Learn-Something-New

Kitchen Tip: Store Salad Greens For Weeks

2012-04-27T21:14:00.000-05:00

Those packages of pre-cut salad greens at the supermarket are pricey because you pay for the processing and the packaging. If you buy the greens in their original harvested form, at the farmer’s market or local grocery store, you will not only get the freshest veggies (next to harvesting from your own backyard) but also save some pocket money.

The challenge is how to keep the greens fresh in the refrigerator for the length of time it takes you to consume all of it. It’s not really a challenge because all you need are plastic bins, paper towels, and a propping device.

I found the ideal plastic storage bins at a home improvement store. They serve the purpose because they are long enough to fit a whole romaine head and deep enough to fit an average green lettuce head.

Before I store the greens, I pluck out the compromised (bruised) leaves and rinse the heads to remove whatever sand and dirt are stuck in there. If the leaves are a bit limp, I soak the whole thing in water for about half an hour to revive them. Then, a gentle shake to remove the excess water and they’re ready for the bins.

Because contact with too much moisture promotes leaf decay, and the bottom of the bin is where the excess water gathers, I address that concern two ways: I put a double layer of paper towels to absorb the excess moisture in the bin, and I install a propping device over the paper towels to hold the greens away from the wet towels. For my romaine and greenleaf lettuce, I used a plastic packaging tray.

That plastic tray was originally the packaging tray of quail eggs that we bought at an oriental store. It was just what I had on hand; I could’ve used a stack of plastic spoons or a few sauce containers. I actually used several water bottle caps for my iceberg lettuce bin (I’m the Recycle-Repurpose Queen!).

The point is to slightly lift the greens from the bottom of the container to allow air circulation and minimal contact with a wet surface.

The bins are not air-tight (veggies need to breathe too) but they seal well enough to keep the greens from drying out in the fridge. Keeping them in their own containers also ensures they don’t get poisoned by the ethylene gas from certain fruits we also keep in the fridge.

But here’s my biggest reminder: make sure your refrigerator temperature is set no higher than 40 degrees F (4.4 degrees C); the wrong temperature will hasten spoilage.

Another tip: make sure the bottoms of the lettuce heads are facing the back of the fridge. Reason: it’s colder near the back wall of the fridge; leaf tips could freeze.

Less Stain from Stainless Flatware

2012-04-24T21:48:00.000-05:00

If you're anything like me, you toss your used flatware in the sink, then gather all of them in the dishwasher waiting for the appliance to be full enough to run a wash. Then after about a year, you notice that your once-shiny stainless flatware are all cloudy and cruddy. You try to remove the crud by hand-washing the spoons and forks with a sponge and dish detergent but the shine never comes back.

If you're anything like me, you try "The Eraser" because it can clean everything!

Then you hear yourself scream, "Whoa! Check this out!"

Yes, the all-around Eraser (available as Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and Scotch Brite Easy Eraser) is the answer.

Wet the pad, slide it over the flatware surface just a few times, and watch the spoons and forks become shiny and new again! Rinse with clean water and towel dry. Revive several sets of stainful stainless flatware in just a few minutes.

If you're anything like me.

Asking for Directions

2012-04-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

I keep thinking about how we could've been more helpful. We were at a red light at an intersection near Seaworld. The guy driving the car next to us, apparently a tourist, rolled down his window and asked, "How do we get to Downtown Disney?"

After thinking quickly because the light was about to change, Mike said, "Go straight, take the ramp to I-4 West."

The guy repeated the instructions then the light turned green. Mike said to me as we drove away, "Well, he'll figure out that he has to go into the 67 exit, and find his way again."

Now I'm thinking, there were other ways to reply to the guy's question:

1. Speak real fast and say, "Go straight, take the ramp to I-4 West, take the 67 exit to Lake Buena Vista, then turn right to State Road 535, then turn left to Hotel Plaza Blvd, then turn left at Buena Vista Drive. Downtown Disney will be to your right. You want me to repeat that?"

