Adventures of BruteForce

Pumie Scouring Stick

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Mon, 01 Sep 2014 21:51:00 +0000

It's time for some Fall Cleaning, and I have to say that I'm super impressed with how well the Pumie Scouring Stick (http://www.uspumice.com/pages/kitchenbath.html) works to take care of disgusting looking rings in the toilet. You do need to work the muscles a bit to work the crusty deposits, but it definitely works.

OK, back to more cleaning.

Madagascar in 100 Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:19:00 +0000

Here are the long awaited photos from my trip to Madagascar late last year. Enjoy!

People and Culture

Air Madagascar - we took many domestic flights on this type of plane.

Dried Fish at the local market

Dried shrimp at the local market

Antananarivo - the capital city of Madagascar

A farmer and his zebu

A local butcher

Malagasy woman with her child

Malagasy style zebu tripe with greens

Local market

A small village we passed by

It's laundry day in Southern Madagascar

Romazava - Madagascar's national dish

Children taking a swim in the river

Vendors in the streets of Antananarivo

Textiles for sale at a local market

Children of a village waving good-bye

Birds

Collared Nightjar (Gactornis enarratus)

Yellow-billed Kite (Milvus aegyptius)

Crested Coua (Coua cristata)

Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)

Cinnamon Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)

Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)

Giant Goua (Coua gigas)

Greater Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa)

Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)

Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)

Hook-billed Vanga (Vanga curvirostris) with food in mouth

Lesser Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)

Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)

Red-fronted Coua (Coua reynaudii)

Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)

Madagascar Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus) Nest with babies

Madagascar Magpie Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)

Malagasy Kestrel (Falco newtoni)

Sakalava Weaver (Ploceus sakalava)

Madagascar Love Bird (Agapornis cana)

Sakalava Weaver (Ploceus sakalava)

Animals

Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus diadema diadema)

Indri (Indri indri)

Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) - Close-up of long skinny middle finger

Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) - The most elusive of the lemurs (very rare to see one)

Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)

Black and White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata)

Carpet Chameleon (Furcifer lateralis)

Female chameleon

Chameleon spotted during a night hike

Common Brown Lemur (Eulemur fulvus)

Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli)

Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus diadema diadema)

Goodman's Mouse Lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara)

Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) - Dancing

Some nocturnal lemur we saw during a night hike

Climbing Mantella (Mantella laevigata)

Female White Fronted Brown Lemur (Eulemur albifrons)

Male White Fronted Brown Lemur (Eulemur albifrons)

Pictus Gecko (Paroedura pictus)

Indri (Indri indri)

Leaf Chameleon (Brookesia) - World's smallest chameleon

Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus)

Radiated Tortoises (Astrochelys radiata)

Madagascan Flying Fox (Pteropus rufus)

Madagascar Leaf-Nosed Snake (Langaha madagascariensis)

Madagascar Tree Boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis)

Madagascar Tomato Frog (Dyscophus antongilii)

Panther Chameleon (Furcifer pardalis)

Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)

Skeleton Frog (Boophis)

Madagascar Iguana (Oplurus quadrimaculatus)

Spider Tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides)

Sportive Lemur (Lepilemuridae)

Tenrec

Scorpion seen in the spiny forest

Slug seen during a night walk in Maraontsetra

Bugs

Female Giraffe Weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa)

Male Giraffe Weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa)

Large green spider

Neat looking butterfly

Giant Green Pill Bug (Sphaerotheriida) - when rolled up it was almost the size of a golf ball

Golden Orb Spider (Nephila inaurata madagascariensis)

Red Millipede

Madagascar Flatid Leaf Bug (Phromnia rosea)

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa)

Intricately patterned grasshopper

Thorn Spider (Gasteracantha versicolor formosa)

Colorful beetle

Dung Beetle

Assassin Bug

Robber Fly (Asilidae)

Snout Weevil (Curculionidae)

Spider in the rainforest

Walking Stick Insect seen in Andasibe

Strange terrestrial flatworm

Camouflaged weevil

Another weevil

Velvet Mite (Trombidium)

Plants

Bananas

In front of a Baobab Tree (National Tree of Madagascar)

Madagascar Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes madagascariensis)

Spiny Desert Plants

Madagascar: A Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 16:50:00 +0000

I just got back from a two week vacation to Madagascar. The primary reason for going there was to explore nature and check out all the amazing wildlife that it has to offer. Someone once told me that Madagascar was the Galapagos on steroids. Given all that I saw after this fairly short trip, I tend to agree.

