Thursday, November 29, 2007

Word Verification is Evil

Why is it that I fail miserably whenever I have to type in the letters in those annoying word verification images? Is it just me? Does anybody else have this problem?

What makes it worse is that when I mess it up, blogger obviously throws me an easier set of letters. It's treating me like the slow kid in class, and I hate being treated like the slow kid.

posted by Sara at 1:50 PM 1 Comments

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Trader Joe's Finds of the Week

The beer edition!

Zeph and I like to try new beers from TJs every so often (okay, usually once a week). We each get a six pack so that we can try two different types of beer (plus, if one of us hates it, the other will probably drink it). This week we went all out and got three six packs because neither of us wanted to waste a beer-of-the-week pick on the pumpkin ale, but we were both dying to try it. Here are my reviews of this week's brews.

Pumpkin Ale by Kennebunkport Brewing Company: Does it taste like pumpkin? Yes. Does it taste like beer? Yes. Is that weird? Strangely, it works. This beer is fairly sweet, and not too hoppy nor too malty. An all-around weird and tasty beer.

Henninger Premium Frankfurt Beer: An ok beer. It tastes (and looks) like a Heineken, so don't expect much more than you would get from your average supermarket beer.

Black Toad Distinctive Dark Ale: I love this beer! After having this and the TJs special ale, I have decided that dark beer full of toasted malt flavor is definitely my thing. I wish I could come up with a convincing, logical argument to accompany such a spectacular ale, but I can't. All I can do is continue to sit here drinking it (yes, I am drinking beer and blogging simultaneously) and insist that you go out and pick up a six pack.

P.S. In case anybody was wondering, TJs isn't paying me to write any of these crazy posts, though I am thinking of asking for a small sum.

P.P.S.S. Yes, I am drinking at 6pm. Yes, I am a busy college student, and I will be doing homework later. No, the two are not incompatible.

P.P.P.S.S.S. If you (the reader) happen to be a professor of mine, I promise I am not about to do any homework for your class.

posted by Sara at 5:52 PM 1 Comments

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

New OLPC Blog

I have a lot to say about OLPC, and the musings on the project and my experiences with my XO laptop don't really jive with this blog. People searching for OLPC info should be able to find it without sifting through posts such as the best items to buy at Trader Joe's, and people who only care about my random posts on gender, gaming, and USF shouldn't be bombarded with posts about OLPC.

The solution? A new blog! Do I have time to maintain two blogs? No. Which is why the OLPC blog (olpcsf.blogspot.com) is co-authored. Currently, I am the only one who has posted, but I am confident that the other two authors will pipe up once they get their hot little hands on their laptops.

If you or anybody you know is interested in being added as an author, please let me know. I hope it will become a hotspot for a variety of experiences and opinions, as well as a way to meet in physical space (laptops in tow, of course!).

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posted by Sara at 7:24 PM 1 Comments

Cream of Mushroom Soup

The turkey pot pie recipe I just posted calls for a can of cream of mushroom soup, which is probably one of the most basic ingredients in a pantry. So, on my latest trip to Trader Joe's, I decided to pick up a couple of cans in addition to the one I needed for my pot pie, only to find that TJs doesn't carry cream of mushroom soup. In fact, they don't carry cream of anything soup! No cream of broccoli, no cream of chicken, no cream of asparagus. As I stood in the soup aisle pouting, creating a traffic jam in the early morning rush of TJs human traffic, Zeph asked, "Why can't we just make our own?" And dangit, he was right!

So I whipped out my smart phone, hopped on my mobile internet, and Googled "how to make cream of mushroom soup," all the while still blocking traffic in the soup aisle at TJs. Usually I would scoff at using a cell phone in such an earthy place, but this was a mushroom emergency. I found this website, grabbed some ingredients, and merrily finished shopping.

On Monday, I again checked the website to see what the recipe called for, and then pretty much did whatever I wanted using the general guidelines offered. It worked perfectly, and shopping at chain grocery stores was once again avoided! And now, without further ado, my final recipe:

Cream of Mushroom Soup
What you need:
1/2 cup of mushrooms (volume when chopped)
2 cloves garlic (optional)
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp to 1/4 cup flour (depending on desired thickness)
Spices

What you do:
Mince the mushrooms and garlic. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add the mushrooms and garlic, and saute until brown and aromatic. Mix in the desired amount of flour (1 Tbsp will make a thinner sauce, and 1/4 cup will make a sauce the thickness of condensed soup). After the flour and the butter are completely mixed, add the stock and milk. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the soup to a boil, stirring consistently. As the soup is heating, add in spices to taste. I used salt, pepper, and the Scarborough Fair quartet.

Once the mixture has simmered for a few minutes, the flour will have done all the thickening it is going to do. If you want a thicker soup, it is possible to add more flour at this point. Be sure to add it slowly and whisk in thoroughly to avoid lumps. If the soup is too thick, more stock and milk can be added (in equal parts). Eat this soup as a meal (it was really tasty), or add it to any recipe that calls for it.