2. Say, "Punch 'Downtown Disney' on your GPS and follow the voice prompts."

3. Say, "Use your phone's navigation app."

4. Say, "Google Downtown Disney."

5. Point to the 7-11 at the corner and say, "Go there and buy a map."

6. Resist the urge to say, "It's complicated" and straight-face fib, "We're not from around here. Sorry."

7. Raise an eyebrow, look at the traffic light, stare back at him, and say, "Seriously?"

On second thought, Mike's instructions couldn't have been more helpful. If the guy went up the ramp to I-4 West, he would've eventually seen all the huge signs, one of which is at the nearest exit that says "Downtown Disney".

Downtown Disney

Dirty-Clean Dishwasher Sign

2012-03-27T22:45:00.000-05:00

You know how you always wonder if the dishes in the dishwasher are still dirty or already clean? Our solution was to stick the corresponding post-it note on the door of the dishwasher. We had a "Clean Na" (clean already) and a "Dirty Pa" (still dirty) post-it that stays on the bulletin board until needed.

I got tired of managing and replacing the post-it note that sometimes fell on the floor (if not behind the water cooler), and got all crumpled, nasty, and unsticky. I thought I'd get creative and make a decent and real sign.

Because the front panel of our dishwasher from the 80s is plastic, a magnetic sign was out of the question. I had to design one that uses velcro as a fastener. And it has to be reversible and sturdy enough to withstand the constant reversing action. One side would be "CLEAN" and the other side "DIRTY".

I headed for my polymer clay workstation. Bluish grayish colors would work for the Dirty side, and bright whitish colors would be good for the Clean side. I cut an aluminum plate to serve as the backing and covered it with a thin layer of neutral brownish beige blended clay.

The letters had to be large and easy to read (and easy to make), so, arial-looking font was my default. Gray for Dirty, white for Clean.

I baked the letters and the backing first.

To make the sign more interesting, I designed sad and happy faces, and borders. I baked those elements next. Then I super-glued all the elements onto the backing, including the corner posts where the velcro-loop pieces would be attached.

And there it is. A reversible sign that snaps onto the velcro-hook pads I attached to the dishwasher. I threw away the post-it notes for the last time.

The Seven Roses Project

2012-03-12T13:07:00.002-05:00

In Dec 2007, I bought a set of three bare-root roses from a warehouse store.

I planted them onto containers and wrote about How to Grow Bare-Root Roses in Containers at eHow. Eventually, I planted the pink one on the ground, beside our calamansi tree, but left the other two in their pots. I didn't fuss over them too much, the way a serious rose grower would, but I loved how every now and then I could bring in beautiful flowers from my own garden.

To celebrate spring this year, a local home improvement store offered shrubs on discount. The shrubs included hybrid teas and grandifloras. I couldn't pass it up -- I chose four.

This time I couldn't leave the roses in their pots because they would be harder to maintain than if I put them in the ground. So, now I had a project cut out for me.

I chose a sunny location in the front yard so that I'll see the plants all the time. With a plan in hand, I gathered the materials I would need to transfer six rose plants from their pots to the ground. I would need two bags of garden soil (they have organic ones now!), a bag of rose food, and concrete borders that matched the ones we already had.

I marked the area, peeled and rolled up the sod, and dug the holes one by one. Sounds easy when you say it like that, but that sentence took me three days in real life. And several pain relievers.

I enriched each hole with garden soil and rose food before I plopped the plant in (Florida soil is mostly sand). Then I positioned the borders and watered the entire plot.

Project complete!

The seven roses are: Intrigue (lavender), Queen Elizabeth (pink), Ambassador (orange), New Day (yellow), Scarlet Knight (red), Pristine (pale pink), and Eclipse (yellow-orange).

Like Fish In A Barrel

2011-12-21T13:42:00.000-05:00

It started out back in 2009 as a water feature -- a half-barrel to catch the water that flowed through the rainchain from the roof gutters. We found a waterproofed half-barrel at a garden center, where we also bought the marginal aquatic plants, Dwarf Giant Papyrus, Powdery Thalia, and Pickerelweed. We got a lotus bulb but it never woke up.

