Toby Angus

Today was a relaxing day in La Paz. No plans to go anywhere, so we slept in and loafed a bit. Really nice, especially after yesterday’s long haul.

We took two walking expeditions into the city- mainly food, but we also hit an ATM, a pharmacy (Claritin for me- ouch, that was spendy), and the tourist office (to figure out the ferry, importation, etc).

We are still trying to get into this spanish language school. They aren’t open ’til morning- if we can get enrolled in it tomorrow we’ll do so and spend a week here in La Paz in the school. Otherwise we’ll probably head towards the mainland soon.

The bike is parked snugly in the underbelly of this funky little hotel. Nice to not worry about it.

Today, I filled up my gas tank. I have driven 99.5 miles farther than I am able to drive on an average tank in the same conditions.

A few weeks ago, I read this article about hypermiling, in which people go to insane lengths to squeeze the best possible gas mileage out of their cars. Wayne Gerdes, the guy featured in the article, gets 59 mpg in a Honda Accord. At one point in his daily commute, he exits a freeway going 50 around a 270-degree turn, shuts his engine off, and coasts for over a mile, carefully timing it so he hits two green lights. He keeps the windows up and the A/C off no matter what, wearing an ice vest from his day job at a nuclear power plant to keep cool. This is truly nuts.

But, as luck would have it, I had to fill up my gas tank on the same day that I read that article. So, I decided to make an effort to get the best gas mileage I could out of that tank. Today, my fuel light came on and I filled the tank again, so I’m reporting on the results of this experiment.

I drive a ‘97 Honda Civic (standard transmission) to and from work every day, and almost never anywhere else. My daily commute is 20 miles round trip. I’ve been making the same exact commute for months, and I’ve kept track of my mileage with every tank, so I have a good historical data set to compare to.

On the average tank of gas (averaged over my last 20 tanks) driving this commute, I go for 271.14 miles, getting 28.0 miles per gallon. On this tank, I went for 370.7 miles, getting 35.88 miles per gallon, for an improvement of 99.56 miles and 7.88 miles/gallon. At the current gas price here ($2.49/gal), I figure I saved myself about $8.85 on this tank.

So, here’s what I did differently this time:

Never accelerate uphill (fighting gravity)
Look far ahead for lights. If they are red, just shift into neutral and coast. Don’t gun it to hit a green light.
Take turns as fast as safely possible.
In general, avoid using breaks if at all possible. Try to conserve momentum (okay, physics nerds, momentum is conserved whether I try to conserve it or not… you know what I mean!)
Don’t speed. According to this Sierra Club interview with Wayne Gerdes, for every 5mph you drive over 60mph, you lose 7% of your gas mileage.
Learn the details of my commute. For example, I now know how fast I need to be going to coast all the way into my driveway from a particular stop sign.
There are some other good tips here.

Also, for the last few days, I turned off my engine if I was going to stop for more than 7 seconds. I have heard various figures for how long you need to be stopped before it makes sense to cut the engine, but Wayne Gerdes says 7 seconds, and I figure if anyone would know the optimal value, it’s him!

The bottom line is, this cost me nothing and had a big impact! I didn’t notice it taking me longer to get to work and back, and it was fun. For the next tank, I’m going to try increasing my tire pressure, tossing all the junk out of my car, going on a diet… okay, maybe not that. My goal is to get 400 miles on one tank.

UPDATE! Your mileage may vary! I can’t believe I didn’t think to say that when I was writing this.

Hello, Salem, Shalom, Namaste,…

This is my 1st blog, ever, just couldn’t shut up anymore, hope it will make a difference.

This blog is dedicated to all the Lebanese bloggers out there, especially lebanesebloggers.

I want to thank you bloggers for clearing my mind from the fog of war, without your humor, and humanity, I might have still supported this stupid war.

Yes, shamefully admitted, 2 days into the war I was still convinced that if we kick hard enough, the Lebanese government would finally get it’s act together and remove the Hezbollah and their rockets form our borders, and the rest of the blah blah blah … provided by the Israeli government and media.