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posted by Sara at 2:45 PM 1 Comments

What to Do With All of That Turkey

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, which means that starting Friday the world will be plagued with two things: the obscene uber-commercialization of Christmas, and too much leftover turkey. I can't do much about the former, but I have a tasty solution for the latter.

Turkey Pot Pie
What you need:
1 bag of frozen vegetables
About 2 cups of cooked turkey meat
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 sheet of puff pastry
herbs, spices, etc. to taste

What you do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the soup, the veggies, and the turkey together in a big bowl. Season according to your personal tastes. I added some pepper, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (I season everything according to Simon and Garfunkel). Pour the mixture into a square 8x8 baking dish, and place 1 sheet of puff pastry on top. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the pastry if golden brown on top. Let cool for a few minutes, then EAT!

This makes a pie with a fairly thick filling. Add some chicken stock to the mixture if you want it a little more creamy.

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posted by Sara at 2:25 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Trader Joe's Finds of the Week (Carb Edition)

I missed last week's entry (damn you, senior thesis!), so I threw in an extra one for this week.

One: Van's all natural gourmet multi-grain waffles. I'm usually leery of foods that are dairy free, but these waffles are amazing. Not only do they taste good, but they're actually good for you! They have 5 grams of protein, 5 grams of protein, 100 grams of delicious. Plus, two waffles are only 190 calories, which is few enough for everybody's battle of the bulge this holiday season. I like to cook mine in the toaster oven, cover them in peanut butter, and devour.

Two: TJ's brand Puff Pastry. It's frozen, it comes in 8"x8" sheets, and it bakes up crispy, flaky, and oh so delicious. Use in place of pie crust for a pot pie (more on that later), or top with your favorite cheese for a wonderful appetizer. I recommend stocking up on these, as they seem to disappear from the freezer case at lightning speed these days.

Three: Challah rolls. Challah bread is good to begin with, but put it in nice little individual servings and it's even better. They don't go stale as fast as other dinner roll. They also don't mold as fast as everything else we keep atop our microwave. This makes them cost effective, since we aren't throwing them out uneaten, as well as yummy. And if there is one thing I like more than yummy, it is cheap and yummy.

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posted by Sara at 5:02 PM 0 Comments

Thursday, November 15, 2007

I gave one, I'm getting one

The One Laptop Per Child (OPLC) initiative opened up sales of its laptops to North America on Monday in the form of it's "Give One, Get One" program. Until November 26, if you donate $400 to OLPC they will send one laptop to a child in a developing country and one laptop to you. After waiting (impatiently) since then for payday to come, I finally made my donation early this morning, and my laptop will soon be on its way. I am so excited!

This is one purchase that I thought about extensively before moving forward and it, and the indecision had nothing to do with the price. I considered the selfishness of keeping a laptop for myself instead of donating two laptops. I also took into account how much $200 could help a child if given in monetary form instead of laptop form (a common critique of the OLPC project).

Obviously, I ultimately decided that keeping a laptop for myself is not a bad thing to do. OLPC needs users in the United States to promote its program, both by producing positive media about the program and by contributing to the creation of programs for its new operating system. I may not know how to code in Python, but I can be a decent blogger when I don't have a thesis deadline looming overhead, and thus I think I can contribute to the popularity of this program.

The problem of children being given free laptops instead of free food and water is still a concern of mine. However, I think that education is key to producing adequate food and securing adequate sources of water. And as education is the goal of this program I think it can only help with the more immediate needs of individuals, even if it does take some time.

What was the deciding event in this struggle of conscience? I was reading the reviews of the laptop written by children who use it, and one of the children wrote, "The things we didn't know, we go check on the laptop." That's when it hit me. These kids don't have access to google. They don't have access to wikipedia. They don't have access to all of the internet knowledge tools that I take for granted every day.

So, rather than throw some money at the issue and feel that I've done my part, I chose to become an active part in the project. I want to work with the recipient children to create programs they need, not programs US corporations want to push on them. I don't just want to give them access to websites, I want to be active in making that web experience more educational. Yes I am getting a laptop, but I am also getting a mission, and that is to actively help make OLPC the successful program I know it can be.

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posted by Sara at 5:49 PM 1 Comments

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

World Diabetes Day


Why am I talking about World Diabetes Day? I have type 1 diabetes, and I was diagnosed when I was 19. I have been pumping for a little over a year now, and the pump is probably the best thing that ever happened to me.

