The Canon PowerShot SX20 took this video at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
Not only do they have beautiful warm fur coats, allow the environmentally conscious to file lawsuits (under the Endangered Species Act) as an attempt to control green house emissions, but they also play fight in the most cute (but also scary) way.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Surgery aka I'm a ragdoll.
I recently had to get some surgery to remove some benign tumors from my chest and abdominal wall. I had expected the procedure to take no more than one hour, some Lidocaine, and maybe dozen of stiches.
Instead, it turned into a five-hour affair involving general anesthesia, getting intubated, and going home to uh... find that the surgical staff had removed uh... body hair.
Anyway - now I have some prescription hydrocodone and my throat/trachea feels like as if someone shoved a plastic tube down to keep an open airway to my lungs (which is what happens when you get intubated).
But now I'm four tumors lighter.
Cut me open. Sew me back up. And I'm good as new.
Instead, it turned into a five-hour affair involving general anesthesia, getting intubated, and going home to uh... find that the surgical staff had removed uh... body hair.
Anyway - now I have some prescription hydrocodone and my throat/trachea feels like as if someone shoved a plastic tube down to keep an open airway to my lungs (which is what happens when you get intubated).
But now I'm four tumors lighter.
Cut me open. Sew me back up. And I'm good as new.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Guy Fawkes Night.
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
What these nerds don't realize is that this poem has more verses.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence [or By God's mercy] he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Hulloa boys, Hulloa boys, let the bells ring.
Hulloa boys, hulloa boys, God save the King!
A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!
Yes. People on this side of the Atlantic are remembering the Gunpowder Plot all wrong. Guy Fawkes was not some anti-authoritarian hero. Mr. Fawkes was an anti-majoritarian, anti-Parliament, religious bigot who wanted to blow up a bunch of people to restore the Roman Pope's authority over England and Scotland.
He's the 1600s version of Timothy McVeigh. So yes, please, do celebrate his plot.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
LG Kompressor® Pet Care LuV200R.
We have two cats, and unfortunately, with great companionship comes annoying filamentous biomaterial. Our cats are American Shorthairs, which are believed to be the descendants of cats that brought over the pond on the Mayflower.
Unfortunately, theradical religious English Separatists on the Mayflower were more concerned with controlling rodents, and did not appreciate traits that create a hypoallergenic cats.
For several years now, we've have a fairly large living room rug. The cats really like lying on it. I have been vacuuming this particular rug with a budget vacuum cleaner. This particular vacuum cleaner does not perform that well, and I would basically spend anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, scrapping the rug with my hands while "vacuuming" with the machine.
I've always coveted a new vacuum cleaner.
I thought it was time for a change, and researched vacuum cleaners currently on the market over several weeks.
Pretty much all current bagless vacuums, utilizes cyclonic separation to remove particulates from the vacuum airstream. By using vortex separation, filters do not get immediately become clogged with dirt, and there is "no loss of suction."
Dyson vacuums are ubiquitously associated with that phrase, because they're amongst the first to successfully commercialize cyclonic separation vacuum cleaners. Unfortunately, that also means Dyson products may command a premium. One that I did not intend to pay.
I decided to get the LG Kompressor® Pet Care LuV200R. LG developed this particular vacuum cleaner to spearhead its entry into the North American vacuum cleaner market, and I think it is a winner.
I found the LuV200 on sale at 18% off at Bed Bath & Beyond, then used a coupon to knock another 20% off. I'm pretty happy about that.
The LuV200 has several features that won me over. The first unique feature is how LG implemented its cyclonic separation chamber. All the other bagless vacuums orientate the cyclonic chamber so that the vortex rotates horizontally like a tornado. LG decided to orientate the chamber so that the vortex rotates vertically and dumps the particulates down, and it seems to work really well. After vacuuming the entire apartment, the pre-motor filter (which is intended to protect the motor from any particulates that may get through the vortex), seems entirely clean. In my old ineffective vacuum, the pre-motor filter would become entirely clogged before I even vacuumed one rug.
The second feature that I found appeal was the KOMPRESSOR!
This is something so simple I don't know why no one else has implemented on other vacuums, but essentially it is a rotating wiper that continuously compacts the contents of the dustbin.
After vacuuming our rug, it was obvious that the LuV200 had successfully cleaned the rug. In addition, while my previous vacuum would require me to empty the dustbin up to ten times just to get the rug clean, the KOMPRESSOR mashed the hair and dirt. The picture to the right shows the compacted debris after I vacuumed the entire rug.