Since then I read in the Lebanese blogs (my favorite past time the last week). And could see the shift from a week ago when the blogs were against Hezbollah and understood Israeli position; some actually were pro-Israelis. A week later, most hate us, and want HA to kick our asses. I’ve learnt a lot about Lebanon, about March 14, about a fledgling democracy, about ethnic division, about the fear of civil war.
The only metaphor I am left with for the “war

It's no secret that I love comic books. I think the blog header is evidence of that. For almost a year I've been listening to podcasts related to comics (books, strips, cartoons, toys, etc.) so that I can add to my enjoyment of this hobby. There are quite a few I like (as you'll see), but there are a lot more than what's on this list. Quite by accident, I've been on five podcasts in the past few weeks. Well, not really by 'accident', as I knew I was recording, but 'accident' in the sense that the shows came out almost one after another. It felt like those that know me were inundated with appearances by me on the shows they listen to. And to be fair, two of those appearances had me as a guest, two were audio comments I submitted to the respective shows, and one was… well… a sound bite basically. But I'm getting ahead of myself…The one I've been listening to the longest is Comic Geek Speak. Anywhere from two to six guys - longtime friends - sittin' around talking comics. Bryan, Peter, Jamie, Kevin, Shane, and Matt are very intelligent, witty, and all-around great guys. And I'm not saying that because I 'just' listen to them. I had the pleasure of meeting them back in January when they recorded the 100th episode. A great end to that day was when the CGS crew and a bunch of listeners went out to dinner and I'm sitting across from Kevin and Matt and next to Bryan. Also on that day I met Sean Whelan (who sat on Bryan's left at that dinner), host of Raging Bullets: A DC Comics Fan Podcast. Sean knows a ton about DC Comics and he is joined by his friend Jim, who has admittedly been out of the loop when it comes to this four-color medium for awhile. The two of them bring unique perspectives to the table and with Jim you get a point-of-view from someone that doesn't live and breathe this stuff. And Sean's voice was made for podcasting. Speaking of voices for podcasting, Rick Gordon recently started his own called The Pop Cult Online. The man was born to podcast. The show is designed to look back on the days from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Or as Rick puts it: 'It's for the ten-year old in all of us'. I was on the inaugural episode and I think Rick asked me one question, next thing I knew and hour went by. Looking forward to more. CGS also brings people together it seems. A few months back there were some guys in the Chicago area that would get together and talk comics and the like. Chris Neseman and Brian Salazar put out a podcast called Around Comics. A weekly roundtable discussing any number of topics such as death in comics, marketing, online vs. brick-n-mortar shops, how the Internet has changed comics, adult themes, and conventions. Episode 12 was my second 'official' audio appearance on a podcast. It can be found here. A few others that I make sure I listen to: I Read Comics with Lene Taylor. It's comic talk with a real live girl. Lene is joy to listen to and while not everything she likes may be to your tastes, you're going to be entertained. The Collected Comics Library is a podcast focusing on collected works such as trades and graphic novels, Marvel Masterworks, and DC Archives. Chris does a wonderful job not only with the show, but with the CCL blog that will keep you up-to-date on collected editions. Derek Coward is the creator of Comic Book Noise. CBN is a nice mellow (due to Derek's softspoken-ness) show, never really too long, and always enjoyable (especially his 'Top 5…' and 'Random Comic' segments). And yes, I have been heard on this show. Geek 4×4 with JM Campbell and Earth-2.net hosted by Michael and Jenny are often in my playlist. JM takes the time to look at comics with a slant on the independent side. Mike and Jenny are great hosts with that talk about comics, anime, movies, and games and get some assistance by their listeners. Recently, I started listening to The Legacy Age with Jackson Murdock. “Where yesterday meets today”. This show is fun with a capital F. And May is Marvelman/Miracleman Month! I cannot wait to get the lowdown on this story. David Arroyo and Charlie Mangual bring you a podcast about self-publishing by self-publishers on the road to breaking into the field of comics in Comic Makers. Neil Gorman puts out Comicology, and some of his tastes mirror mine. There have also been what he calls 'Info Bombs”, which focus on a specific character. Recently Martian Manhunter was put under the microscope over three episodes. Crankcast with Crank and Mike is a hoot. Crank is an A/V and multimedia guru and works for Devil's Due Publishing. Mike Norton is a professional comic book artist and has done work for Marvel, DC, Devil's Due, Image, Oni and more. Two podcasts that often touch on comics, but focus elsewhere most times are SciFiDig and Geekspeak. On the former Aaron Macom discusses things related to, umm… sci-fi and Ian Levenstein is a student at Brooklyn college who spends time on the mic talking about technology, games and gaming, sports, and comics. As for the show that used me as a sound bite, Drew M.'s podcast, Weekly Specials focuses on stuff that's coming out. I was given the honor of closing out the episode for 4.11.06. Finally, there's KomicsKast. Bruce Rosenberger loves comics. Be it strips, books, cartoons, it doesn't matter. He delivers a great show and I always end up learning something (unlike other shows where I may dispute a point or already know what's being discussed). Recently, Bruce asked me if I'd be interested in recording something for his show. I said yes and with the purchase of that headset mic, a monster was created. My appearances on the shows mentioned above is proof of that. So, 'Have A Sec'?' will be my few minutes on KomicsKast. Hope you'll give it a shot. If not for me, at least listen to what Bruce has to say. [Update - 6.07.06: There will be a page devoted to comic-related podcasts soon]

