100 words | Happy Halloween

I’m not really all that big on Halloween and dressing up and stuff, but since it’s a big holiday and everybody else seems to like it, happy Halloween. I never really understood why everybody likes to get in the spirit of this holiday. Aren’t we too old for this kind of stuff? I understand it if you have kids and decorate your house and dress up, but if you’re in your late twenties with no kids or family, isn’t it a little weird if you dress up and go to work? I don’t know, to each his own I guess.

100 words | babies

This morning as I was walking up to Sunday school I saw a mother holding a baby and I instinctively said: “hey that’s a cute baby”. Then, as I walked into the class, I thought about it for a second, the baby wasn’t cute. It wasn’t un-cute, but it wasn’t any cuter than any other baby. As a matter of fact, most babies look the same. Why do we feel the need to actually say: “cute baby”? Is our society so insecure that we feel the need to re-affirm what the mother must already think?! Something to think about tonight…

100 words | starting on the cards

100 words | pumpkin muffin awesomeness

The first bite into this muffin yielded a firm yet creamy cheesecake-ish texture, followed by the fluffy foundation of a well made cake. The pumpkin taste was just right, and the cream cheese complemented that pumpkin goodness. As I drove in to work this morning, I could smell the two boxes of pumpkin muffins that sat next to me, the cargo so precious that I buckled the boxes into the seat (no joke). Seventeen muffins, two quarts of orange juice, Friday’s group breakfast taken care of; yes… today is going to be a good day. Thanks for baking them Jenn!

100 words | time to own a gun?

According to a new Gallup poll, nearly half of all Americans have a gun somewhere on their property, which is an all time high (the numbers had been dropping in the 1990’s). Now, I don’t condone gun ownership (though I’m republican), as it can be dangerous if not stored properly and yada yada. I’m sure you’ve heard it all; however, if everybody else had a gun, wouldn’t you be at a disadvantage if you don’t? Hypothetically, if aliens (which I don’t believe in) invaded, wouldn’t you (as a non-gun owner) be the first one abducted/probed/eaten? Something to ponder…

100 words | apparently I’ve been wimpy with my eggs

Today’s yahoo news brings “Five Mistakes You’re Making with Your Scrambles Eggs”. I think I’ve finally found what my life has been missing all these years. Mistake number one: “Don't be wimpy with your eggs. Whisk well and be vigorous about it--you want to add air and volume for fluffy eggs.” Yes, my life has been marred by underfluffed eggs, though I am a bit unrepentant in committing the apparent cardinal sin of using a fork to both whisk (wimpily, apparently) and cook my eggs. Apparently I should use my chopsticks to get the perfect curd. Wow… mind blown.

50 beans | cold brew chemex

There are a variety of different ways to make coffee. You can use a regular drip brew machine; you can use an espresso machine (or a moka pot) to extract a rather robust brew; you have french presses that crank out a nice, decently strong cup of joe, and then there are some other less conventional methods like the hario v60, the aeropress (made by the same people that make Frisbees), and a japanese siphon pot. These days I use a combination of a cold brew french press through a chemex filter. Yes, it sound like it would be a pain to do, but it’s ridiculously simple.

Basically, you put grounds and room temperature water in a french press and let it sit overnight on the kitchen counter. In the morning you push down the press and strain it through the chemex filter, which is a paper filter (thick and bulky, made with 36-pound-weight paper) that goes on a chemex pot. That’s pretty much it. The french press sifts out most of the grounds and gets you a drink that loosely resembles used motor oil. The chemex will filter out the rest of the silt to get you a translucent drink. And there ya have it. Make sure to use beans that have been roasted within the last two weeks (let it sit after roasting for 3-5 days for the excess CO2 to come out) and grind right before you add the water.

The beauty of this is that the combination of french press and chemex will net you a good tasty cold brew without the silt that is commonly associated with this form of extraction. With the chemex, you control all the variables of the brew, and it gets most of the silt out of the coffee. It’s definitely even better for regular hot coffee, which was what the intended purpose of the chemex. It was created by a chemist named Peter Schlumbohm in 1941, and hasn’t really changed since then. The wood and leather strap that goes across the middle like a belt add to both form and function of this object, which, 70 years ago, was added to the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in new york.

If you want some Chemex coffee without the commitment of a $40 pot, it’s offered at a few third-wave shops in SF and around the bay. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth the investment for an object that’s been on the cutting edge of coffee for the past 70+ years.

