No name (2)
April 6, 2011
I am not a person who goes around naming my objects. I have several friends who name their cars, and I just don’t get it. It’s a car. I suppose I can understand naming ships and trains and planes. They’re big. They have routes. They go places—across the country, across the ocean, to another continent. A car goes to the grocery store.
And if I were a guy, I certainly wouldn’t name my, you know.
What I do name are my computer hard drives. When I first started thinking about this this evening, I assumed it was because “Macintosh HD” is so non-descriptive that you’d get confused if you didn’t name it something else. But that’s really not true, at least for home use, even if you have more than one computer, such as I do. I’m not going to be too confused by seeing two “Macintosh HD”s on the network. One is the computer I’m using, the other isn’t.
So it turns out that I give in to a little bit of frivolity on this front after all. It is, I must admit, a little more entertaining to see the name of your hippity hoppity bunny rabbit. I name my hard drives after my pets.
My rabbits have gotten the hard drives, the cats have gotten the peripherals. The “turnover,” if you will, in both departments has been compatible. So, let’s see if I can remember what they’ve all been.
Macintosh Performa 631CD: Hazel (rabbit)
UMAX Macintosh clone: This was probably also Hazel, as he lived for 10 years. This was a great machine.
40 gig external hard-drive: Hilda (rabbit #2)
Sony Memory Sticks for digital camera: Dhia, Yul (1st, 2nd cats)
iPod 3rd gen: Daisy (shortlived 3rd rabbit). This is still a hard-drive iPod, not one of the newer flash drives, so it counted for getting a name.
Apple G4 dual 867MHz: Robbin (5th and current rabbit). This computer is a tank, and if the Mac OS hadn’t left it in the dust, I’d still be using it.
Extra internal HD in the G4: Belle (shortlived 4th rabbit, posthumously named, because this was the one case where sweeties and hard drives got out of sync), used for music storage
(Wow, did I go from the UMAX to the G4? Holy crap, I did. It seems so long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.)
G4 iBook (2004, still in use, I’m writing on it AS WE SPEAK): ROBBINBOOK. iBook 2004, Robbin Rabbit 2003.
Mac Mini dual Intel whatever: ROBBINmini. Mini 2010, Robbin Rabbit 2003.
External hard drives used with ROBBINmini: Dasie (1), CJ (3rd and 4th, current, cats). Dasie gets the music, because she’s crazy and fun-loving and crazy. CJ gets the one that’s for back-up, because she’s more no-nonsense.
Endnotes
1. Yes, there have been two Daisys. Daisy the rabbit only lived for half a year due to defective genetics, probably due to purebred inbreeding issues. When Dasie the cat came to me, I knew I couldn’t keep her shelter name of Sadie. I thought Daisy was a fun name, so when I realized that I could anagram Sadie into Dasie, it was a no-brainer. It still sounded the same, but was a different spelling as well as a non-traditional spelling. And it totally fits her personality, just as Daisy had fit the rabbit’s. She was a devoted, little ray of sunshine.
Resolve to be resolute, sort of
January 2, 2011
Coincidentally, on this weekend that we change years, I have ended up pondering two things that come up at this time of year–calories (ergo, dieting) and envisioning the future. Tonight we’ll address calories.
A couple of days ago, I dug through my cupboards in search of the food item that contained the highest number of calories per serving. I chose to abide by the serving size listed on the packages even though those are often quite different than what is actually consumed. Except for the brie.
For the most part, I don’t keep junk around. Several people had naughty desserts but the worst I thought I could do was olive oil. But that only has 126 calories per tablespoon serving. No, it turned out that the whole wheat spaghetti was the worst at 210 calories per serving. The only other dry foods I have are various beans, canned tomatoes, and sugar-free Jell-O.
That it was the spaghetti surprised me, but when I got into my refrigerator, there was nothing unexpected. I didn’t figure it would be butter (102 calories per tablespoon) or any of the various cheeses I keep around (100 calories per ounce, give or take). No, I knew the beer would be the biggest calorie offender.
I don’t mess around with these 55 or 64 calorie “beers.” I like the chewy stuff. Unfortunately, my beloved India pale ales pack a punch. They hover around or just under 200 calories per 12 ounces. My seasonal favorite, Celebration Ale by Sierra Nevada, checks in at 214. And my new favorite which I was introduced to at Thanksgiving, Three Philosophers by Ommegang, weighs in at a hefty 294 though, in its defense, it is 9.8% ABV.