Here are some sample pictures. Longer trip reports will be posted after I find the time to sort through all the photos (nearly 3000 were taken).

Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)

Giraffe Weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa)

Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)

Climbing Mantella (Mantella laevigata)

Laundry Day in Southern Madagascar

To be continued...

Chia Sink

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 16:55:00 +0000

Maybe a week ago, I had a homemade smoothie with chia seeds added to it. The smoothie was great and the chia seeds, while they don't taste like much, give it some nutritional boost. And, for anyone that's had chia seeds before, you know that it's pretty easy to have some seeds get stuck between your teeth.

What do you do? Well, you rinse out your mouth. And, as you'd imagine a few small seeds fall out and get washed down the drain. However, if you have a drain strainer, it doesn't always work that way.

So, recently I've noticed my drain isn't draining too well, and I just chalked it up to it getting gunked up over time. To my amazement, upon closer inspection, some of those chia seeds had sprouted and began growing.

Talk about resilience. These seeds have managed to survive the drain hole hazard, managed to hang on to life despite being inundated with mouthwash (Listerine even!), toothpaste, soap, and hot water. I pulled the drain strainer out to take a picture of the sprouts and their long roots.

Enjoy.

Lava Beds National Monument

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 06:44:00 +0000

For part of the extended 4th of July weekend, I camped out at the Lava Beds National Monument. There are many caves that you can explore there, and there's plenty of stuff to see and do. But, it's not that large, so you probably wouldn't want to stay out there for too long (two days is enough). And, unless spelunking is your thing, after you adventure into half a dozen caves, you probably won't feel an urge to check out more of them. Nevertheless, it was a cool experience.

Also, make sure to bring a hard hat or helmet and also don't forget flashlights. While you can borrow them from the visitor center, it limits your exploration times as you need to return the borrowed items fairly early. One more thing... even if it is summertime and the temperatures are high, be sure to bring at least a light jacket as it can get surprisingly cold inside some of the caves.

Here are some pictures I took. The insect pictures are starting to look a bit better now that I have an actual macro lens.

Please enjoy!

Lava Beds National Monument Entrance Sign

Crawling around in the Balcony and Boulevard Caves

Entrance to the Big Painted Cave

Crawling into a tight spot in the Golden Dome Cave

Inside the Heppe Ice Cave

House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) inside the Heppe Ice Cave

Jot Dean Cave in the Shasta-Trinity Forests

Another picture of the icy Jot Dean Cave in the Shasta-Trinity Forests

Medicine Lake

Boreal Toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) at Medicine Lake

Modoc Volcanic Scenic Byway

Skull Cave - It's pretty large... look at the tiny people down there.

Valentine Cave - One path leads to death, the other to riches.

Valentine Cave - A cool drop of water.

Nice looking leaf outside one of the caves.

American Bluet (Enallagma)

Crimson-ringed Whiteface (Leucorrhinia glacialis)

Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis) in Hidden Valley

Great Basin Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus lutosus)

Metallic Green Bee (Agapostemon)

Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

Robber Fly (Asilidae)

Different Angle of the same Robber Fly (Asilidae)

Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum)

Another Variegated Meadowhawk 2 (Sympetrum corruptum)

Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla)

Western Band-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum semicinctum)

Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata)

Bahamas - Diving and Snorkeling

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Thu, 30 May 2013 15:33:00 +0000

So, I went to the Bahamas over the holiday weekend for some relaxation. Did some diving and snorkeling while out there - Atholl Island, Runway Reef (Stuart Cove). One of the dives was a cage-free shark dive where a dive master in chain mail was feeding the sharks while all the divers sat in a ring to watch the activity.

Anyway, here are all the different creatures for which I was able to snap reasonably good photos. There is a sponge and also some translucent jelly-like creature that I wasn't able to identify with any confidence. If you happen to know what they are, please let me know!

Enjoy.

Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)

Bar Jack (Carangoides ruber)

Black Sea Rod (Plexaurella homomalla)

Blue Chromis (Chromis cyanea)

Bluehead (Thalassoma bifasciatum) and Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) - Initial Phases

Bluehead - Terminal Phase (Thalassoma bifasciatum)

Bluestriped Grunt (Haemulon sciurus)

Brown Chromis (Abudefduf taurus)

Caribbean Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus perezii)

Christmas Tree Worms (Spirobranchus giganteus)

Creole Wrasse (Clepticus parrae)

Erect Rope Sponge (Amphimedon compressa)

Foureye Butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus)

French Angelfish (Pomacanthus paru)

Gray Angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus)

Green Razorfish (Xyrichtys splendens)

Grooved Brain Coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis)

Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus)

Netted Barrel Sponge (Verongula gigantea) - maybe?

Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

Ocean Surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus)

Sea Plumes (Pseudopterogorgia)

Shark Arena - Cage-free Shark Dive at Stuart Cove

Slippery Dick - Juvenile (Halichoeres bivittatus)

Smooth Trunkfish (Lactophrys triqueter)

Social Feather Duster Bristleworm (Bispira brunnea)

Spanish Hogfish (Bodianus rufus)

Spotfin Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ocellatus)

Spotted Goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus)

Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) - Terminal Phase

Tobacco Basslet (Serranus tabacarius)

Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus)

Unknown Translucent Creature (?) - maybe Pyrosoma atlanticum

Whitefin Sharksucker (Echeneis neucratoides)

Yellow Stingray (Urobatis jamaicensis)

Yellow Tube Sponge (Aplysina insularis)

Yellowtail Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)

Yellowtail Snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus)

Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:49:00 +0000

Years ago, Mark Twain wrote a short story titled "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." From what I understand, this was the work that made him famous initially.

Anyway, the annual fair in Calaveras County pays tribute to his story by hosting frog jumping competitions. After thinking about checking it out for years, I finally got the chance to go see it in person. I thought it was fun and quite silly, but most importantly, it was entertaining. I think this event is a great one for families with kids.

The world record of 21' 5.75" was set in 1986. This year's winner jumped an impressive 20'10". The jumps are measured from origin to the landing spot of the 3rd hop (or step). So, if a frog decides to u-turn, you are pretty much screwed.

Okay, here are pictures of the frogs. There was a lot more to see there, but I find these frog pictures hilarious.

Enjoy.

More from Florida

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:28:00 +0000

I've been crazy busy at work over the past few months. Now that we had a major product launch, I have found a little extra time to go through some more older pictures from the trip to Florida that we took back in January.

Might as well post them up here for everyone to enjoy. And, in a separate post, I'll put up all the different bird pictures that were taken.

Here are some pictures taken from part of the Everglades National Park. We rented bicycles and rode around a loop to see all the alligators and wildlife.

While down in Florida, we decided to check out Fort Jefferson, part of the Dry Tortugas National Park. It is one of the most remote National Parks out there. We took a fairly long boat ride just to get out there. The fort operated as a prison long ago, and once held the very famous Dr. Mudd, who had helped treat John Wilkes Booth.

Having gotten back into diving again, we checked out the History of Diving Museum. It was pretty neat.

This crazy diving hood thing doesn't work, but it was part of an early attempt at creating an underwater suit.

The Fish House served some really good food. We also went to the sister restaurant, Encore, to try out the Lionfish. Having dined at both, I prefer the original Fish House restaurant.

Tried some conch at the Key Largo Conch House. Food was decent there.

Also, we did some kayaking through the mangroves. This was a lot of fun. Saw a ton of birds, an American Crocodile, and an iguana... not to mention the mangrove tunicates I posted a picture of previously.

In Miami, we dropped by the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Nothing really to write home about. It was nice, but having seen quite a few of these rich person's estates in various places, it wasn't anything special.

Here's an almost-sunset shot from Key West.

Latin American food at Ola in Miami was really delicious. They are famous for their ceviches and their braised pork. As a 97% pescatarian, I cheated here with the pork.

A random restaurant we tried out for brunch in Miami, Otentic. Food was decent here as well.

In Ft. Lauderdale, we went to Sublime, which is a vegetarian restaurant on the nicer end of the spectrum. The service was really slow, the place was packed, but the food was delicious.

Mangrove Tunicate

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:15:00 +0000

A mystery has been solved. Last month, when I was kayaking amongst the mangroves in the Florida Keys, I saw some weird orange things growing on the mangrove roots in the water. I lifted up the root and took a photo of these orange egg-like balls. I could not figure out what they were, and it didn't help that I kept thinking they were eggs of some sort.

After failing to identify them on my own, I put the photo up on Facebook. And, within 20 minutes, an old friend of mine commented and told me exactly what they were. These are mangrove tunicates (Ecteinascidia turbinata), and they are used to produce some types of anti-cancer drugs. Amazing, huh?