100 words | I must stop with the smily faces…

Yesterday, on the work chat, my buddy asked me if I wanted to go grab a beer after work and watch the game. I quickly replied “sure! =)”. Of course, microsoft communicator, like gchat, will swap your =) for a legitimate smile with eyelashes and rosy cheeks. Essentially, they swap your smile for a nice big pile of awkwardness. It almost conveyed more than what was intended. Was I excited to go get a beer and watch the game? Yes. Would there be “hugs and more” involved? No. Ergo, I’ve resolved to cut down on smilys. After this one. =)

100 words | new sheets

I may not know the difference between pima and Egyptian cotton. I may not know why thread count is important. I may not even know (or care) the difference between a covered duvet and a flat sheet. What I do know, is I have new sheets! I got a set from target last week and finally swapped out the old set. The material is great and I’m digging the color (olive green). I took it for a two hour test drive yesterday afternoon as I waited for my laundry to finish. It’s awesome! Now I feel like taking another nap…

100 words | the translucent acacian

Why translucent? Well, i’d like to say that nobody’s completely invisible in Acacia. Somebody’s gotta notice and acknowledge that you exist when you go. The translucent acacian is the one that will show up on most Sundays, Fridays, and occasionally the smalls groups, but isn’t in one of the two major cliques. He/She will be able to strike up a conversation with the pastor and maybe a few people. From what I can observe, the translucent acacian is between 20-40% (and growing) of the loosely organized group. The translucent acacian is out there. You should walk over and say hi.

100 words | sooo many balloons

The capitol steps were filled with people, standing, sitting, waiting for the sun to set. Everyone was waiting for the Light the Night walk to begin. There were old folks, survivors, students, moms and dads, all toting different colored balloons and donning blue t-shirts. It didn’t matter that we didn’t know each other, we stood and chatted and waited to light the balloons and start. Some were there to honor their relatives; some were there to bring awareness to the disease; all were there for a common cause. It was great just seeing some many people coming out to walk.

100 words | my plan to bring ice cream back from DC had mixed results…

The plan was very simple: bring back four packs of ice cream and a pack of strawberries from the air and space museum in DC. I even put it in my backpack as a carry on so it wouldn’t get smushed. Well, the plan was very sound in theory, but actually getting it to California was a different story. So last night, I finally opened my backpack to have a look. Apparently, two of the ice cream packs were broken in half (the ice cream inside, not the packaging). The strawberries were fine. Meh… should’ve just bought them in California.

100 words | babies and weddings

Hmm… It seems like everyone’s either having a baby or a wedding these days. I just came back to work today after a week off and I got three emails saying people are either engaged or expecting a child. It’s crazy, I have an inbox just littered with congrats! emails and the like. Man… I must be getting to that age where all my friends and coworkers are moving into that next stage in life. Haha this better not be the start of a midlife crisis. There’s no way I’m going out to buy a harley and a leather jacket.

100 words | haircuts and hunting

What do you when you have half an hour to kill when waiting for a haircut? Phone games? Left it at home. =( Magazines? The only options are Cosmo and Hunting. Who knew one of the girls at supercuts was a whitetail deer hunting enthusiast? 25 minutes and a few short stories later, I have now learned that it could take years of hunting to actually get one, and apparently you can lay fake deer poop that will mimic real poop in smell and heat and maintain it for a few days. Go figure. I think I’ll stick to fishing.

100 words | get a good seat.

Check in early. If there was ever one piece of advice I'd give, that would be it. If you're flying on southwest and check in is 24 hours before your flight, get on their website ten minutes early, check your internet connection, and wait till that clock turns. You'll be glad. Get that coveted low A number boarding pass, get in there, and sieze that emergency aisle seat. If you're too slow or if your fingers cramp up before you can click that check in button, be ready to sit between two talkers that need to pee every half hour.

100 words | to the moon!

Today I got to do something I always enjoy when visiting DC, peruse the Air and Space museum. I never gave much thought to what an amazing feat going to the moon really was until today. When JFK stood at the podium in 1961 and announced the US goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade, nobody at nasa had even checked to see if it was really possible. It was simply amazing, nobody knew, but the president said it will be done within the decade, so they made it happen. It's just amazing.

100 words | finally!!

Today was a good day. We walked around the national mall, attended the MLK Memorial dedication, and to cap it all off, Eagles finally won!! It's about time!! Although we were at a bar in redskin's territory, I was still able to cheer for the eagles with relatively low levels of harassment. Twas a relief to finally see the eagles not embarass themselves too badly, even though they still almost gave away the game again. Good thing we have a bye week coming up. This way they actually have a bit of time to reinvent themselves into a winning team.

100 words | three asian guys in western virginia...

Yep. I'm deep in virginia driving west towards shenandoah valley... there's woods, fall foliage, and most important of all, there's probably militia men somewhere here. Twenty miles ago we passed by the NRA building. Oh yes... this is gonna be a fun road trip. By the way, I'm not talking about the militia in the sense of volunteer cops... it's likely the separatist "we don't recognize the constitution and live out here in the true free country" kind of militia. Haha don't worry, this isn't another one of my contingency plan brainfarts... just bored and hoping we'd get there soon.

