In The Cucina With Seamas

I changed up this morning's breakfast from yesterday by toasting the ciabatta bread, making the eggs sunny side up, and not putting salsa on it. Also spiced it with black pepper, and garlic. It was the better tasting breakfast, I think it was the lack of salsa today that let all the flavors through.

I would have never thought of adding avocados to breakfast, and I'm grateful for the interweb showing me a new way to enjoy breakfast.

Emergency Repair Procedure Number One

While I didn't kick it, I did reboot my Kindle Fire this afternoon. The trouble started last night, I was eager to watch The Wolf of Wall Street but the Netflix app kept giving me a No Data, Retry message. I signed out and back in, with the same result.

Next I tried shutting down the Kindle, but after powering up I was still couldn't get past the message. At this point I checked my iPod Touch to see if it was an issue with the Netflix servers. There I was able to log in without an issue, but I didn't feel like watching a 3 hour movie on it's tiny screen.

I decided to remove the Netflix app from the Kindle to re-install it, and I ran into another problem. The Kindle App Store couldn't find it! I decided to try Netflix on the Kindle's web, and after checking 'yes, keep loading' despite the security warnings, it couldn't load the movie.

At this point I decided to shut it off, and reset the device today. I watched the movie on my Google Chromebook. It was a bit of balancing act since I didn't want to cover the air vents while I watched the movie. I'm not sure how much battery power was at the beginning of the movie, however after 3 hours it was at 54 percent.

The Wolf of Wall Street was good, while Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill were great in their roles. It was more about the debauchery and not about how he ripped people off.

In the Cucina With Seamas

While it's not exactly like the recipe, it was delicious. I'm proud that I was efficient as I made it.

First I turned my oven on, and set the temperature to 450 degrees to soften the ciabatta bread. Next time I use this trick, I wont tuck the paper towels under the bread since they stuck to it.

As the oven warmed up, I made the guacamole. The avocados I bought from Trader Joe's this past Wednesday were ripe from being in a paper bag. Once they were done, I got the coffee going then put the loaf of ciabatta in the oven.

Next were the eggs which I made scrambled, when I put them back on the heat I'd check the bread's progress. I got the goat cheese out of the refrigerator, the salsa out of the cupboard, and my plate.

The coffee was done, the bread soft, and the eggs were ready. I was worried about leaving them on the stove top, even with the heat off, so I quickly cut the bread. I spread the guacamole, then the salsa. I was pleasantly surprised that the eggs were still moist as I put them. A dash of goat cheese and I put the plate in the warm oven while I made my coffee.

As I bit into it, I reminded myself to eat slowly and enjoy it. It was tough to do because it was tasty. I should have put the second piece on a small plate in the oven to keep it warm as I ate the first.

I Couldn't Wait Till Sunday

Seeing this breakfast on my friend's tumblr inspired me to make it. I went to Trader Joe's today, bought the avocados, a loaf of ciabatta bread, eggs and goat cheese. Instead of a tomato I'm going to use chipolte salsa. The avocados are ripening in a paper bag, and I'm hoping they'll be ready for Saturday morning.

I'm deciding between scrambled eggs per Gordon Ramsay's method or sunny side up as the recipe calls for. The scrambled eggs can be spread across the guacamole and salsa so all three flavors can blend on each bite.

Don't Mess With My Coffee

While sitting at my computer this morning, with my fourth cup of coffee, I kept hearing this odd hissing noise. At first I thought it was my radiator because I closed the valve, but as I stood next to it, the sound came from the kitchen.

My neighbor and I share a wall, so I waited to hear if it was them making it. That’s when I heard it coming from my Farberware percolator. Turns out, there was a bit of coffee in the reservoir at the bottom and the ‘keep warm’ temperature was too high for it. As I unplugged it, I hoped the thermostat wasn’t acting up again. The percolator had fixed itself after brewing the coffee weaker.

Prior to making this morning’s batch, I gave my bean grinder a cleaning, because it’s been louder. I thought a bean had gotten stuck under the blades or in the column. After wiping it down, I saw that one blade tip broke off. It still grinds the beans so I shouldn’t have to replace it anytime soon, just a few more seconds holding down the button.

Now I'm concerned with how the percolator will work tomorrow morning.

Patience Is It's Own Reward And Money Is Nice Too

I'm finally eligible for Ad Sense on my blogger. I filled out the application and await their reply. If I'm expecting to earn a decent amount of money, then I'll need to write more.

Puddle Deep Thought

Something I like to do when reading a self help book is to use notebook paper as a bookmark so I can write down the more motivational passages. A few pages into 'The Obstacle is the Way' by Ryan Holiday and I wrote down 5 from the preface alone. I particularly liked;

Don't lool at it as an obstacle, but as an opportunity to practice a virtue: patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason, justice, and creativity.