Honorable mention does go to the brie cheese. A couple of weeks ago, I got a two-pound wheel on sale for $10. I only wanted one wedge, but when the wedges of other brands were anywhere from $5 to $7, it seemed silly not to go for the big wheel. So although an ounce is about 100 calories, I’ve not been wasting any time eating it up before it spoils, and each time I have some brie I also have some lower-fat Triscuits, seven of which are 120 additional calories. So for sheer consumption at the moment, the brie and crackers wins, regardless of what one actual serving is noted to be.
However, in the long run, it is beer that does me in. As an American woman, it is only natural for me to lament my too-large size. As a beer drinker, it is entirely within my power to do something about it—if only I didn’t love it so much and had more willpower.
I stopped making New Year’s resolutions long ago (the last two I remember were to eat my Five A Day and to never buy white underwear again) and I don’t intend to try to make one today. Every night I go to bed thinking that tomorrow I will exhibit moderation. Just about every day it doesn’t work out, and if it does it’s more by accident than by design.
So yes, tomorrow I shall endeavor to consume fewer calories, but not because of a New Year’s resolution. I will try because I know it would be good for me, and one of these days I will accomplish it, and then I will accomplish it for a second day in a row, and then a third …
December 24, 2010, December 30, 2010
Signs of spring
December 11, 2010
This evening, as snowfall begins that’s predicted to be the heaviest in ten years, I thought we’d review some signs of spring and both reminisce about and look forward to happier times.
As soon as it hits 50 or 60F (10 or 15C), it’s time to start eating lunch outside. There’s a nice plaza a block away from my office that gets toasty sunshine on clear days. It’s very refreshing to get outside for a little while, especially when you don’t have to spend ten minutes bundling up to do it.
Whose mood isn’t brightened by the first daffodils to show their yellow sunniness, or the gentle fragrance from a lilac bush wafting in the breeze? Lilacs. Look at that snow. Can you believe it will be six months until we smell their sweet scent again?
If you’re a baseball fan like I am, spring means the start of the regular season. This past year that was particularly meaningful as the Minnesota Twins inaugurated their new outdoor park, Target Field. It true that some of the first games were rather chilly, but it was so fantastic to be outside watching a game with 40,000 of my closest friends. And we know that in just a few months we’ll be sweltering in the dog days of summer.
We will finish our little mood-jogger this evening with beer. You figured I’d get around to something beer related, right? Perhaps my personal favorite sign of spring is when the Bell’s Oberon Ale is released. Even its sunny label says good times are ahead, and while we’re at it, let’s fire up the grill. Oberon pairs very nicely with a delicious, juicy steak and grilled veggies.
Ah, spring.
April 1, 2010
Good old country comfort
November 5, 2010
I’ve never thought of myself as someone who takes comfort in things. I’m not the one who runs out to shop when I’m in a mood (what mood is one in when one comfort shops? I don’t even know), or who binges on donuts and potato chips when I’m upset. Buying a new pair of shoes does not make me feel better.
Nevertheless, I cannot deny how much I enjoy food and drink, and how I use both as comfort and reward. I know donuts and potato chips are technically food, but they’re junk foods so I discount them—empty calories of processed flour, sugar, potatoes. I feel slightly superior that my comfort food takes the form of pizza (dairy and vegetables with a little flour in the thin, flat crust that I prefer) and beer and wine (I experience a chemical imbalance from it).
I engage in a favorite comfort combo is when I’m feeling lonely. Not because I’m always alone because I’ve freely chosen and embraced the singleton lifestyle which I’m generally fine with, but due to those periodic occasions when I actually wish I had another person around. Nothing soothes me like a big old broiled steak, a giant salad with lots of veggies and vinegar and oil dressing, a movie such as “Bridget Jones’s Diary” or “Under the Tuscan Sun” or a James Bond (wha?) and a bottle of red wine, preferably one of my favorites like Pepperwood Grove Old Vine Zinfandel (a steal at about $7 or $8 per bottle). I’ll be hopelessly weeping by the end of the movie but the next day I’ll feel very satisfied and emotionally refreshed.
I guess beer’s just a general reward for having made to that point the next day. There aren’t many days that go by right now that don’t include a beer or three. I suppose I use it to compensate and comfort myself for the things that I have to deal with in daily life that I’d rather not have to, like working for a living. Not the best reason, but there it is.
Pizza always brings pleasantness to my life—sometimes more than others, as I have forgotten how to stop eating after a sensible amount. I LOVE PIZZA om nom nom nom nom …
When I am getting lunch during a work day, one of my favorites is the lunch special at D’Amico and Sons. I get the Caprese Panini and Tuscan Chicken Soup. That’s a fancy way of saying tomato soup and grilled cheese. Who doesn’t love and wouldn’t be comforted by that? Delicious tomato-based soup with a cheesy overtone and gooey mozzarella sandwiched (pardon the expression) between perfectly toasted and crinkled slices of Italian bread.
