doggy doggy diamond

weekend blotter

2010-06-13T23:19:00.002-04:00

dirt jumping with mountain bikes in cunningham park.
late night korean food in sunnyside.
belmar seafood festival on the jersey shore.

NY Auto Show

2010-04-12T11:42:00.007-04:00

Imagine my horror when I came upon this cheap imitation at Scion's booth at the Auto Show. I mean really! Not even real wheels!

Butch & Buck, meet Blayne & Blaire

2010-04-04T16:46:00.012-04:00

They live! I put a bunch of snails that I found in the watercress into the avocado plant a couple months or so ago, and have just found out that they are still alive. And engaging in an age-old gastropodean past time—racing over eggshells!

And Blayne is overtaken in Mad-Maxean style!

Quinoa with cranberry, raisins, and almonds

2010-03-31T21:28:00.014-04:00

I experimented a little bit tonight while vegetarian Jake played softball, and the results were good. Toot!

2 cups of quinoa
1 13oz can vegetable broth
handful of dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
handful of golden raisins
handful of sliced almonds
1 cup peas (mine were frozen)
2 reconstituted dried mushrooms
2 bay leaves
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp masala powder
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 tbsp olive oil
~~2 tbsp butter~~ vegan?
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
4 whole cardomom pods

On low-medium heat, toast quinoa for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a separate pan, fry onions in oil. Wait a few minutes and then throw in the rest of the spices, dried fruits, mushrooms, and butter. Stir-fry for after another 5 minutes to get the flavor out, then stir in the peas and quinoa until the mixture coats the quinoa. Stir for another few minutes. Then add the broth, and simmer covered for 15-20-25 minutes, depending on how tender you like the quinoa. Add a little water as it's cooking if the mixture gets too dry.

And that's it!

Jake says, "It's got a spicy sweetness. Delicious!"

iPhone mod

2010-03-26T14:50:00.012-04:00

i cannot describe to you the excitement that i felt upon receiving the new body kit for my iphone, but suffice it to say that i was excited. unemployment has done several things to me: 1. i get excited over the smallest "projects" because real projects i used to work on always involved some irish dude hounding me to no end for status reports; the only irish dude hounding me these days just wants seitan in his rice 2. i have no money to spend on things like i used to, so repair and salvage are two words that have replaced my daily vernacular whose words used to include "buy" and "new."

last week i spent an hour sewing up an umbrella that the nor'easter destroyed — that project went undocumented for various reasons, not the least of which included humility. this week i am restoring my iphone 3g to its 2007 splendor. i ordered this kit on ebay for $8.88 from guess where... Hong Kong. if you didn't guess that, it's probably because you're not chinese. the number 8 portends good luck in chinese culture.... so does praying to your ancestors, wearing mounds of jade, and stepping in dog shit. so, one may deduce that this fortuitous trifecta of 8's i was charged was like stepping in a pile of dog shit while wearing my mom's jade bangles, while talking aloud to my dead grandmother. i digress. here, let me show you what i mean:

it really was a mess. and i'm embarrassed to admit how long all this actually took me. but despite the mess on the table (i don't know what the vaseline is doing on the counter), i really did have a system of sorts for keeping track of which screws went where.

but all worth it! for here is what butch has to say

"i will henceforth be known as Garfield."
i say, "what frivolity!"

Fire Pelosi?

2010-03-24T21:10:00.018-04:00

Fire Pelosi? No, fire the babies in Congress that sulk and refuse to work past 2pm. Seriously. If I decided I didn't feel like working because a bunch of my co-workers voted to replace the coffee machine with a carton of teabags, I'd be fired right? That's basically what the Republicans colluded to do yesterday and today. Like a bunch a babies, they walked out on their jobs because they didn't like a bill meant to help millions of Americans; a bill that was voted upon and passed democratically. The image above was taken directly from the venerable GOP's front page. They've sunk to a new low. It's imagery meant to incite; It's unsophisticated; And it reduces any meaningful dialogue on health care to irreconcilable rhetoric. But then again, should we be surprised with their tactics?

I mean, they honestly think that they're nobly "protesting" against the evils of... universal health care (democratic doublespeak for socialism. wink/gasp!). There's something discordant about a bunch of old white men in pressed suits holding a sit-in singing We Shall Overcome. This isn't exactly the 60's and the Capitol isn't exactly Woolworth's.