100 words | cops

Four hours. It only took us four hours to get stopped by cops for trespassing on federal property. I suppose now's as good a time as any to explain what happened. After we flew in to town and got some food, we figured we needed to walk off the food and it was still early (hey, it was only midnight PST). Soo... we moseyed over to Arlington National Cemetery to get some night shots of Iwo Jima memorial and the view of DC. Apparently you're not allowed there after midnight, according to the cops. Oops. It only took four hours. =)

100 words | east coast here I come!! (again…)

One of my all-time favorite cities to visit is DC. It’s packed to the Potomac with monuments, museums, and other fun stuff and best of all… they’re all free! I think it’s one of the cities I could totally see myself working in. Can you imagine working in one of the government buildings near the national mall and going to any one of the 20+ museums during your lunch break?? AND since you’re working for government, that’s a good two hours a day of unadulterated lunchtime museum viewing pleasure! Too bad I don’t work there… but who cares?! I’m visiting!

100 words | contingency plan...part 2

During random questions at work, one question popped up that got me thinking… I don’t really have a plan in place for this either: list five people (in order) that you would call to post bail for you. Well, here goes (btw if you appear below, you’re not special… just means you may get a random call at 2:30am):

George (buddy, to sweet talk the cops)
Brian (roommate, can just pay bail instead of rent)
Dave G. (roommate, same reason)
Dan (buddy, lives near sac, but if I’m in jail, he’s probably with me)
Dad (because mom would flip out)

100 words | October…

October’s one of the best months of the year, at least in Davis/ Sac. It’s the time when the leaves start turning in the park, when the weather gets nicer, and when people start gearing up for the holidays. I enjoy having a walk through downtown Davis in 65 degree weather with a slight wind and a peppermint mocha. I enjoy the camaraderie coursing through the office as people do their best to either cheer or trash-talk certain teams in the playoffs. Most of all, I enjoy the fact that Thanksgiving/ Christmas is just around the corner. Man…I love October.

100 words | life changing discovery in aisle 7 (almost)

Ok so not quite life altering, but it comes pretty close. So… here goes. You know that pub mix that Costco sells? It’s kind of like a cross between the Japanese cracker mix and peanuts. Well the only good item in that cracker mix is the sesame seed cracker (it’s like a sesame and flour stick). Soooo, guess what?! As I was wandering down the miscellaneous items aisle (the one where you can buy stuff by the pound) I saw it! They sell the sesame stick all by itself!! Yes… life’s little victories comes a little bit at a time.

100 words | a picture is worth...

I came across this picture while browsing the pics of the week on yahoo. I'm not really certain what context this picture takes, but that's ok... my perception will be its reality. They say a picture is worth a thousand words... but I'll settle for a few. My guess is, this guy lost his job after the second death star got blown up, so he now wanders the countryside as a laser gun totting nomad. Heck…times are tough all over the galaxy. Will he find gainful employment?? Here’s to Mr. out of job stormtrooper… good luck with that job search.

100 words | links

Today was one of those days where I avoided the internet like crazy (except to post this). You see, the internet will be filled with Phillies coverage today. With the bit of new found free time, I decided to make my watch fit a little better. Recently, during a day off, I went down to the Ofrei tool shop in Oakland and picked up a few watch tools. This morning, after 2.5 months of procrastinating, I finally sat down and popped off one of the full links and replaced it with a half. There, now it feels nice and snug.

veil of ignorance

Over the past two days, the Occupy Wall Street folks have brought their particular brand of protest to Sacramento, and in Caesar Chavez part to be exact. The focus of their protests is widely varied. Some protest the fact that a majority of the wealth is unequally in the hands of the top 1% of wage-earners in this country. Some protest the corruption of soft money and its influence on politics. Some protest the lack of necessary infrastructure in certain urban areas. Some protestors (and I feel this may very well be the bulk of the people standing downstairs in the park) are protesting for the sake of protesting.

This morning I saw a bunch of signs taking jabs at the top 1%, calling them names and saying they're greedy. While I understand the need to call for the top 1% of wage-earners to pay more taxes, I don’t necessarily think the notion that they don’t pay their fair share is very accurate. For the record, I believe that the top 1% should indeed pay for more of this country than they currently do, especially since they can pay for it and social responsibility calls for this. What I don’t agree with, is the statement that they don’t pay their fair share. The top 1% of wage-earners pay for over 20% of this country. I think it’s fair to say they’ve paid their fair share. Well that and the fair share of at least 20 other people. That's the way it should be, because that's social responsibility. Let's just not try not to call them names while they do it should also be an aspect of that same social responsibility.

