Good cop gets punished

You ever wonder where the good cops are and why all you hear about are the bad cops? Well cause apparently, the good cops get weeded out.

http://reason.com/blog/2012/04/18/no-good-cops-go-unpunished-when-they-sto

Freedom curtailed

Seriously, the black box in cars? Nuts! I understand we're in an age where notions of privacy are quickly disappearing, but once anybody can track you anywhere, without any kind of restrictions in place on the data to prevent abuse, I guarantee abuse will occur.

... and there is nothing you, the citizen, can do about it. Don't you just love how the government doesn't represent the public's interests at all? Corporations and rich people laugh in our faces as we feebly wave our wimpy voting powers at them. There is no choice of candidates for us if the corporations and rich people pick all the candidates for us.

http://www.businessinsider.com/something-is-wrong-with-this-picture-2012-4

Seafood deformities in Gulf

So tell me, why are none of our U.S. news outlets covering this? I had to read about it on Al Jazeera:

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/04/201241682318260912.html?view=all

The 10 scariest places to be a woman in

If you're a woman, avoid the places mentioned in this article cause they don't take kindly to women in those parts!
http://jezebel.com/5887627/the-ten-scariest-places-in-america-to-have-ladyparts

Boy raises 10,000 dollars for dad's medical bills

Ah, another heartwarming story that makes me think, gee there really is still some hope for the world:
http://www.mega949.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104673&article=10058935

Container gardening

We have a shady front lawn the size of a postage stamp. I'm not kidding. It's really small and gets little sun. Even so, that grass is growing out of control! I want to get rid of the grass and plant other things there, but not sure what. Ideally, I'd grow edible stuffs, but I'm afraid the neighborhood passerbys might literally steal the fruits of my labor. I thought about just planting nice flowers, but I realize they can't be too pretty or expensive or someone might steal or cut those too! People suck! Most likely I'll just grow a patch of moss there.

Anyways, the back yard has a small patch that gets a really good amount of sun. It's actually pretty sad that we can't get more sun, but ce la vie! I've decided that I want to grow some stuff this year in the back yard. I had the top of the horseradish root saved from our seder so I stuck that into a pot of soil and left it out back. I also had an old seed packet of some flowers and pak choi and dumped those into pots too. Not sure if the seeds will grow since they're a few years old, but we'll see. Then there are the two tomato plants I got from the greenmarket. I will have to replant those as they're looking a bit spindly right now. I also got a pot of mint from the greenmarket. Mint and horseradish have to stay in pots because they have tendency to take over the whole garden. I've already snipped off some mint to make mint tea and it was lovely!

I really hope these plants survive!

Farmer's market

I really enjoy shopping at a farmer's market when it isn't super duper crowded. So I avoid the one at Union Square and go to the teeny tiny one near work. The one near work is already back, but the one near my house won't be around until June. I can't wait for the one near my house! However, here are a couple of things I have learned from shopping in greenmarkets in NYC.

The first thing I learned was to be careful about buying baked goods or jarred goods. Unless it's something you really want or know you like, be aware that the seller may not know much about it because they're selling it for someone else or for some other company. That is not to say that the people who actually bottled that cider or made that bread are using terrible ingredients or whatnot, but just be aware that the shrink-wrapped apple pie you're tempted to buy may not have been baked by the person behind the stand. Just the other day, I bought a very expensive jar of crushed heirloom tomatoes. The guy selling it didn't even know what it tasted like but assumed it must be worth the exorbitant price because it was from heirloom tomatoes. Even now, I'm not sure it was worth the cost, but I bought it anyway cause the ingredients had only one thing: tomatoes. Plus it came in a glass jar instead of a BPA-lined can.

The second thing I learned was that even if the seller was just the middle man and is charging a heart-stopping markup, the stuff usually tastes better than what you can get at the supermarket. The greenmarket near our house has apple cider that is out of this world and the most amazingly spicy and flavorful bloody mary mix made from real tomatoes. My advice is to check out the local supermarket to see if they have a section of local produce. You may find the exact same farm's apple cider selling in the supermarket for cheaper than what the middle man at the greenmarket is charging. If not, then you'll pretty much have to pay the extra dollars if you really want that cider.

