice little luncheon and i made strawberry shortcake for them and of course, jerry. they gave mary's nice dishes and pots and pans to jerry and they're taking all the rest of her stuff to goodwill.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
i passed this tree everyday when i went to see mary. i always felt like climbing up in it and sitting for a spell. i really like this tree.
mary died yesterday morning. of her 11 siblings only 3 are here. they will have a little memorial service for her at the local hospice, outside in the gardens. i'm going to go ahead and invite the people back to the apt for food and refreshments outside on the deck. i think i'll make everyone strawberry/blueberry shortcake, in honor of poor old mary.
i'll have to borrow the portable beach tent from my friend to shade the sisters. they are the whiteist pastiest people i've seen in a long time. actually they look sort of anemic and sickly. i don't think they get outside much being from out there in the midwest. they're also ultra extremely conservative and very stiff- like. they look at me kind of funny.
once again i have watched a neighbor and a friend die of alcoholism and i really did nothing about it because i honestly just can't figure out what to do when they get to that point of no return, or so it seems. it just makes me really mad at myself that i couldn't or didn't do anything really except watch over her as she became sicker and sicker.
people seem to abandon alcoholics like they're some kind of slovenly worthless piece of self centered crap. they walk away in disgust telling them they need to sober up and get help. they certainly wouldn't do this to a family member if they had a mental illness or a common physical disease. it's bizarre.
for the past several days i've thought alot about what i might have learned from all of this.
one thing i know for sure is that if you really care about that person who is drinking themselves to death you should never ever abandon them. they did not do this on purpose. if you don't understand this then read dr. larson's book "7 weeks to sobriety"and you will then understand.
i started drinking alot in my early 20's along with everyone else that i knew. it was just acceptable to get wasted and party as they say..
i didn't know that i had a problem. i didn't know that i didn't have an off switch. it was just all fun to me. getting high was just the thing to do.
most people do have an off switch in their brain chemistry. they drink a little and they stop. i could never do that. i come from a long family history of "heavy drinkers" as they say. the term "alcoholic" was reserved for the falling down drunks who lived in squalor. i know better now. the last family reunion made it quite apparent. they all drink to excess. call it what you will. scotch, whiskey and vodka have run in my family's blood for a long long time. i grew up in alcoholic households, both my mother's and my aunt's and it wasn't a hell of alot of fun. someone should have smacked me hard the first time i ever took a drink.
here's the big problem... if you don't know that you don't have an off switch then you start making up all kinds of excuses to yourself about why you "think you want" to drink so much, why you don't think you drink too much, so much to the point of absurdity, so much to the point of no return, so much to the point where you are literally making yourself sicker and sicker and sicker, so much to the point where you are addicted and you don't even know it anymore and alcohol becomes your best friend. it happens before you have time to realize what's going on.
all this takes time. it doesn't happen overnight and one day you are over the edge, off into a world of addiction that has screwed your brain and your body big time. big big time....
i want to seriously warn all young people who think this couldn't happen to them. you may not have an off switch either. you may have inherited this defect and everytime you drink, get drunk, have a good time, drink some more, have more "good times" you may be getting closer and closer to the point of no return. and for what?? because you didn't know how to have a "good time" without being high? your brain is fooling you. i know this for a fact.
once you get to mary's level of addiction it's just too damn late to ever go back.
that right there is the ugly truth. the only way i could have helped mary was to literally kidnap her and take her to some place like the health recovery clinic, detox her and force her to submit to their treatments, which would have probably saved her had it been done several years ago. she would have still needed a new liver though and there's just not that many livers out there waiting for people like mary.
so let this be a lesson to me. i will try harder to help the people i care about understand how to get better before it's too late. i will not backoff and act like it's none of my business anymore. i will make sure that my own children know that they too may not have an off switch. i will encourage them to look for all that is good in life, all that makes us what we are, all that makes us happy and productive, all makes us vulnerable to our defects and to be very honest with themselves. no matter how corny this may sound, happiness does not come from a bottle of alcohol or a 12 pack of beer. if you need alcohol to be "happy" then you need to quickly find out why that is. your brain is defective but you can easily replace what is missing. listen up...it is easily corrected. fixing this problem, this defect, is so simple that it makes me want to cry everytime i see someone killing themselves with alcohol. but... you've got to do it before you reach the point of no return!
that's all. i done and i'm tired of all this depressing stuff.
let's move on and try to do better.
we have only one life.
let's make the most of it.
i haven't touched alcohol for over 2 1/2 yrs now. yeah for me.
now i must continue to try to repair the damage i caused to the people who mean the most to me.
amen.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
looking for a diversion and found some wonderfully amazing new to me music on http://ropeadope.com/
the campbell brothers jumped perfectly right into my head.
check out all the music on ropeadope.com.
antibalas. they are called an afrobeat juggernaut. this stuff gives me positive energy.
i'll find time to listen to them all on this ropeadope label as soon as i can.
"WhhoooooHOOOOOOOO.......Chuck Campbell's pedal steel yanks a throaty soundin' steam whistle from the "Zone" and the train pulls outta the station, drums clacking along in a JohnnyCash style beat, but this ain't "Folsum Prison Blues". I look around, expecting to see that a spur line of the Florida East Coast Railway has been switched someway or other and that a 90 car train full of gravel is on it's way into the ballroom. The song is "Morning Train" and if the energy from it could be harnassed, would have no problem hauling 90 freight cars full of gravel. A big man with a huge "8" on the back of his shirt and scratching on a washboard leads a procession of church folks throught the crowd picking up more people as it winds it's way between tables and chairs. The whole place is spirit filled, and "my" people are having fun. They are not drunk it seems, they are filled with the natural spirit and happy. The church people have showed them how it's done. One song after another poured off the stage. The crowd responded to all of it, and nobody, even the unnaturally curvacious Barbie dolls in attendance, were able to sit still."
i would go to church every sunday just to see these guys play.
sidetracked....this is a very cool little gadget
and i don't know how to use this but someone with a "talent" could have some fun. it's from the brain of pete townsend and it's free for the next couple of months. http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/news/article/0,,4122930,00.html
that's all for now. i must get back to reality.
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