Mangrove Tunicate (Ecteinascidia turbinata)

Razr Maxx HD Frozen

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 06:01:00 +0000

So, I'm super new to smartphones... but, I have been using the HD Razr Maxx HD for a couple of months.

That said, the device has completely locked up on me about 4 times. I have learned that you can force the device to reset by holding down the Power Button and the Volume Down button simultaneously for about 10-15 seconds.

Once you do this, you should be able to power the device back on, and everything should be back to normal. In any case, this worked just fine for me in these situations.

Not even sure why I am writing this, but I guess I was bored.

Butterflies and Moths

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 03:27:00 +0000

While at Key West, I visited the Butterfly and Nature Conservatory there. If you are ever out there, I highly recommend it. It's really cool, and if you are into bugs at all, you will find yourself spending hours there.

Here are a bunch of butterfly and moth pictures taken while inside the butterfly greenhouse. Additionally, I'm including some pictures of butterflies taken in the wild.

Update: I contacted the nice people at the conservatory, and they helped me identify a few of the ones that I wasn't sure about. Thanks!

Emerald Swallowtail (Papilio palinurus)

Golden Hairstreak (Habrodais grunus)

Comet Moth (Argema Mittrei)

Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)

Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas Bolina)

Paper Kite (Idea leuconoe)

Great Orange Tip (Hebomoia Glaucippe)

Peleides Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides)

Red Postman (Heliconius Erato Notabilis)

Red Postman (Heliconius Erato Cyrbia)

Red Postman (Heliconius Erato)

Tailed Jay (Graphium Agamemnon)

Sapho Longwing (Heliconius Sapho)

Tiger Longwing (Heliconius hecale)

Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae)

Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charitonius)

Galapagos Blue Butterfly (Leptotes parrhasioides)

Cydno Longwing (Heliconius Cydno)

Giant Owl Butterfly from Asia

Sapho Longwing (Heliconius Sapho)

Diving and Snorkeling: Florida Keys

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 20:02:00 +0000

I recently went diving and snorkeling in the Florida Keys -- one dive at the Benwood wreck site, one dive at Molasses Reef, and some snorkeling off the shores of Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas National Park. Fort Jefferson was pretty far away and required a two and a half hour ferry boat ride from Key West to get there. Both the dive sites were located about half an hour from Key Largo.

I went through all my underwater pictures, and I cropped out all the different fish species that were encountered. Some of the photos are blurry and quite a few don't have the best color as I'm quite new to underwater photography. Anyway, here are all the fish pictures along with my identifications and a few non-fish species. There were two that I wasn't able to identify, but I got some help from a couple people on a Reef discussion board.

Updated: I made a few corrections after a helpful person from reef.org pointed out some identification mistakes.

Caesar Grunts and not Smallmouth Grunts - black tails
Longspine Squirrelfish and not Squirrelfish - white tips on dorsal spines
Sand Diver and not Inshore Lizardfish - dark spot on gill plate

Anchovies (Engraulidae)

Atlantic Blue Tang - Juvenile (Acanthurus coeruleus)

Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)

Atlantic Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus)

Atlantic Porkfish - Juvenile (Anisotremus virginicus)

Beaugregory - Juvenile (Stegastes leucostictus)

Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber)

Bermuda Chub (Kyphosus sectatrix)

Black Grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci)

Blue Striped Grunts (Haemulon sciurus)

Bicolor Damselfish (Stegastes partitus)

Bluehead - Initial Phase (Thalassoma bifasciatum)

Caribbean Reef Squid (Sepioteuthis sepioidea)

Doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus)

French Grunt (Haemulon flavolineatum)

Dog Snapper (Lutjanus jocu)

Goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus)

Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)

Gray Snapper (Lutjanus griseus)

Harlequin Bass (Serranus tigrinus)

Sand Diver (Synodus intermedius)

Mahogany Snapper (Lutjanus mahogoni)

Ocean Surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus)

Queen Parrotfish (Scarus vetula)

Slippery Dick - Juvenile (Halichoeres bivittatus)

Slippery Dick - Intermediate Phase (Halichoeres bivittatus)

Sergeant Major (Abudefduf saxatilis)

Caesar Grunts (Haemulon carbonarium)

Stoplight Parrotfish - Initial Phase (Sparisoma viride)

Longspine Squirrelfish (Holocentrus rufus)

Striped Parrotfish - Initial Phase (Scarus iserti)

Redband Parrotfish - Initial Phase (Sparisoma aurofrenatum)

Yellowtail Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)

Yellowtail Snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus)

Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus)

Stoplight Parrotfish - Juvenile (Sparisoma viride)

Common Sea Fan (Gorgonia ventalina)

Western Harvest Mouse

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 05:28:00 +0000

While on a short walk today, I heard something scurry nearby. I investigated a bit, and I see a rather timid looking mouse staring back at me trying to stay as still as possible. Naturally, I took a few pictures.