How does diabetes affect my life? I check my glucose levels 5+ times a day, I change my pump infusion sets and the insulin in the pump when I'm supposed to (every 3 days), and I try as hard as I can to keep up with a healthy diet and exercise plan. I visit my doctor 4 times a year, I know all the ins and outs of the medical billing and insurance systems, and I know never to trust a pharmacy to get your prescriptions refilled on time. Wearing a dress takes an extra 15 minutes of planning so I can find a place to put my pump, I carry skittles with me wherever I go, and I check to make sure I grabbed my test strips more than I check to make sure I have my keys. I can administer insulin shots in a moving car, I can check my blood glucose without a table to rest anything on, and I can tell you the carbohydrate content of almost any food just by looking at it. I also get instant membership to a great online community, TuDiabetes.

What does WDD mean to me? It's a way to bring attention to the fact that diabetes still has no cure. There have been major medical advances when it comes to diabetes management, and I am lucky that I never had to use some of the more archaic forms of treatment. But the pump is not a pancreas. Insulin is not a cure. Test strips will not revive my insulin-producing beta cells.

What do I want you, as the reader, to do? Learn the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, support stem cell research, and, if you can, make a contribution to the Junior Diabetes Research Fund (they focus on type 1 research).

There is no cure for Type 1 Diabetes. Yet.

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posted by Sara at 12:32 PM 0 Comments

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Trader Joe's Finds of the Week

So the whole "Open Source Wednesday" thing obviously did not become a serial event. So let me close the book on that by saying, "Open source is good. Use it!"

Now that that is behind us, I would like to turn my attention to something I enjoy just as much as software: food. For those who don't know, Zeph and I do all of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. Why? The food is cheap, it's healthy (well, most of it), and it tastes good. It's also good for my relationship because Zeph and I don't have to argue over whether to get organic or non-organic (I prefer the former, he the latter) since TJs usually only has organic options. I'm sure Zeph could write a whole blog on why he doesn't support organic, so it's something I won't get into at the moment.

Another thing I like about TJs is that the products change every week. Right now they have really good canned pumpkin (organic, of course), pumpkin bread mix, and other fun foods to help commemorate the start of fall (I know fall started for the rest of the country a month ago, but SF just finished our 'Indian Summer').

Every Monday I go into work and tell my co-worker Anne the great things I picked up over the weekend, and she tells me the latest thing she tried. So, as my blog slowly takes over my life, I in turn thought to myself, "I should blog about that!" This is my long-winded introduction to the fact that I now hope to share my latest TJs treasures with the blogosphere.

This week's gems:
Brussel Sprouts
I know that brussel sprouts have a rep as one of the worst vegetables on Earth, but believe me, they're good! The best way to eat them is to toss them in some olive oil, add salt and pepper, and roast them in the oven for a half hour or so. Come to think of it, almost anything is good tossed in olive oil and roasted in the oven.

-and-

Trader Joe's 2006 Vintage Ale
I don't know how something made in 2006 can be called vintage, but this beer is so good I'm not going to argue the semantics. It's a dark beer, and it comes in a pint-sized bottle. I don't usually like dark beers, but this one is amazing! Watch out for the kick - it's 9% alc/vol.

That's it for this week! If you want more info on TJs products, check out the Trader Joe's Fansite.

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posted by Sara at 5:20 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Good Sunday Mornings Consist of....

Salmon sandwiches with mixed green salad, served with a bottle of champagne.

What fabulous restaurant serves such great food? My kitchen!

Here's how we made them...

Sandwiches:
-salmon fillets
-pesto
-mayonnaise
-tomato
-mixed greens
-capers
-ciabatta

To make the pesto mayonnaise, mix the pesto and the mayonnaise. I can't tell you how many parts mayo to how many parts pesto because Zeph did the mixing. It's all a matter of personal taste anyway. Next, grill the salmon (Zeph used the Foreman grill for this), heat the bread, and top with pesto mayo, tomato, capers and greens. Use the rest of the bag o' greens for a side salad, and top with your favorite dressing (TJ's lite parmesan ranch) and good croutons (TJ's garlic cheese croutons).

We served the fabulous meal with a bottle of champagne (why is it always reserved for special occasions?), and promptly followed it with a nap. It may not be good as the 100+ massages my mom has had during the last three weeks in SE Asia, but it was pretty darn good.

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posted by Sara at 5:24 PM 1 Comments

Friday, November 02, 2007

Why Gender Segregation of Games is Bad

Today, indil left a comment on my post about Playhut's new virtual worlds. He writes:

Do girls play games as much as boys? Why not? Is it because girls don't like to play video games? Or is it because girls don't like to play the video games that boys like to play and boys like to play the majority of games out there right now? It's old news that boys and girls like different types of games. Tailoring a game for a specific sex to maximize the possible enjoyment of the experience is smart, not ignorant...

I started to comment back, but soon realized that I had a lot to write about the subject. It soon hit me why - I already did write a lot about the subject! The literature on girls' games is what inspired me to study female gamers for my senior thesis, and my literature review discusses the topic extensively. I am not a master of brevity, so rather than attempt to reproduce the major points found in my literature review I have uploaded it here.

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posted by Sara at 7:09 PM 2 Comments