Also, fruits and vegetables bought at the greenmarket don't tend to last as long as stuff from the supermarket. I don't know why, but if you buy produce from the green market, do intend to use it within the week. Supermarket stuff seems to have been treated in a way to keep the stuff looking fresh. Potatoes from supermarkets, for instance, have been treated with some kind of anti-sprouting chemical. Same with supermarket garlic. Greenmarket stuff will definitely sprout or rot way faster than you might expect if you're used to supermarket stuff.

The last thing I want to say is that shopping at the greenmarket can get expensive. Yeah, they have a lot of cool stuff that's both tasty and less chemical-laden than supermarket stuff, but some booths charge quite a bit for their product. We don't get all our produce from the greenmarkets. The ones I go to are small and often don't have everything I need for the week. So generally, it's a treat when I get some apple cider or a bundle of asparagus. One really nice thing about the greenmarket near my work place is that they sell plants. Right now, there is a booth that is selling a variety of heirloom tomatoes and I bought two. One labeled "brandywine" and another labeled "cherokee." I have a black thumb, but with some luck, they will grow in our back yard and by the end of summer, we'll have made our own jar of crushed heirloom tomatoes!

Growing green onions or scallions in a glass of water

A few days ago, I stumbled upon this post:
http://www.thekitchn.com/re-growing-green-onions-grow-your-scallions-back-on-your-windowsill-165274

I can personally say that it works! I buy a bunch of scallions and if I don't use them up, I snip off the green parts and stick the white parts, roots down into a shallow glass of water. I change the water once every day and let the roots rinse a little under running water. The green parts will keep growing and you can just continue snipping. Alternatively, you can stick the roots into soil and you'll get the same result.

If you like celery, you can also do the same with those. Cool right?

Wardrobe purge

I finally went to my parents' place and cleaned out my clothes, shoes and bags. I got rid of a lot and I also kept a lot. I went through my clothes again when I got home and got rid of a few more items. Some the items that should be gotten rid of, I'm keeping for fabric scraps. It's good fabric and at the time, I spent good money on quality clothing. So why not re-purpose the material? I certainly have the room for it.

I also kept a stack of t-shirts. Over the years, I have accumulated an impressive number of them. I have thrown away a bunch and I still have many left in my possession. My plan with these is that I will avoid collecting any more t-shirts and as I wear out t-shirts, I will pull one from my "archived" t-shirt collection. They'll be good to have when we need rags as well.

As it turns out, I still have a lot of stuff left. I also kept a few things that really don't fit me anymore but I just couldn't bear to get rid of them. However, the more I think about some of the clothes I've kept, the more I think I should get rid of some more. After all, how much clothing can I possibly wear in a year? Much of the stuff doesn't fit me so why keep it? Probably will take another look at my clothes this weekend and do another round of purging. Will need to do the same for my bags and shoes.

Restarted the battle against my bulge

I know I have posted on this when I started or re-started this effort, but I am once again embarking on a weight loss journey. All prior attempts have failed miserably because I was going about it the wrong way. I think this time, I may be onto something that will actually work for me!

Let me first say that no one has ever told me that I am really overweight. I am certainly hefty for my frame, but not outside of the normal range for my height. Still, because I am slight of frame, this newly added weight has, well, weighed heavily on me. So I want to lose some weight, but not a lot.

So now let me talk about my approach. In the past, I was too focused on short term gains, short term setbacks, and the number on the scale. I wasn't really and truly thinking in terms of a lifestyle overhaul. I packed on the pounds over the last couple of years because I had bad habits, such as eating tons of cheese and creamy foods. I also got into the habit of stuffing myself instead of just stopping when I felt relatively full. Anyways, if I had continued to live like I was, I was going to continue to gain weight.

Despite my bad habits, I did have some good ones. I pretty much never eat fast food or soda, and I rarely eat meat. I also have very rare sugar cravings and usually only indulge in my coffee. However, I have a penchant for the small bags of chips inside the vending machine. I used to joke that it is a good thing the bags have gotten stingier or I'd be eating more chips!