You're Never Too Old

You’re never too old for LEGO.

You’re never too old to stop imagining being a child with a cool treehouse and giant robot friend.

Pressure

Between a recent tweet from my brother and a conversation with my friend Stephanie, I came to the realization that we put pressure on ourselves to be more creative because of the internet. People are willing to share their creative projects across social media sites, message boards, and the rest. As a viewer, perhaps we think that they started and completed it on the same day. Pictures without captions of their progress is one reason.

If the hobbyist has made a video to watch, even the clip itself seems is a completed task if edited in a professional quality. I’ve seen clips of speeded up montages where a prefabricated second level of a house was attached to the existing first level. Hours become minutes, and the only viewable passage of time is the sun moving overhead.

Before apps that turned your smartphone’s camera into a dark room, it was done by hand. I enjoy taking pictures with my digital camera, but rarely do I edit them to look artistic. Kids and young adults will take a picture of their brunch, change it to black & white, apply a filter, and once posted online it looks like professional artwork.

When my brother was posting pictures of his completed drawings and paintings with regular frequency, I was envious of his talent and progression. It did motivate me to draw more, but I didn’t stress myself on the quality. Drawing takes practice and we shouldn’t give up if we haven’t made the progress we’d like.

We’ll only get better the more we do.

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

It's a new week, so I restarted my Lose it! program. Not only I have eaten sensibly, I went on a Westchester Geeks sponsored hike which burned 647 calories.

Seeing Myself

Today I saw a version of myself if I was born in 2001 instead of 1971. Walking into Mrs. Greens on Central Avenue, I saw a boy sitting on the sidewalk in the shade. He had a soda next to him and was focused on his iPod/iPhone.

When I was his age, it would have been a comic book or a new G.I. Joe action figure.

The Rules Of Your Life

For the first 18 years of your life, you have to do what your parents say

The next 18 years, you have to do whatever you want

Around the third start of your next 18 years, you have to do what your body is capable of

Lack Of Motivation 2

The only obstacle keeping me from making my life better is me. I have this handwritten sign on my refrigerator and computer that says “Today I will make my life better” I’d hope that writing it myself would subconsciously motivate me more.

Sometimes it works, I’ll stick to my my diet and exercise, go to bed at a reasonable time every night. Then I break the streak by sitting on the couch, eating every 30 minutes while watching TV till 1 A.M. Recently I changed my weekly habit list and gave myself Saturday to do anything I wanted. Having a day of complete freedom from the list has helped on occasion.

Another thing I do is complain about a circumstance but do nothing to change it. A perfect example is the neighbor’s child who’ll cry for 45 minutes. Do I ask the mother if should could quiet the child? Do I leave my apartment and go somewhere quiet? Do I put on headphones to drown them out? None of those, I’ll continue to sit and listen the entire time while complaining to myself.

I get tired of listening to myself complain, but that’s as far as I take it. I wish I had a house in Pleasantville or Valhalla, with the woods behind it. If wishes were mushrooms, I’d be eating portabella burgers every night.

I read a book on overcoming the fear of success, perhaps I need to re-read and keep reading it.

Online Inspiration

The other night I couldn't decide on what to watch on Netflix despite going through my queue and new releases. Then I thought I could go through my bookcase and decide on what to bring for the Westchester Geek Swap Meet (which I didn't go to) but that meant getting up from the couch and bringing in the folding table from my car.

I looked around my living room to see if I would be inspired to draw with my crayons, read, or work on my stories.

Nothing struck me so I decided to check twitter on my iPod and read that my brother had to delay his book because his laptop was in the shop. I was jealous at first because of his drive to complete a project and having a legitimate excuse as why he couldn't. That still didn't get me going using the excuse I was tired from staying up late the night before and the DST switch.

It’s not like I wanted to run a marathon, it was a simple task of reading or drawing. It was easier for me to complain than to do something.

This was originally written in January 2014, but I'm now just posting it cause I'm that lazy.

These Little Set Backs Are Just What We Need To Take A Giant Step Forward

I've been working on a story for a while now, partly due to coming up with the story, but most of it is because I am lazy. If I don't have an idea to continue the story, I should work on characters, the world itself, or a general outline. I don't though, cause it's easier for me to say I have no ideas.

Yesterday, I took a step back from the story to work on a timeline. I was excited to come up with the original idea, that I jumped into writing it. Nothing wrong with that, because I've gotten ideas from there as well. However I thought I had messed up the order of events so far, but I didn't after reading through what I have so far.

With a fresh page in a notebook (actual pencil and paper) I listed each day and the events that take place during it. While working on it, I got a new idea that fits in with the story.