The way our tax system is currently structured is inded slightly flawed. We have obscene loopholes where there shouldn't be, and unfair bureaucratic technicalities that should be patched. Each side of the table that decides these rules have their own points of view of what’s fair and what’s not. There’s never going to be a one-size-fits-all tax scheme that will be seem fair to everyone. As long as the people deciding the rules take an objective approach, we can only hope for the best.

The main thing to keep in mind, when deciding any social issue, is to block out a person’s own social position. Imagine before you’re born, you don’t know anything about who or what you’ll be. Now, come up with a tax system. As John Rawls puts it:

"no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status, nor does anyone know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence, strength, and the like. I shall even assume that the parties do not know their conceptions of the good or their special psychological propensities. The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance."

The people who formulate the tax structure need to keep this in mind. I also challenge those who went out to protest these last two days to block out their own social position before painting their signs and coming up with chants.

“The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance."

sad.

OMG WTH AARRGGHH. Bleh.

soo sad... =(

next year.

100 words | contingency plan...

Over the last month I’ve had a few near misses. There’s been at least two times where I think I was on the brink of getting canned. Basically, when the hatchet finally falls, you’re escorted out of the building; no going around to say goodbye, no collecting your belongings. Nothing. So…I started thinking…should I have some sort of contingency plan in place? Well, now (just in case), a buddy will come by and collect my personal effects (snowman and snoopy), and another to clear my hard-drive (personal emails, plans for world domination, et al). There, now I can rest easy.

100 words | random day off

It’s a little weird having a random day in the middle of the week off, but that’s what I got. Not really sure what I’m going to do with the day but it likely involves a trip to Ace, some housework, a car wash, and hopefully a little napping too. Well, by noon I got the Ace trip out of the way and the car washing sorted itself out when I left it in the driveway around noon. All in all, it was a pretty productive day. Heck…even the nap worked out, granted it was to an episode of scrubs.

game 4: initial thoughts/reaction...

OMG WTH just happened?! the phillies and their all-star rotation were supposed to dominate this series! All four espn analysts has phillies in either 3 or 4. How did they end up forcing a game 5?? nuts...

100 words | bleh

Have you ever gotten up in the morning with just a lump in your throat, a heavy weight on your back, and an overall feeling of wanting to crawl back under the covers and forget today ever existed? Well I have that feeling today. Work isn’t gonna be pretty today, weather’s slightly depressing (although I usually like it a little cloudy and rainy), and I forgot to do laundry last night so I’m going to be recycling a shirt. Yes…it’s not shaping up to be a pleasant Wednesday. At least it’ll be a relaxing evening…if I make it that far.

100 words | the classic

Have you ever been fed lies before? I have, and I’m here to set the record straight. I’m here to tell you that there is absolutely, positively, most definitely, NOTHING that tastes better than coca-cola. Yes, they’ll tell you that they’ve done double blind smell and taste tests that say safeway select or pepsi taste better or are all the same. That is some serious horse pucky they’re trying to feed you. Nothing beats the original; I don’t really care what they say. If someone says otherwise, you need to seriously consider the basis of your relationship with that person.

100 words | Thank Goodness It’s Monday! (stench, cont’d…)

Wow… I’ve never looked forward to a Monday so much in my life! Ok… not only did the eagles implode in the second half of their game, the Phillies last night, with Cliff Lee on the mound, blew a 4-0 lead to lose the game 5-4. Oh my freakin goodness, what has happened to philly sports?! The only good thing I can think of about yesterday is that it is finally over. Seriously, if the Phillies and Eagles don’t pull it together, it’s gonna be a bad fall/ winter coming up. C’mon guys, we are gonna need a win soon!

100 words | what the heck is that stench?!

That stench, my friend, was today’s eagles game. Between the inept and ineffective defense, to a rookie kicker that choked and shanked not one, but two short field goals, It’s pathetic. It’s embarrassing. I think I’ve seen a better game out of my alma mater, st. francis. I’m almost certain they’d put up a better fight. I seriously haven’t seen an eagles team stink this bad in a long time, especially with the amount of talent this team has on both sides of the ball. If they actually felt like winning a game or two, they need to change everything.

100 words | less work for firefighters

The Davis City Council has mandated that city staff reduce the numbers of garbage cans on the greenbelt and in city parks. The city’s Community Service/ Parks Division anticipates savings in the ballpark of roughly $40,000/ year as this will reduce labor costs required to maintain the city parks and cost of trash liners. Of course, this will also inevitably lead to a reduction in potential jobs for firefighters, as the potential for garbage cans setting on fire will decrease. It looks like I’m going to have to increase my efforts to keep the Davis FD busy. Hmm, BBQ anyone?