Pickerelweed

We weren’t really planning on having fish in the barrel but stagnant water would mean breeding ground for mosquitoes. So, I assigned a couple of Goldfishes and a Platy from our aquarium to take care of the mosquito larvae that could populate the barrel. All went well until winter came.

January 2010 was fierce; it froze the barrel, together with everything in it. I was devastated, not only because the fish and most of the plants died, but also because it didn’t even occur to me that I actually had the means to prevent the imminent disaster.

Frozen water. See dead fish in the center of the photo.

The following winter, I was prepared. As soon as the weather cooled down, I put an aquarium heater in the barrel and made sure that the setting was just right – no ice cube fishies, but no fish stew either. Everyone survived.

Last summer, I added more fish. I introduced a few tropical livebearers, both male and female, and let nature take its course. The barrel is now teeming with Guppies, Platys, and Swordtails.

We had our first chilly morning a few weeks ago, and no, we didn’t forget to install the heater. We won't let Mother Winter mess with our pets again, even if they are fish in a barrel.

Goodbye Auto Mode

2011-12-08T09:52:00.001-05:00

A few months ago, Groupon offered a discount on a photography workshop to be held in Orlando, conducted by CapturingTrueEmotion.com. I took the 4-hour “The Ultimate Camera Experience” workshop with the matching 2-hour “The Ultimate Camera Expedition” location shooting scheduled for December 2nd. The lecture was at the Sheraton Safari Hotel, and the shoot at Downtown Disney, just 10 minutes away from home.

It was essentially a basic course on DSLR photography – understanding ISO, aperture, shutter speed, metering, etc., and knowing how to control them in your camera. I knew all that, since I’ve had my Canon Rebel T2i for more than a year and my Canon S3IS for a couple of years before that. I was really more curious about the workshop itself (how it would be conducted) rather than the photography basics.

Surprisingly, at the end of the day, I actually learned something important and photography-related. Our wonderful (she was awesome!) facilitator was professional photographer Stephanie Adriana. After listening to her share her shooting techniques and personal experiences, I discovered that there was, indeed, an easy and methodical way to shoot in Manual mode.

Stephanie at location shooting.

My action shot in "shutter priority" mode.

So, wow, I can now shoot, quite confidently, in Manual mode! No more getting nervous and rattled and defaulting to Auto mode when shooting in a pinch! I would say that’s a lesson that was worth more than what I paid for that 6-hour workshop. The chance to mingle with fellow camera enthusiasts was a bonus. Getting a laminated cheat sheet from the workshop -- priceless.

Below are some of the photos I shot after the workshop, all in easy-peasy manual mode, without the headache from second-guessing the camera settings (click on any image for a high-res slideshow of all photos). Thank you, Stephanie!

Our bikes in the driveway on an overcast day.

The hot-air balloon ride at Downtown Disney, where we had our location shooting.

Mike's Boss bike. Shot with a zoom.

Our Blue-and-Glitter-themed Christmas tree.

My CD-ripping project workstation.

Your Ticket, Please.

2011-10-08T21:40:00.000-05:00

What normal people would typically throw away, I keep. I always say to myself, "Someday I'll think of a way to turn this into a work of art."

One of the many things I've kept over the years are movie tickets -- those that the ticket collector at the theater entrance hand back to the patron. I wasn't able to save all the stubs of all the movies we saw because when Mike gets to hold those little pieces of paper, he tends to crumple them and throw them away. He's normal. When I get to hold them, I keep them safely in a pocket in my bag and later slip them into a little hoarding box.

After almost ten years, I suddenly decided I've collected enough of them to turn into a piece of art that I can hang on the wall. I gathered all the stubs and removed all the duplicates (I still kept the duplicates in an envelope, I don't know what for).

Then I looked for that picture frame of a frowning clown that I really meant to repurpose. I glued colored paper on the frame backing and taped the stubs onto them. It's very relaxing, gluing ticket stubs one at a time into a symmetrical structure. Yes, I know. OCD.

And this is the final product -- a glass-framed conversation piece of ticket stubs of some of the movies Mike and I saw together from 2002 to 2011.