Minimizing the gay tax

2010-03-20T09:59:00.010-04:00

There is a very informative series of Q&A in the NY Times. It's been essential to my becoming familiar with the basic financials of being in a committed same-sex relationship under statutes that don't make it illegal to be in a relationship (anymore), but doesn't reward nor condone it either.

There are 4 parts, with questions and answers on topics including being a dependent of your spouse; domestic partners health insurance and its taxation; joint property ownership; mortgage deduction; gift taxes; etc.

law school

2010-03-09T00:38:00.009-05:00

I keep meaning to write something meaningful—it's been months since I've written anything in the least introspective....

I quit my job almost a year ago last April with the expectation that I would relax and figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. But after three weeks of twiddling my thumbs, I started thinking about going to law school. I studied for the LSAT for a month (big mistake!); took it; canceled the score; fled to California in shame to camp, freeride at Northstar (yahoo!), and visit my dead grandparents in an urn; returned to NYC; decided to take the LSAT again; studied for another month; took the LSAT again; did terribly; fled to Japan/SEAsia in shame; decided to take it again; studied for another month; took the LSAT; applied to law schools (in late December); and here I am now. Anyways, I realize law school's going to be much less forgiving of my impetuousness, so I've got a lot to work on in that area. I have no regrets quitting my job because it's really helped me figure out who I was not. I was NOT a programmer. Ugh. I can't believe I programmed code for that long, interned at my desk (those cheap fuckers at Bloomberg didn't give anyone a cubicle under the guise that the "open seating arrangements" promoted communication and the exchange of ideas. um, right. i suppose the fact that you could fit four times as many people on the floor didn't factor into that decision.) Um er... where was I? Oh yes... I was sitting in front of a computer for nine years surrounded by copious amounts of junk food to keep me working late, and spent most of my day speaking to for-loops and classes filled with members I cared nothing for. Anyways, for the sake of balance, I think I should confess that I don't regret working there either. I only regret working there for so long; long after I stopped growing as a person.

Moving along.... I'm off to my first kickboxing class at the gym, but if you're interested in how my law school thing is going, here's the link to my profile on lawschoolnumbers.com: engine law school

grays and blues

2010-02-28T16:38:00.006-05:00

Thinking of painting the apartment. Aside from the clutter, are grays and blues a little somber/depressing?

truth veiled as comedy

2010-01-27T00:53:00.000-05:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Alpha Dog of the Week - Harold Ford Jr.

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Economy

fish

2009-12-13T22:54:00.003-05:00

I used to think that being called "selfish" was a metaphor, and that a selfish might look something like a starfish.

That new bakery

2009-11-30T17:36:00.009-05:00

Gah!! I just peered through the windows of that new bakery across the street, and saw that they've decorated with the same Emeco 1951 chairs that I have! A pox upon that house of fresh baked goods!

LIC Bakery

2009-11-12T14:23:00.013-05:00

Back from Asia, and this bakery across the street has really come a long way! I'm really impressed with how good it looks. It's too bad they're probably going to be opening up in the winter, because lounging outside with a freshly baked almond croissant sounds good right about now. I'm also glad they're building that wooden wall up that borders the Getty.

Here's what it looked like before the Getty station got skooled:

And hey, that same gray SUV was parked outside then. Ah, it's nice to know that some things haven't changed.

I posted about the bakery way back when it was just tawk. Apparently, this is the firm that's doing the work: ODA- Architecture

Japan & SE Asia in October

2009-09-09T09:48:00.005-04:00

hoooray! it's slowly coming together.

lunch

2009-08-25T12:44:00.012-04:00

sometimes the thought of having to prepare lunch is more daunting than it really is. this one surprised me by only taking 5 minutes.
veggie patty, spinach, ketchup (organic w/agave! thanks for the introduction jake; just when i thought heinz couldn't be topped), seared canadian bacon & baby bella, truffle oil

FOLLOWUP.
not that i think anyone is really reading, but anything to delay the interminable exasperation of lsat logic games.
the burger was delicious. nothing like good ol' canadian bacon to go with an organic veggie patty. the bella mushroom was a little bit of a mess because it squirted black ink like a squid all over my fancy hanes v-neck lunch outfit upon first bite — nonetheless a prudent decision. was the truffle oil atop the bella a little excessive? the ketchup - truffle oil pairing a little gauche? my choice of wearing a hanes v-neck while lapping up truffle oil nouveau riche? sorta seems like the truffle oil is out... but fuckit i say! i stand by my decision. arrrrgh.
(matey)

Amazon racist reviews

2009-08-23T10:39:00.023-04:00

I'm all for objective reviews of bad products... but while shopping for a digital antenna, I came across this one for an RCA antenna by some bigot named Jeffrey Demattos from San Jose California.