While working on the villains, my muse whispered several more in my ear. That is something else I need to give my attention to. I don't want my story to be like painting my D&D miniatures where I painted all the heroes first, lost interest in painting and had a lot of unpainted monsters left to do.

I do have days devoted to writing, I could devote them to heroes, villains, the world, and general ideas.

Most importantly, just keep working on the story.

That Didn't Take Long

Is getting a spam comment the equivalent of losing your online blog virginity?

In The Cucina With Seamas

Every morning I make my lunch, but I change the condiments day to day. I'll put pickles, mustard, and pepper on certain days, then switch to hot & sweet cherry peppers on the others. When it's a pepper day, I'll spend time cutting them up so I can spread them around.

As I was writing this, I thought I could change what type of sammich as well. I've been using Tofurky, but to avoid getting tired of it I could switch to hummus. Also change from bread to wraps, Trader Joe’s Habanero and Lime is spicy and delicious.

They also make an Eggplant and Garlic spread, and a Red Pepper and Garlic spread which I was making wraps for dinner with during the summer when it was too hot to cook. If I make one for lunch, then dinner could be bread.

Another snack I vary from day to day is dried fruit and nuts, one day is raisins and peanuts, the next is cranberries and cashews. When I finish a bag of the nuts I switch to another, peanuts for almonds, cashews for walnuts. They are the top nuts to eat per every health article I've read,a third option is pumpkin seeds.

I also eat yogurt everyday, right now it’s Coconut Milk Vanilla Yogurt but I switch to Greek Yogurt. Another flavor choice is Vanilla Cream or Blueberry Cream, a Trader Joe’s product. To give my yogurt a bit of a nutritional kick each time, I add flax seeds with blueberries, or chia seeds, and finally wheat germ (which is my favorite).

I’ve been doing this the past two weeks and my favorite condiment is the hot & sweet cherry peppers. It takes a bit of willpower on those mornings to not munch on one of them as I prepare another.

Once the fall season starts and I can make hot dinners, I’ll add rice and vegetables dishes to my weekly lunch.When I've brought those to the office, I've gotten a compliment on how good they smell.

Sleeping Better

Lifehacker.com recently posted an article about not checking your clock when you wake up during the night so you’ll sleep better.

http://lifehacker.com/resist-the-urge-to-check-the-clock-for-a-better-nights-1614609266

I decided to try it last week, and I felt better on the first day. First off, the digital clock I was using has a red display. At night, this would cast a glow in my bedroom. Red is not a pleasant color to try and fall asleep to.

I keep my iPod Touch next to me, but I resisted the urge to check it when I woke up during the night.

Usually I wake up at 2 or 3 A.M. and go right back to sleep. Then I’ll wake up at 4/4:30 A.M. That’s when I stay up since I get out of bed at 5 to make coffee and breakfast, then get ready for work.

I think the removal of the red light clock was the most beneficial. Not only was checking the time worthless, but by not rolling over to look, I would go back to sleep.

Don Jon - Review

I thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote and directed a great movie. The trailer was misleading and that is a good thing, I won't say how to avoid any spoilers. The only part I found unbelievable was that he didn't know to clear his computer's browser history.

TV Vs Truth

I finished watching the second season of 'Orange Is The New Black' (no spoilers here) and while I enjoyed it, I have to question 'Did that really happen or was that made for TV?"

I have Piper Kerman's biography on my to buy list, but I have other books to read first.

Back to the show, it was nice seeing several characters backgrounds and we got into Red's story a little more. I'm hoping Samira Wiley (Poussey Washington) gets nominated for her performance. Her character grew over the course of the story and Samira did an excellent job portraying it.

Also, Uzo Aduba (Crazy Eyes Warren) was amazing, she could give Summer Glau a run for her money in playing a 'crazy girl'.

Now begins the wait for season 3...

A Perfect Analogy

Last weekend I went riding on the Old Croton Aqueduct trail after a year long break. My initial plan was to ride on the level part only, but as I made my way towards a hill that voice in my head started talking.

“Do or do not. You won’t know if you can make it up the hill till you try.”

Then the other voice argued “You haven’t ridden since last summer, you won’t be able to make it up the hill. You’ll end up pushing the bike up. You can’t do it.”

Both these voices sound like me.

I got to the first hill and started riding up. Switching gears made it easier, but halfway up, I stood on my pedals to keep the bike moving. The tires slipped on the loose rocks, my breath got deeper, my legs started to burn.

I made it up the hill.

At first I was going to rest, but I kept going. Pedaling at a relaxing pace, I went over the bridge to the next hill. This one is long, with a gentle incline. The best part is after it, there’s a long decline I get to coast down and enjoy the cool air.

The trail after this point is level so I could leisurely pedal and enjoy the view. Until the next hill came into view, steep but small. I pedalled faster and shot up the hill, only slowing at the top before it leveled off.