Anyways, the first thing I did was to resist the vending machine. I did this by having a banana or yogurt at my desk instead. I usually had a snack attack in the afternoon and being lazy, I'd rather have something I can get with the least amount of effort. So that means if I have a banana or yogurt in front of me, I'll likely eat that instead of taking a walk to the vending machine.

The next thing was to get in more activity in my day. So I started getting on and off the train at a stop or two farther away from the office. This forces me to walk more every day. It isn't much, but I'm sure it adds up.

Then there's the standing desk thing. I spend at least half my work day standing, which burns more calories than sitting. I also tend to fidget more when standing. I've been doing this for a few weeks now and I can honestly say that I enjoy doing this.

At this point, I was feeling pretty good and decided to cut down on my portions. I would either pack my lunch and breakfast, or when I would go out and get food, I'd only eat half or most and save the rest for the next day. I no longer stuff myself silly.

In the beginning, it was slow going. I just wanted to get more active and eat more healthy on a daily basis. When I got used to one new routine, I added something else. After several months of slowly changing the way I live, I weighed and measured myself and was surprised to see that I had dropped 5 pounds and a quarter of an inch everywhere. It's not enough for people to notice, but to me, it means I am somehow on the right track towards a slimmer, healthier me.

So anyways, here's the list of what I'm doing now:
- Standing desk
- Walking to and from a farther train stop to my office
- Take a short walk around office floor every hour
- Aim for 10,000 steps every day
- Do 10 minutes of some kind of exercise activity at home
- Drink 8 glasses of water per day
- No sugar in my work coffee
- Fruit or yogurt, or homemade veggie and fruit smoothie for breakfast
- Small lunch
- Fruit or yogurt for snack
- Keeping a food journal and tracking caloric intake
- Lighter and smaller dinners

I often do not complete every goal on the list but I can usually get to at least a few, which is better than how I was living before. Tracking my food and goals keep me accountable and helps me to realize what routines work and what routines don't. I do realize I will most likely never be as thin as I was, but this is a lifestyle change and not a crash diet. What I've found so far is that when I made the first change and was successful, it felt good. When I introduced the second change and it stuck, it felt even better. As I kept going, I was encouraged to continue down this track and make more changes. I think I'm going to rest at this current set of goals for a while and then see how I feel. :-)

Putting measurements on jars

I really like this idea. I like to re-purpose my glass jars, filling them with quinoa or baking supplies. Drawing measurements on the jars can make things easier when I want to use those supplies.

http://nestfullofeggs.blogspot.com/2009/11/day-13-repurposing-jar.html

Poor chickens!

I don't eat much chicken even when I do eat meat. This article makes me want to eat even less!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/opinion/kristof-arsenic-in-our-chicken.html

A clinic’s landlord turns the tables on anti-abortion protesters

This story makes me sad. I truly wish for more civil discourse.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-clinics-landlord-turns-the-tables-on-anti-abortion-protesters/2012/03/29/gIQAThgwiS_story.html

Park slope parent insanity

I'm glad I got out of this neighborhood! On top of the craziness of the Park Slope Food Coop, there's this stuff going on:

http://gawker.com/166214/the-park-slope-hat-spat-read-all-the-emails?tag=newsparkslope
http://jezebel.com/5898248/brooklyn-parents-finally-prove-they-are-the-absolute-worst

This is just in Park Slope and some parts of Brooklyn. Manhattan parents also have their own brand of crazy. Makes me wonder if NYC parents are more collectively crazy than the rest of the country's parents.

Bullies can bully with impunity

The way our country is going, you just have to wonder at what point do these "conservatives" think is crossing the line when it comes to the police acting like bullies? Those who are meant to serve and protect us should not be allowed to f*ck with us whenever they feel like it, however they feel like it. Scandals abound regarding the TSA and yet nothing is being done about them. Police and scandals involving Congressmen rarely end in convictions or even prosecutions. Everywhere you look, everywhere you go, you should feel very uneasy because nobody who is in power is out to protect you anymore. Want evidence? Here's some:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/us/police-tracking-of-cellphones-raises-privacy-fears.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/us/justices-approve-strip-searches-for-any-offense.html?hp

DIY Oreos

I happen to have a soft spot for Oreo cookies, so this recipe grabbed my attention right away:
http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/recipes/chocolate-sandwich-cookies/