I’m sure I could come up with a few other go-to comfort foods (can you say Chipotle chicken burrito, black beans, easy on the rice, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, and green salsa, or The Brothers Deli totally awesome clam chowder on Fridays?) but I won‘t try. You get the idea.
And as for comfort of the flesh and blood kind, how about your cat lounging on you, or giving you a kneady back rub before she flops herself down against you for the night. What’s that? You say you have a human partner? Kids? Pshaw.
A rose by any other name ???
October 14, 2010
… would, in my case, not be the same. If you ever happen to become my suitor, take note. Roses will not impress me. They smell good, sure, but I love carnations and marigolds best. Of course, marigolds don’t get cut for bouquets, but carnations do. Bring me mini-carnations.
I suppose my love of marigolds goes back to childhood. My mom always planted petunias in the planter around our streetlight at the front of the yard. And I got to sow marigold seeds in the planter between the front porch and yard. That planter is also where we buried our first rabbit, Rabbit C (whose security question answer name I still won’t reveal). I remember my excitement when the first sprouts would appear. They were completely my responsibility. The marigolds and mowing the grass.
Carnations I came to love later. Though I haven’t done for a few years, I went through a phase of grabbing a bouquet of flowers during my visit to the grocery store. I learned that the mini-carnations were among the longest lasting, and then I realized that I just plain liked them. I like the big ones, too.
As far as fragrance goes, I think it would be hard to argue against lilacs. Before I moved into my current place, my old bike commute took me past a half block of old, giant lilac bushes. It was such a delight to pass by them in the spring. Refreshing in the morning, and stress-releasing in the evening. Then, when I bought my condo, I inherited a Japanese lilac bush right outside my front window. It is just unbelievably wonderful to have the scent of lilac wafting into your home. Lilacs, why do you not bloom forever?
But I also like the milky, mild smell of carnations. And call me odd (here’s another reason) but I also truly like the pungent odor of marigolds.
As for other flowers, some of you will remember that just twenty-four hours ago, I was coveting Lacey Schwimmer’s (what I called) pink peony dress. I love Dancing with the Stars and I think that dress is in at least my top five favorites (I’ve been watching since the beginning, ten seasons ago). I happen to have pink peonies in my little condo garden, though two have never quite recovered from being transplanted and not enough sun hits any of the three of them, so they’re not very big.
Musically, who doesn’t love Tschaikovky’s Nutcracker Suite? Well, I do. So I’ll leave you with the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.”
Buy the Nutcracker Suite here.
Opposites attract ??? going for baroque
September 15, 2010
We all like lots of things. If you thought about your musical tastes, I’m sure it wouldn’t take too long to think of two entities that were quite diverse but which you loved equally. One such pair for me is Antonio Vivaldi and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
If you are just a casual fan of classical music or not at all a fan of classical music, maybe you’re thinking, but they’re both classical composers, they aren’t that different. But those of us who have more than a passing interest know that they are quite different. Vivaldi is Baroque and precise. Rachmaninoff is (late) Romantic and organic.
My overall favorite genre of classical music is Baroque, and Vivaldi is my favorite classical composer of any ilk. You’re probably most familiar with his Four Seasons, and that’s an amazing piece of music. My fondest memory of it was watching ice dancers Maya Usova and Aleksandr Zhulin skate to it in the 1992 Winter Olympics, especially the moves at about 4:30. It still sends chills up my spine!
Sure, there’s the flasher Johann Sebastian Bach. As a kid taking piano lessons, I really enjoyed learning piano adaptations of some two- and three-part inventions. Over the years, the book has lost its cover and been nibbled on by my various rabbits. I haven’t played my piano for years. I like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart just fine as well, but his music always seems a little more clinical in its ultra-precision. (I guess he’s technically considered to be of the Classical era, though there is overlap with Baroque and the stylistic influence is present.)
I would probably say that Georg Friedrich Handel is my second favorite Baroque composer. Every December, I listen to my complete recording of The Messiah, and Watermusik is just charming.
Two-thirds of the way to the other end of the spectrum is Rachmaninoff and his lush romanticism. I’m a big fan of the four piano concerti, especially No. 2 in C Minor, Op.18 (buy). The opening of the first movement is just so … Russian. And in the second movement, astute listeners will hear one of the motifs on which Eric Carmen based his hit song “All by Myself.”
What musical opposites do you like?