What else have I been stashing around here? Hmmm.

More Shelves!

2011-09-26T19:23:00.000-05:00

ADD. OCD. It took a while for me to wrap my head around the realization that I have a healthy affliction of both. ADD takes me from one project to another, one field of interest to the next, and one... oh, look, a squirrel! Then OCD grabs me and compels me to ~~fix~~ ~~sort~~ organize my ~~belongings~~ stuff in ~~neat~~ ~~aligned~~ symmetrical order.

That's why I need shelves. Lots of shelves. Because I tend to collect things. Assorted things. Especially those that mean something to me. Like colored glass. Matrioshka dolls. Crystal bells. And books. Lots of books. Some CDs. Some DVDs. A few pewter figurines. Japanese artifacts. And Darth Vader.

I must organize my things. I must. So I build shelves. I need shelves.

More shelves!

Puto and Dinuguan

2011-09-25T16:10:00.000-05:00

Finding good puto (rice bun) here in the U.S. is hit or miss. So, I decided to try out a White King Puto boxed mix, which is much like the pancake mix that I always resort to for my comfort breakfast.

The White King Puto powder mix required a cup of water, half a cup of sugar, and 5 tsp of cooking oil. Instead of plain sugar, I used Splenda. I also used Canola oil. After a minute of hand-mixing the ingredients, I poured the batter into my muffin (silicone) molds. Our rice cooker doubles as a steamer, so I was good to go. The instructions said to steam for 25 minutes.

The puto came out just right. I dabbed some butter on top before I took them out of the steamer. My taste test revealed that next time I should put a little more Splenda, and spike the mix with a drop or two of vanilla flavoring.

So, why did I suddenly have the urge to cook my own puto? Because we had some Dinuguan ("Blood Stew") takeout from the Pinoy store, and everyone knows that Dinuguan is always best with puto.

Book Review: "Tapping the Source: Using the Master Key System for Abundance and Happiness" by Gladstone, Greninger, and Selby

2011-01-21T01:00:00.002-05:00

Wouldn't it be great if life had an instruction manual? Fortunately, every now and then, someone writes a book that gives us, in no uncertain terms, step-by-step instructions on how to achieve success and happiness in life. Tapping the Source is that type of book.

Tapping the Source starts with how authors Gladstone, Greninger, and Selby serendipitously collaborate to expound on the wisdom of the Master Key System introduced by Charles Haanel in the early 1900s. Haanel had shared how meditation, manifestation, and being one with the Universal Mind (also known as Creative Spirit, Infinite Creator, or Divine) can influence the people and events around us into making our aspirations come true.

What makes Tapping the Source stand out from other self-help books is it draws from an expert who has been the role model of many successful businessmen and personalities over the past century. The book's authors, themselves, use Haanel's secrets in their own lives. Here, they present these secrets in practical, present-day, layman's terms, for regular people like us to use.

The book quotes Haanel extensively. The authors elaborate on Haanel's teachings and translate them into a manifestation process anchored on seven focus phrases that we can utter several times a day. This manifestation process works around the Law of Attraction, the secret of giving, the power of positive thinking, and direct communication with the Source. It may all sound nebulous, but the authors succeeded in presenting Haanel's concepts and teachings in clear and concise terms.

Tapping the Source is a life instruction manual. The manifestation logic and the actionable focus phrases serve as a blueprint for fulfilling our desires, achieving our goals, and tapping into the power of the Divine. This book empowers its reader with insights, awareness, and various mental tools to build material, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual perfection. In fact, this book takes away whatever possible excuse we may have to not succeed in life.

Life Coach 04: Ride the Winds of Change

2011-01-17T01:00:00.002-05:00

Change doesn't always have to be hard to accept. Change can most often be a blessing. How do we learn to face and take advantage of a major change in our lives?

Life Coach 03: Choose To Be Happy

2011-01-16T01:00:00.001-05:00

Studies show that you can consciously provide the mental and physical conditions that your brain will translate into feelings of happiness and contentment.