I kept riding till the parking lot across from the Sleepy Hollow Golf Course and took a five minute break. I was proud of myself that I managed to ride the same course.

Going back there was one problem, on the way up a hill my foot slipped off the pedal and I lost my momentum. I got back on and kept riding.

The next hill (long decline) has always challenged me. Last summer, even with weeks of riding under my belt this hill reminded me that I needed to ride more. I was listening to my iPod the entire ride and it started playing Deadmau5’s ‘Cthulhu Steps’ which was the perfect motivation/theme for the ascent. The music slowed down as I did, but it only inspired me to keep going. Even with my legs aching, and heart pounding I pushed on. When I got to the top, I smiled. Because I didn’t listen to my negative self, I had a great time. I tried something and completed it. I need to apply this to all aspects of my life so I could feel the same happiness.

For the rest of the ride, I took it easy as I was getting saddle sore as well. When I got back to the beginning, I took another break and removed my helmet. My plan was to ride to the first hill, but as made my way to it, I got tired. Checking my Garmin, I had ridden 8.74 miles, and burned 1,222 calories. I felt good about my progress for the day and was content to call it a ride.

In The Cucina With Seamas

Last night I bought jalapeno cheddar cheese from Mint Premium Foods in Tarrytown. I wanted to make a grilled cheese sammich with it. I cut my quarter pound piece in half, then into small cubes. Going old school with butter on the bread in a pan, I started cooking.

After ten minutes, I had my dinner. The cheese lost a little of the kick but overall it was good. Maybe I'll add sriracha next time. 

The cheese would be great on a cracker.

Laugh

i want to laugh till i cackle

i want to laugh till tears run down my cheeks

i want to laugh till i can’t breathe

i want to laugh till my friends look at me like i’m crazy

i want to laugh

The Weight Of Words

A while ago I made a book of my favorite quotes from thechive.com, on the cover I put Neil Gaiman’s "This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It's that easy, and that hard.”

I keep this book in my messenger bag, along with my journal, notebook, and chromebook which I take to work every day. As I walk from my apartment to my car, from my car to my desk, I feel the weight of these items.

This weight reminds me of all I’ve written so far, what I’m working on, and ideas for later.

When I haven’t written in a while, this weight is heavier.

YOU SHALL NOT CACHE!

Today was a good day. I started off the morning with laundry to get that chore out of the way. As my clothes were drying I made a tasty breakfast; sunny-side up eggs with pepper, cumin, and sriracha sauce.

Once my laundry was done, I did the dishes and got ready for... food shopping! It was more of a staples replenishment of my Trader Joe's favorites so I was done quick. On a side note I gave into to a marketing ploy of their eggplant garlic spread and was glad I did. I put a bit on woven wheat crackers and it was delicious. A good snack for a warm afternoon.

I had to eat lunch quick since I was going to a geocache meetup hosted by Westchester Geeks. My friend put it together the day before and it was decent turn out for attendance. We were searching in Saxon Woods where I've gone once before. Our host wanted to find a certain cache which alluded us on previous attempts. Luck was on our side because within ten minutes of searching, we found it.

There was a good list of caches to find and we got all of them except one, which might have been in the middle of ankle deep muddy water. None of us wanted to look and not find it, so we passed on it. The ones on the way back to the parking lot were ones I already did, so I rested while the newbies went looking and found them.

When we got back to the parking lot, our host explained that she'd like to have more of these, every couple of weeks. Also, to make our own caches to register on the official site. I suggested making a card with the Westchester Geeks information to get more people to sign up. If we make our caches, we can put our logo in them.

The Quest For Sriracha

Last night I went to Sleepy Hollow to pick up sriracha sauce from the Mint restaurant , where I first tasted the Roland brand. The first time I tried it, the store had a lot of bottle on the shelves, last night I couldn't find one.

I walked over to the Mrs. Greens to try my luck. They had a Thai version, but a different brand so I passed on it. While I looked around, I ran into my friend Jim, owner of Modern Myths Comic Books. We talked about helping a mutual friend move and got back to our shopping. No luck finding a brand of sauce I was willing to try, I decided that C-Town was going to be my final stop.

There I found 2 brands, one I've never heard of and Texas Pete’s which I bought.

At home I made a Dr. Praeger’s Vegetable Burger and Trader Joe’s French Fries. I filled a small bowl with the sriracha sauce and dipped a couple of fries in. After I swallowed, I started to hiccup.

'Oh no' I thought, 'Am I having a weird reaction to the sauce?'

Turns out I was just eating too fast and the spicy sauce didn’t help. So I slowed down and my hiccups stopped. I got to enjoy the taste of Texas Pete’s sauce and found it be a good tasty brand,