This video shows the compacted dirt & pet hair after several weeks of consistent use. The vacuum is so quiet! AWESOME!
The LuV200R also comes with an awesome flexible extending hose, which comes with the usual attachments, but also a nice rotating brush that allows one to vacuum upholstery and stairs clean of pet hair with relative ease!
Finally, LG is backing this product with a 5-year warranty. Mmmm considering that so many consumer vacuums are dead or dysfunctional after a couple years of regular use, I like the sound of that.
Oh... I almost forgot about the vacuum's awesome instruction manual! While this manual was not dispositive to my purchasing decision, this cute disclaimer certainly didn't hurt!
Unfortunately, the
For several years now, we've have a fairly large living room rug. The cats really like lying on it. I have been vacuuming this particular rug with a budget vacuum cleaner. This particular vacuum cleaner does not perform that well, and I would basically spend anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, scrapping the rug with my hands while "vacuuming" with the machine.
I've always coveted a new vacuum cleaner.
I thought it was time for a change, and researched vacuum cleaners currently on the market over several weeks.
Pretty much all current bagless vacuums, utilizes cyclonic separation to remove particulates from the vacuum airstream. By using vortex separation, filters do not get immediately become clogged with dirt, and there is "no loss of suction."
Dyson vacuums are ubiquitously associated with that phrase, because they're amongst the first to successfully commercialize cyclonic separation vacuum cleaners. Unfortunately, that also means Dyson products may command a premium. One that I did not intend to pay.I decided to get the LG Kompressor® Pet Care LuV200R. LG developed this particular vacuum cleaner to spearhead its entry into the North American vacuum cleaner market, and I think it is a winner.
I found the LuV200 on sale at 18% off at Bed Bath & Beyond, then used a coupon to knock another 20% off. I'm pretty happy about that.
The second feature that I found appeal was the KOMPRESSOR!
This is something so simple I don't know why no one else has implemented on other vacuums, but essentially it is a rotating wiper that continuously compacts the contents of the dustbin.
After vacuuming our rug, it was obvious that the LuV200 had successfully cleaned the rug. In addition, while my previous vacuum would require me to empty the dustbin up to ten times just to get the rug clean, the KOMPRESSOR mashed the hair and dirt. The picture to the right shows the compacted debris after I vacuumed the entire rug.
The LuV200R also comes with an awesome flexible extending hose, which comes with the usual attachments, but also a nice rotating brush that allows one to vacuum upholstery and stairs clean of pet hair with relative ease!
Finally, LG is backing this product with a 5-year warranty. Mmmm considering that so many consumer vacuums are dead or dysfunctional after a couple years of regular use, I like the sound of that.
Oh... I almost forgot about the vacuum's awesome instruction manual! While this manual was not dispositive to my purchasing decision, this cute disclaimer certainly didn't hurt!
Kimchi & Tigger lets out a sigh of relief!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Cornish Pasties.
The English are notorious for their bad food. This reputation is not entirely untrue, but the English do make good savory pies and pasties.Cornwall is in South West England, and interestingly actually has a strong culinary tradition, particularly involving seafood. But since I'm in Pittsburgh, I will not be making any seafood.
Instead I'll make some pasties. I found a template for a generic Cornish Pasty, then modified it and resized it for my purposes.
Here is what I came up with.
Filling Ingredients:
• 1.5 lb of ground beef
• 3 small/medium potatoes (chopped into small cubes)
• 2 cups (3 medium sized carrots) of carrots (chopped into small cubes)
• 1 medium onions (chopped into small cubes)
• 1/4 cup of melted butter
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
Pastry Ingredients:
• 6 cups of flour
• 2 cups of shortening
• 1/3 cup of cold water
• 2 tsp of salt
• Eggwash
Steps:
1. This is a very English recipe. So mix all the filling ingredients together. Congratulations you're done with the filling!
2. Add the salt to the flour. Cut the shortening into manageable spoonful lumps and mix it with the flour. After the flour and shortening has fully combined, it should appear lumpy. At this point, just slowly add the cold water while you continue to mix. The pastry dough should stick together, but break apart quite easily.
3. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Roll the dough out into thin sheets.
4. Put the filling onto the sheet of dough, close, and make three incisions on the pastie. And brush the pastie with eggwash.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°, and bake the pasties for 60 minutes.
Additional Variation:
If you're lazy like me, and like pies, you can also put some filling in an oven-safe pot, then throw the pastie dough on top. Then bake it in the same manner described above.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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