Chinese junk

This antenna is poor quality at best. I am sure SOME of them work, but the one I got does not. There is a problem with the connection from the coaxial cable to the antenna, located inside of the plastic housing. I don't want to open it up, because then I can't return it for a refund. The RF connectors on the amplifier are also very shoddy and a likely breaking point in the future. Well mister china man, you saved 10 cents on RF connectors and lost my [...]worth of business. Plus, I will never buy anything from [...] again. Conglaturations!

Yeah, notice the subtlety of the transposed R and L in "Conglaturations!," the choice use of the phrase "china man," and his clever pun on the word "junk." This guy clearly has some issues with Chinese people in general, and decided to use the antenna as his platform. Maybe he got laid off because his company got bought out by a Chinese firm. Maybe he was passed over for a promotion because some higher-educated harder-working china man got it. Maybe his Chinese ex-girlfriend told everyone that he had a small penis and was a really bad lay.

I never post comments on the internet, but sometimes something compels one to go through the rigamarole of signing up for a username and verifying one's email address just so one can post a comment of his own:

What an outright racist this Jeffrey Demattos is. RCA is an AMERICAN company. If you have a problem with the design of this antenna, and the business decisions that dictate the use of inferior parts so that you, couch potato, could afford a cheap antenna, bring it up with RCA, otherwise known as The Radio Corporation of AMERICA.

click===>Jerky Amazon Comment

Anyways, I would encourage anyone to click on that Amazon link and post a comment of your own and even flag it as inappropriate. Free speech – yeah – but if you wanna make ignorant comments, start a blog like everyone else.

Interestingly, it seems like Amazon, instead of deleting a review that was unhelpful and flagged as inappropriate, first uses a robot to turn into "[...]" what it only suspects as inappropriate.

naan नान, نان

2009-08-13T15:19:00.011-04:00

baked naan bread for the first time. they came out quite nice(ly).

this is the only one that puffed up. it's probably because i consciously folded it over itself before rolling it flat.

The recipe:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
2 tbs oil
2.5 tbs yogurt
3/4 cup water

mix all ingredients, then let sit covered for 4 hours.
knead, split dough into 6 balls rolled flat.
oil hands, and toss flat dough between hands until dough is slightly oiled.
bake for 3.5 minutes at 500˚F on a pizza stone.
brush naan with ghee (clarified butter). i just used regular melted butter.

Grocery list

2009-08-11T19:17:00.002-04:00

I've had nothing to really say for a while because I've been busy with.... stuff.
Anyways, I thought I'd post a pretty mundane email to Jake – you know – because I'm sure you'll find this slice of homosexual domestic life anthropologically fascinating.

filler

2009-07-29T14:48:00.001-04:00

Sewing with Mooncha Cha

2009-07-14T22:26:00.003-04:00

Striking resemblance

NYC

2009-07-10T16:59:00.000-04:00

DO YOU BELONG IN NYC?
Yes, but sometimes you wish there were a better option.
You do love New York, and you fit in here better than you have anywhere else. You're committed to the city, and you take advantage of all of its amazing food, culture, nightlife and arts. But you have nagging doubts about this relationship. Spend your whole life here? Not sure about that. Sometimes you wonder about that farm in your fantasies or even just a smaller city. But in reality, you know there's nowhere better. Click here for suggestions about how to really enjoy NYC.

Do you belong in New York City?

New Bakery across the street

2009-07-07T19:23:00.006-04:00

They're turning an old mechanic's garage into a bakery across the street from my house.

NYC Pride 2009

2009-06-28T19:26:00.002-04:00

Dusk after a thunderstorm

2009-06-26T21:14:00.005-04:00

DUFFY DEXTER

2009-06-09T14:31:00.004-04:00

it's really uncanny, isn't it.