Here's the best one that I took.

After looking at a few sites online to help identify it, I believe this is a Western Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis).

Snowshoeing in the Castle Peak Area

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 03:26:00 +0000

Happy 2013, Everyone!

A group of us went snowshoeing around the Castle Peak area on New Year's Eve. We took our time making progress on the trail towards Peter Grubb Hut -- taking a lot of pictures and just general horsing around. In the end, we didn't make it to the hut, mostly because we got a fairly late start -- no one wanted to run the risk of making the trek back in the dark. We still got a good 4 hours in and came out with some decent pictures.

This was my first time snowshoeing, and I must say that I really enjoyed it. I think I'm going to invest in a pair of snowshoes. I really liked the snowshoes I rented, MSRs, which had teeth that went all around their perimeters. I was sure-footed the entire way, and I had little difficulty hiking with them. I'll be sure to get an earlier star next timet, and maybe I'll make it to the hut or perhaps the top of Castle Peak.

Here are some photos for you all to enjoy.

Starting Point

Snow, Lots of Snow

Snow Covered Trees

More Snow Covered Trees

The Ridge Where We Turned Around

Snowshoeing Action Shot

View from the Ridge

Another View from the Ridge

Castle Peak

The Trail Back to the Car

Thiên Long

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 00:48:00 +0000

Another San Jose restaurant that I frequent is Thiên Long. They cater to a mostly Vietnamese crowd, but the guys working there are friendly and will teach you how to eat their most popular dish, a grilled fish dish called bún chả cá lã vọng. You get grilled fish cooked with onions and dill, rice noodles and garnish, and also rice paper with which to wrap everything up. It's delicious.

However, the dish I like the best there is the steamed version called cá hấp thit cuốn bánh tráng. I think it's a bit healthier and has less sodium, plus I like the mushrooms and vegetables that come with it. And, I ask them to prepare the dish without pork, which they accommodate without issue.

One order easily feeds two people. If you like fish and fresh tasting foods, you definitely should check it out. I highly recommend this place.

Here are some pictures of my favorite dish there.

Rice Noodles, Fish Sauce, Cucumbers, Fresh Perilla Leaves

Steamed Fish, Vegetables and Mushrooms

Preparing to Roll Up the Fish, Vegetables, and Garnish

All Wrapped Up and Ready to Eat

The Village Pub

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:58:00 +0000

I recently had brunch at The Village Pub in Woodside. It's a somewhat fancy establishment, but prices are quite reasonable for brunch. Both the service and the food were excellent. I think I'm going to have to try doing dinner there some time.

Here are a few pictures. Enjoy.

The Village Pub

SMIP Ranch Harvest Salad

Smoked Trout with Pumpernickel Toast

Sugar Pie Pumpkin Pancakes

Check Sleeve

Vegetarian House (Cult Restaurant)

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:20:00 +0000

I'm not sure why I haven't posted anything about the Vegetarian House in San Jose until now. It's one of my favorite restaurants in the area. Yes, it is run by a cult (Quan Yin Method) under the rule of the Supreme Master Ching Hai. Aside from all the cult paraphernalia, they don't try to induct you or anything. And, from what I can tell it's a fairly harmless cult.

It's a vegan restaurant, but the food there is incredible. I can say that nearly everything I've had there is amazingly good -- though, I do try to stay away from the fried items.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the dishes they serve there. Unfortunately, one of my favorites, Three Cup Wonder, is no longer available. Hopefully, they can bring it back. Apparently, they switched providers for one of the ingredients and the recipe didn't work with the new product.

If you're in the area and want to have a nice vegan meal, give them a try. You won't be disappointed. And, if you really didn't enjoy the food, you can always walk across the street and hit up Vung Tau, which I am quite fond of as well.