Not such a cheap date
August 21, 2010
Yesterday’s goal was to buy the cheapest thing on the menu. Today’s goal was to spend nothing. I failed miserably, because I didn’t have time to plan ahead. That’s a little bit of a lame excuse. I do often pack my lunch for work, but the extra whammy today was my attendance at the Twins game tonight.
So in chronological order, my FAIL went like this.
Supper. I had planned to stay at the office until it was time to go to the Twins game, but because I switched bags and forgot my key, I had to leave when the last other person left. That spurred my decision to check out the Town Ball Tavern within Target Field because I had plenty of time. As you would expect, the food was overpriced, but the Summit pints that I am powerless to resist at the ballpark were, at $6.75 each, 75¢ less expensive in the Tavern than on the concourse. I ordered the Twin Towns Turkey Sandwich (I think that’s what it was called), which was basically a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich, for $10.50—exorbitant, I know. I had three bargain beers as well.
At the end of the sixth inning, I could no longer take sitting in my seat, packed in on a warm and humid night with no breeze to circulate the stagnant air, so I retreated back to the Tavern where there was air conditioning and big screens and had one more bargain beer. Total beer savings, $3.00.
Post game. By game’s end, I was hungry again (stupid beer) and so popped in to Pizza Lucé on the way back to my bicycle for a delicious slice of pizza with chicken, mushrooms, and onions, $3.95. Wonderful as their beer selection is, I did resist the temptation and just had some nice, cold water.
So that was fourteen hours, two meals, and one event out of the house. Grand total: $51.45. Ouch. It’s no wonder I’m always out of money.
Moon walk to the world
August 13, 2010
If we were to take a little moon pie a la monde and establish the first colony on Earth’s satellite, what would we want to have with us? It’s interesting that as each person noted their own favored item, we actually ended up with a pretty well-rounded selection of near-essentials.
My own answer was fresh food. I do my best to stay away from processed junk and I’m not sure that freeze-dried rations wouldn’t just send me over the moon, so to speak. I love my steak, I love my grilled veggies, and I love salad, lots and lots of salad. I weighed these things against other things that I love, such as music, my computer/the internet, my pets, beer, and so on. Really, my answer should have been drinking water, because more than all those other things and the things yet to be noted, I love feeling hydrated.
So, what else would we take with us?
After taking care of his own need for SPAM, @jackcomrie thoughtfully added a grill on which I could prepare said steaks and veggies. And I’d be happy to cook for everyone. I know it’s grueling to work your way up through the ranks, but I bet I’d be a good restaurant chef. It was probably mere coincidence that there was red wine on the grill leaf. I do really like a good Sonoma zinfandel with my beef. Or Bell’s Oberon beer.
@a_noob took care of a couple of things. He brought the beer so I didn’t have to. And then he decided what the hey, bring the whole damned Honor Oak pub and our friend @rabbitdan. To that I say huzzah! Because the pub is the perfect place to go with your friends, and reluctant as I am to admit it, in the end I do like having people to do things with every now and then. On the moon you’d probably get bored a lot and be glad there were others to do things with.
And one of those things I like to do with someone who is my friend, @merendis brought along—a lover! Really, if you were establishing a colony on a previously unoccupied celestial body, there’d end up being a whole lot of loving going on between all sorts of interesting pairings, appropriate and not appropriate.
When you were hanging out in your moon quarters having some quiet time, you’d want some comforts of home. That would include scratching your furry sweetie’s ears (@thedigitalghost) while surfing the internet (@discomeg2) via satellite and downloading the latest best-sellers (@stephie) and syncing it all via your laptop (@jenaissance).
Of course to run it all, you’d need some sort of power, which @philos-phobos thought to provide, and you wouldn’t want to overlook some basic creature comforts such as water (the elixir of life and universal solvent, thanks to @cigee25). With those spacesuits, you’d probably quickly develop a huge appreciation for the right kind of toilet paper. I am currently stuck with twelve double rolls of a kind I don’t like. It’s only six dollars or so, but I can’t bring myself to bale on it. I will very much more appreciate the other kind when I go back to it.
Let’s not forget aesthetics. @saxchik is taking care of the decorating with some color stimulation. Even with all these other fantastic things we’re bringing along, we might still go crazy if all the walls were moon-ash grey. Three cheers for the color spectrum.
If all else failed, I suppose we’d be quite happy for those freeze-dried rations. @mandy716 and @chaomancer are skipping over the meat and going right to the pudding. And that’s okay. Because as the first moon colony, we would almost certainly experience some insanity, and if a little dish of ice cream, freeze-dried though it might be, was enough to assuage you, well, that would be perfectly acceptable.