Life Coach 02: Carpe Diem -- Live the Moment

2011-01-15T01:00:00.002-05:00

Grabbing a moment and living it means giving yourself wholly to a situation.

Life Coach 01: Count Your Blessings

2011-01-14T13:52:00.001-05:00

When you think about it, bad days are actually the best days to focus on the good things we have. It doesn't guarantee that everything will suddenly be okay, but it gives us a better perspective of our circumstances.

Ruby Beads

2010-08-19T07:44:00.003-05:00

Come on down to my new blog: Ruby Beads!

It's all about my handcrafted jewelry hobby. Lots of photos and interesting stories. I'll see you there!

Hiatus

2010-05-16T07:30:00.004-05:00

I've decided to put this blog on hiatus.

Please follow me to my "other" blog: Neural Spork: Mental notes to masticate.

You can also subscribe and have updates delivered via email.

See you there. :)

Mike Llamas is Stoney Burke, Broadcaster, Rock Jock

2009-07-23T12:31:00.001-05:00

Mike Llamas is Stoney Burke, Broadcaster, Rock Jock

Shared via AddThis

Concert: Steely Dan

2009-06-19T08:50:00.003-05:00

I wish I could be like Steely Dan and make people pitch in for my house payment. This is what their "Rent Party 2009" tour is supposed to be about: for all of us closet fans of their several decades of music genius to show our appreciation by coming out to help them pay the rent.

Tickets to the June 15 show at the Bob Carr Performance Arts Centre downtown were pre-sold in April 23rd. Good thing we decided to get our tickets then--the house was packed.

After eight weeks of waiting, the day finally came. Our Balcony Right seats were pretty decent (for the money, they should be!). It also helped that we brought our birdwatching Bushnells.

I couldn't keep myself from comparing the people at the Steely Dan concert with the crowd at the Fleetwood Mac show. Of course, the artists are from totally different genre, but M and I belong to both crowds, so it was interesting to note the difference in the mob mentality. Unlike the free-for-all rock-and-roll attitude of the Fleetwood Mac-ers, the Steely Dan-ers were more refined (restrained?). There was this gaze of, I don't know, intelligence (question mark), in their eyes.

The Steely Dan fans (some with their I-was-at-the-Steely-Dan-2005-tour t-shirts) looked sharp, somewhat stiff and, uhm, smug (I guess you would if you knew that very few people get you for naming your Rottweillers Aja and Gaucho). Many of them, er, us, looked like we've been on to Steely Dan since the 70s. But hey, Donald Fagen came out on stage looking like one of us--mellow in our wisdom and experience, but still energized!

For a guy who's already crossed into the 6th decade of his life, Fagen performed as strong and forceful as ever. Walter Becker and the rest of the band (I mean, orchestra) were virtuoso-faithful to the tunes we grew up with. I believe they lined up songs that particularly showcased the talents and skills of the individual musicians and singers on stage.

We were at the edge of our seats waiting for the next song. What will it be? I bet I can name the song in four notes. People at the back kept screaming Black Cow! The Fez! Dr. Wu! Sadly, we got none of those, not even Deacon Blues. But we did get some of our other favorites like Aja, Green Earrings, Bodhisattva, Kid Charlemagne, Bad Sneakers, Peg, Third World Man, Home at Last, Caves of Altamira, and Josie. The demure head-bobbing crowd eventually let it all hang out with My Old School.

The show ended after only one encore. We wanted more, but, well, it was late, and way past our bedtime. So, we just listened to Steely Dan when we got home, trying to figure out the message in Sign in Stranger.

Here's some Steely Dan trivia worth knowing:
Haitian Divorce is obtainable within 24 hours.
Black Cow is a float.
The Fez is not a condom.

P.S.: M told a coworker that we saw Steely Dan in concert. She said, "Who's he?"

Book Review: "Conquer the Fat-Loss Code" by Wendy Chant

2009-06-06T21:09:00.002-05:00

Conquer the Fat-Loss Code is nothing short of a complete strategy to lose fat, raise metabolism, shed unwanted pounds, and remain fit for life. Wendy Chant has presented a book that not only explains the science behind the body’s reactions to food and exercise, but also details how to take advantage of these natural tendencies.