Vegetarian House Sign

Clay Pot Sensation - the best dish in my opinion

Sizzling Tofu

Three Cup Wonder - no longer available (hope that changes)

State Bird Provisions

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 00:49:00 +0000

I had the good fortune of dining at the State Bird Provisions (http://statebirdsf.com/) a couple days ago. A friend was very much on top of the situation and was able to make a Friday night reservation happen. There was a lot of build-up leading to the dinner itself, as reservations had been made a full two months in advance.

The restaurant has been getting great reviews, and the style is interesting. They serve small plates to share, some of which are ordered from the menu and others from trays that circle around the tables in dim sum fashion.

The primary downer for the meal was that I was feeling a bit under the weather. So, I was not a great dinner companion, and I probably didn't get the true experience as I'm sure my taste buds were not 100% on their game.

Anyway, the food was overall very good for the price. A few dishes were spectacular, but overall they weren't out of this world. But, that was totally fine as the price tag was not outrageous. The only dish that our group thought was a miss was the Seafood and Pork Belly Pancake. That dish was simply overly salty and did not taste much like anything we expected. The staff explained it was due to the kimchi, but I would disagree, as the salty flavor did not resemble kimchi at all.

As for returning for another meal... it basically comes down to the difficulty of obtaining a reservation. If it weren't for that, then I am certain that I would be coming back to try their other dishes, which change with some regularity, I hear. Of course, I could try getting a seat as a walk-in some time.

Here are some photos. Enjoy!

State Bird Provisions Menu

California Quail

Cumin Lamb

Duck Liver Mousse and Almond Biscuits

Huckleberry Marinated Beets with Goat Cheese

Raw Oysters

Red Trout, Mandarin, Hazelnut Brown Butter

Seafood and Pork Belly Pancake

Seafood Salsa

Shrimp, Avocado, and Nori Chips

Sweetbread with Figs

Sweet Corn and Garlic Chive Pancake

Braised Beef Curry, Bok Choy, and French Crêpes

Plum Jam Ice Cream Sandwich, Cocoa Nib Macaron

Good-bye Peet, Hello Glatfelter

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 01:38:00 +0000

Looks like a long time holding of mine, PH Glatfelter (GLT), is joining the S&P Small Cap 600. It and Coherent (COHR) are replacing Lawson Products (LAWS) and Peet's Coffee and Tea (PEET). Hope this bodes well for the company's share price and the public's general interest.

I started buying shares of GLT in early 2007, and I've been adding steadily ever since then. It has done reasonably well providing a nice total return over the years. I still like them and will likely continue adding to my position for the long-term.

European Mantis (Mantis religiosa)

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 21:37:00 +0000

Here are a few photos of a European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) hanging out on the side of my house. I haven't seen a praying mantis around here in quite some time, and I'm glad I was able to get some reasonably good shots. Too bad I didn't have the DSLR handy, but I think these came out good enough.

Portola Redwoods State Park

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:18:00 +0000

There are a number of small parks to the west of San Jose that offer some nice hiking trails. Just this past weekend, I did a relatively easy 6.5 mile hike in the Portola Redwoods State Park. I would say that it's worth checking out, especially if you live in the area, as it is a reasonably short drive to get there.

Here are some pictures taken on the hike. One thing that fascinated me somewhat was that there were spiders and cool looking webs all over the redwood trees. After much effort, I managed to get a few nice shots of the spiders and their webs.

Park Entrance

Spider Webs on Redwood Tree

Sierra Dome Spider (Neriene litigiosa)

Spider Web

Redwood Trees

Banana Slug (Ariolimax columbianus)

Kings Canyon National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 05:29:00 +0000

Over the holiday weekend, we went camping at Kings Canyon National Park. Since I'm lazy, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking. However, I will mention that we had two close bear encounters on one of our hikes, including one with a mother and her two cubs. Enjoy.

Kings Canyon

Zumwalt Meadow

Horsetail Reed at Zumwalt Meadow

Lone Black Bear

Mother Bear and Cubs

Bear Cub Looking Sheepish

Douglas Squirrel

Giant Sequoia

Burl at Base of a Giant Sequoia

Mist Falls

Butterfly Close-up

Damselfly in Flight

Grasshopper with Blue Legs

Knapp's Cabin (Oldest Building in Cedar Grove)

52 Number Logic Puzzle

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:44:00 +0000

Here's a logic puzzle that my boss gave me to think about. I thought about it on and off for a few days before arriving at a correct solution. I feel I should have figured it out sooner, but I ended up going down a dead-end path and wasting time stuck in that rut.