It???s not a purse, it???s a bag
August 7, 2010
I don’t carry a purse. If someone calls it that, I correct them. If it straps over two shoulders and rests on my back, it’s not a purse, it’s a bag. Quite often it’s not even a bag, it’s just my wallet. Quite often it’s not my wallet, it’s the little take-out insert that holds cash, the drivers license, and a couple of cards. Frequently it’s just my drivers license and cash or a card in my back pocket.
The wallet holds all the necessaries, clockwise from upper left: the wallet with my transit stored value card; gum; cherry Carmex (which, incidentally, I was leery about getting but the store was out of plain and it turns out the cherry adds a nice little accent to things such as coffee and Diet Coke); cards (car insurance, dental insurance, health insurance, HSA VISA card, business card, $20 Marshall’s gift card, frequent buyer card for Robbin’s brand of rabbit pellets); wallet insert (driver’s license, cash, VISA check card, Dunn Bros Coffee customer loyalty card).
My most-often toted bag is my giant leather backpack which usually goes to work with me. It carries my lunchbox, wallet, iPod, umbrella, anything. It is well-worn and a few years ago I tried unsuccessfully to find a replacement. Then people kept complimenting its rugged demeanor and calling it cool so I stopped searching.
Next is my mini-backpack. That goes to bowling with me and in it you will find my Nalgene bottle with 200mL ice frozen in the bottom and filled with water, my iPod, and my wallet.
When I went to London recently, I did give in and buy this green pouch. I wanted something big enough to put my passport in, and it turns out it was also quite happy to carry a large water bottle. Since my return, I’ve found that it’s handy for wallet, iPhone, and keys when I go to work out and don’t have any pockets. I imagine that when I have to start wearing a jacket again in the fall, it will lay unused for the most part. I confess I’m surprised by how much I like this thing. Maybe because it’s green. Even so, I can’t bring myself to call it a purse. Purses are bigger and have make-up and stuff in them. I don’t carry that around with me; Carmex is the closest I get to that. Purse is too girlie for me.
Even when I’m carrying one of my bags, the iPhone rides around in my back pocket.
Favorite dessert
April 11, 2010
You should answer this not taking calories into consideration, though it is true that last night instead of making brownies, I ate two grapefruit for dessert. This wasn’t because of any hippy skippy 5-A-Day thing. No, it was much simpler than that. I was out of white flour and wasn’t confident enough that brownies made with whole wheat flour wouldn’t taste, well, you know, like chocolate cardboard.
I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of dessert. Unlike my dad, I don’t feel like I need a little sweet something to finish off a meal. If something comes my way, I might eat it, but I don’t feel incomplete without it by any stretch of the imagination.
Once again, I am influenced by my mom on what my gut instinct answer is to the question of my favorite dessert—pecan pie. I prefer it without a dollop of ice cream, though I might like it just warm enough to take the chill off. And if I were being completely truthful, I would also say that really, to me the pecan nuts are at least 50% incidental to my enjoyment of this delight. I like the sugary sweet custard, plain and simple.
I like regular yellow egg custard, too. My Grandma H often made it when we’d go visit in the summer. She had brown ceramic custard cups. Not ramekins, just cauldron-shaped dishes. I suppose they could have been considered ramekins, but they weren’t the white ones you mostly see today.
I also like cheesecake—just plain cheesecake with no “fruit” toppings. My favorite non-plain cheesecake was the Butterfinger cheesecake at Pizza Lucé in the Warehouse District in about 2003, I’ll say. I never saw it other than that one day. Pizza Lucé’s pizza is amazing; the Butterfinger cheesecake was out of this world.
Ice cream is sometimes good. By ice cream I mean plain chocolate in a sugar cone, or a chocolate malt extra malt, such as the kind I get at Potbelly Sandwich Works.
By now you may be wondering why I picture brownies. The answer is simple. They are the easiest to make at home with the ingredients I have on hand anyway. Okay, I suppose technically it’s easier to scoop ice cream out of a cardboard carton, but you can’t just whip up a batch of ice cream with ingredients that are just lying around. Brownies you can.
And I like making them myself because then I know what’s in them. So this is the recipe I use. I don’t bother with the cream cheese filling because that would require forethought. I just make the brownie part, and I have adapted it as it is typed in. The original recipe is pictured below.
Today I ate my grapefruit in conjunction with my brunch (this is the best time of year for delicious grapefruit in the Northern Hemisphere and they’re my favorite fruit, so I’m eating them frequently right now). In honor of the question of my favorite dessert I went ahead and made the brownies using whole wheat flour, pictured above. I’m pleased to report that they don’t taste at all like cardboard.
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(my adapted version)
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