Chant’s book is a quick read because she explains the fat-loss code in simple, readily understandable terms. She also outlines all the principles involved in optimizing fat-loss (like the meal plan cycles) in straightforward bulleted paragraphs and in-a-nutshell “Conquer the Code” boxes for quick comprehension and reference. Testimonials to the success of the Fat-Loss Code (inserted in the book as “What the Code Crackers Are Saying”) are short stories that add to the credibility of the method.

Chant’s book is also a long-term guide because it has a complete 8-week planner that lists daily food suggestions, weight training and cardio schedules, and a feedback log complete with the day’s affirmation. The book not only explains the fat-loss code, it also provides the tools you need to apply the code to your particular situation. Chant even fine-tunes the program to differentiate plans for men and women, and those aiming to lose less (or more) than 30 pounds.

Of course, a plan is only as good as its Plan B. So, Chant also includes tips and tactics for special days like weekends, travel, and holidays, plus a special section on what to do if you fall off the wagon. And it goes without saying that the chapter on “Quick Tips for Ultimate Success” merits a permanent bookmark.

The last section of the book could be the most precious gift from Wendy Chant: it features her own recipes for breakfast, shakes, soups, salads, vegetables, entrées, and desserts. And to round out her comprehensive book, she adds an appendix of the Beginner’s Home Workout and several pages of references and scientific basis for her fat-loss code.

Anyone who has tried any kind of diet or regimen for losing fat (and maybe did not achieve the desired results) deserves to try Wendy Chant’s method. The science is sound, the code is simple, and this book is the key.

Book Review: "Made to Stick" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

2009-03-13T17:39:00.002-05:00

The book answers one question: What makes an idea stick to our minds? The question is profound because it asks why some ideas are better remembered than others, why some methods of communication are more effective, and why a message should be specifically packaged to achieve the intended impact. The answer involves six principles spelled SUCCES: simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, story.

What’s brilliant about “Made to Stick” is: authors Chip and Dan Heath use the answer to the question to make the answer stick to our minds. Not only do they explain how the six principles are used to make an idea stick, they also apply these principles in making their message—the book—be a sticky idea that stays in our consciousness.

The six chapters of “Made to Stick” focus on the six principles of stickiness. Each chapter uses some, if not all, of the SUCCES principles to deliver the chapter’s topic. The language is light and straightforward (because sticky ideas must be simple and memorable, like proverbs). The presentation is captivating, making you pay attention and want more. The numerous references are concrete and credible; in fact we are already familiar with many of them (like Jared, the Subway guy, the Chicken Soup series, and the Mother Theresa Effect). And with one story after another, of how regular people used these principles to make an impact, Chip and Dan Heath seal the imprint of their message in our heads.

I have never read a book that skillfully and successfully applies the principles it is trying to teach, until now. With the additional “Sticky Advice” chapters (for managers and teachers), the Easy Reference Guide, and the hundreds of fascinating reference notes, I can say “Made to Stick” will be stuck to my fingers for a while.

The Hanging Lamps Project

2009-02-28T18:34:00.008-05:00

Most of my home projects are born out of necessity –- necessity for convenience, necessity for comfort. After we built the breakfast counter, I noticed that whenever I sat there, I seemed to crave for... more light. I needed to see what I was eating, and the recessed lighting on the ceiling was too far and too weak. I needed task lighting... pendant lights over the breakfast counter. Need... must... have...

To keep in tune with the house’s Japanese-y, Oriental-ese theme, do I want to use those Japanese paper lanterns from Ikea? Do I want to spend money when I can make my own lamps and post the how-to on eHow as an article and get paid for it? The answer was a no-brainer. So, I looked around the house for materials I could use...

Read about the whole project (with photos!) at my Multiply site:
"The Hanging Lamps Project"

Read my tutorial (with photos!) at eHow:
"How to Make a Japanese Hanging Lamp"

Book Review: Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is by Natalie Pace

2009-01-08T14:46:00.002-05:00

Everyone wants to be rich; which is why countless books have been written, suggesting ways to build wealth, by as many experts on the matter. Natalie Pace’s “Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is: Investment Strategies for Lifetime Wealth” may be just one of them, but I appreciated her book because she shared her own experiences and spoke in simple terms to readers like me, amateur investors.