Anyway, here's the problem. I personally find it to be a really nice puzzle with a nice clean solution.

There is a bag with 52 balls numbered 1 through 52. First, you choose 5 of them randomly, and second, you pick one of them out (non-randomly... you get a choice) and put it in your pocket. Now, there are 4 balls remaining from your initial 5. Your goal is to order the 4 balls however you want in order to convey what the pocketed ball is to someone that understands your strategy/algorithm/rules.

Note that by ordering the 4 balls, I am not saying that you're allowed to do weird things with how the balls are placed. This problem involves no such trickery. The strategy that you come up with should work just as well if you wrote down the values in the order of your choice and some random person on the street were asked to read them out in order. The mere reading of these numbers in order should be enough information to determine the value of the hidden ball.

As you would guess, the question is simply this: What strategy/algorithm/rules can you use to accomplish this information transmission feat?

Enjoy.

Additional Clarification Notes (as some appear to be confused by the questions):

Understand that you only have 4 values to work with. The pocketed ball's value never comes into play as far as transmitting information. All the information must be conveyed with 4 ordered values. Nothing more. To further clarify, the final list of 4 values can be read out loud by anyone (including those without knowledge of the algorithm), and anyone that listens to the sequence of 4 values and also understands the strategy/algorithm/rules should be able to ascertain the hidden ball's value.

Getting Pissed About A Poorly Worded Urinal Claim

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 23:44:00 +0000

So, where I work they have these high-efficiency urinals installed. Above them, there is a placard that brings this fact to your attention, which reads:

This urinal flushes with only 16 oz. of water, saving 88% more water per use than a standard one-gallon urinal.

I cringe every time I read it as I'm taking care of my business. The big problem here is not the math, as it is obvious that the 88% number comes from 16oz / 128oz (one gallon). The problem is the use of the word "saving," which makes the statement completely untrue.

In order to compare two things, a baseline must be established. Person A earns 25% more than Person B. So, we first establish a baseline. In this case, the baseline is what Person B earns. Next, we compare what Person A earns to what Person B earns. Simple.

What is the baseline for the claim above? In order to figure out how much more water the high-efficiency urinal saves compared to the standard one-gallon urinal, we need to establish the standard urinal's level of saving.

Urinals don't save any water, instead they consume it. And, there lies the problem. The baseline is a one-gallon urinal that saves zero water. The current high-efficiency urinal also saves zero water. Thus, there is no difference in the amount of water saved by the urinal. This makes the entire sentence somewhat nonsensical, and it irks me.

Those who wrote that sentence need only make a minor edit, creating the much better worded (and true) statement:

This urinal flushes with only 16 oz. of water, consuming 88% less water per use than a standard one-gallon urinal.

That's it. I'm done ranting about this one... well, that is, until the next time I have to go take a piss while I'm at work.

Mitsunobu

noreply@blogger.com (Brute Force) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 05:08:00 +0000

About 10 months ago, the highly rated Japanese restaurant, Kaygetsu in Menlo Park, closed its doors. Mitsunobu reopened in its place, and it also kept its executive chef. Since I never dined at the original restaurant, I can't really compare the two. However, I had a nice meal at Mitsunobu recently, and while not everything was a hit, it was quite good overall. I would recommend this place, as the food was good, and my experience was a pleasant one.

I haven't the energy to write more, so I will let the following pictures do the talking.

Enjoy!

Amuse - Dashi and Zucchini Tempura

Assorted Sashimi

Assorted Sushi

Hirame Sashimi

Uni and Amaebi

Jewelry Box - Mozuku Seaweed, Amber Egg, Organic Tofu Skin,
Japanese Pumpkin, Mountain Berry and Yam,
Organic Chicken Teriyaki

Octopus, Okra and Cucumber Rice in Clay Pot

Palate Cleansing Yuzu Ice

Muscovy Duck Breast

Japanese Horse Mackarel with Plum Salt, Jidori Egg Salad
in Avocado, and Yuzu-Tomato Foam

Colorful Fruits in Crystal Gelée

White Sesame Fondant with Raspberry Filling and Coconut-Ginger Sorbet

Flan, Ice Cream, and Berries

Parting Fudge Pieces