Pace’s approach gives a layman’s view of the forest as well as the trees. She laid out the basic principles of investing, the fundamental guidelines in designing and maintaining a sound investment portfolio, and the various wealth-handling challenges one has to deal with. She stresses that it’s not just about getting rich, but also about staying rich.

What makes “Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is” a compelling read is how Pace reveals her own successes through real-world examples. She shows how she handled her investments over the years and describes which companies she studied, recommended, and built her own wealth on. She shares her personal investment strategies openly and clearly; and she nutshells every major lesson with three important takeaway tips.

“Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is” is a good how-to book in investing that even a newbie can quickly understand and immediately apply. Regardless of whether the overall economic situation is in flux, Pace’s chapters like “The Magic of Stock Report Cards”, “Lessons from Enron”, and “The Top Eleven Investing Mistakes” remain universally pertinent. In fact, the book details how to invest wisely so that wealth becomes recession-proof.

Natalie Pace’s book details practical answers to crucial questions like “How do I choose a broker?”, “How do I buy low and sell high?”, and “How do I diversify my nest egg?” For me, though, the best takeaway of all is her set of tips that describes “The Foolproof Get Rich and Stay Rich Plan.” After reading this book, I feel that I’m psyched to learn more about enjoying a lifetime of wealth.

RightPet.com

2008-10-30T06:56:00.006-05:00

A new site for pets has just launched:

It's a place to check out which pet is best for you and your family. Pets and vendors are user-rated so that an online collective wisdom is shared with everyone wanting to find the right pets for the right homes. Drop by and post your pet stories, photos, and videos... I'm sharing my pet fish experiences there.

Night Sounds

2008-03-26T17:36:00.004-05:00

We live in Orlando, you know, the city where dreams come true. For several years, we stayed in an apartment located just two traffic lights away from Mickey Mouse's door. Every night we would hear a cacophony of fireworks explosions from Epcot, Magic Kingdom, or Downtown Disney. (Every now and then we would hear heavy walking and late night furniture rearranging from the neighbors upstairs.)

Fireworks are exceptionally loud during holidays like the eve of the 4th of July or New Year's. They usually last about 10 to 15 minutes, so they won't really keep you up. If they ever wake you up, especially the finale super-explosions, you quickly realize it's the Disney fireworks giving all those breathtaken visitors the awe of their lives, and you promptly fall back asleep.

Since we moved to our new place last year, we have a different set of nighttime sounds. We now live about two blocks from Seaworld, where they also have fireworks, although not everyday, and not as loud as Disney's. And because the Orlando International Airport is just 15 minutes away, the traffic of airplanes can sometimes be heard in the stillness of the night.

But tonight, we heard a totally unusual sound. For a second it sounded like someone dropped a piece of furniture upstairs. Only thing is, there's no "upstairs" -- unless someone dropped something on our roof. It didn't quite sound like thunder... the weather was clear all day.

"What the heck was that?"

So, we paused the show we were watching and we stepped outside, looking around for whatever may have caused that thunderous explosion.

A neighbor was taking a stroll. She saw me walk out to our driveway and look up at the clear blue sky.

"You heard the sound of the shuttle," she called out, smiling.

"That was the space shuttle?"

"Yes, the sonic boom of the space shuttle."

"Oh, wow! That's right! They're landing tonight! Thanks!" It was a huge "aha" moment for me!

So, there it was, our first sonic boom experience in all the years we lived in Orlando. Next time we hear a thunderous sound like someone dropped a piece of furniture "upstairs," we'll know to suspect it was another space shuttle announcing its arrival.

A news article said the Endeavor caused a "twin zonic boom" as it came in to land at the Kennedy Space Center. For more about the Space Shuttle Endeavor and its mission, and some tidbits about the International Space Station that's now 70% complete and gearing towards human expeditions to the moon:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html