FujiFilm FinePix E510 Digital Camera - Includes: 16MB xD-Picture Card / USB Cable / A/V Cable / Hand Strap / 2 AA Alkaline Batteries / Picture Cradle Adapter (Cradle Sold Separately) / FinePix Viewer / ImageMixer VCD 2 for FinePix / User Manual At an effective 5.2 million pixel still picture resolution, the E510 offers professional quality images and features for that are great for beginner and advanced users. With a wide range of programmed auto-exposure modes and auto/manual focus modes - plus a multimode electronic-flash - the camera also includes a built-in mic for making sound movies. Quite compact and lightweight, this digtal-camera uses AA batteries which offer worldwide practicality - ideal for the wild and sophisticated traveller. When you’re through making comparisons, you’ll find that the E510 is a really logical choice. Flash - Auto-flash using control sensor with effective range - 2.0 ft - 13.5 ft (W) / 2.0 ft - 6.6 ft (T) 2.0-inch TFT LCD screen Video out NTSC and PAL Switchable Auto/Manual Focus Programmed Autoexposure Weight 6.2 oz. excluding battery and media We advise purchasing an xd-PictureCard of 256MB or higher for most effective use of this camera. Is PC and Macintosh computer compatible Has PictBridge for printing without a computer using a PictBridge compatible printer (most current photo printers).

More detail Fujifilm Finepix E510 5MP Digital Camera with 3.2x Optical Zoom

Tracklisting: (I’ve provided links to hard to find artists.)

(Intro tune - by Tim Young)
Emmy the Great - AbsenteeThe Bridge Gang - The Money Will Roll InThomas Tantrum - Trust rhymes with crustFrank Turner (from Million Dead (RIP) - The Outdoor Type (cover)Tim Young - The Start of Something (Cover of the Voxtrot Tune)The Wombats - Lost in the PostLos Campesinos - You! Me! Dancing! (3rd Podcast Play in a row)Malajube - Montreal -40CJohnny Flynn - Hello Hello (Track of the month)Hope’s Gone Home - Set SailBrad Sucks - Making Me NervousThe Sound Team - Fastest Man Alive / It’s Obvious
Download the TYM podcastSubscribe to the podcast using ItunesSubscribe using other podcast ‘catchers’ using this url: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TakeYourMedicinePodcast
That’s all for this edition. Head over to read my new blog @ nothingbutgreenlights.net , where I talk about a lot of UK music.

Suggest some music. Email mikesmithmikesmith+podcast@gmail dot com.Music, British, Indie, Folk, Blog, Mp3 blog, Take Your Medicine, Medicine, Mike Smith, Mike, Smith
mikesmithmikesmith+podcast@gmail.com
Go to takeyourmedicinemp3.blogspot.com to see the tracklisting for the show.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/441067937_e20a35dc2b.jpg

To my proper mind, every good meal should end with a sweet note.

And so here for Day 365 (!), by good luck vs good management, is a carrot cookie that expresses my convictions about food and nutrition and balance and pleasure.

The inspiring recipe was SO! unnecessarily indulgent. It was hellbent on turning a ‘healthful sounding’ carrot cookie into a double order of fries with an apple pie on the side.

The big issue was two cookies (the double order of fries) sandwiching a cream cheese frosting (that’d be the apple pie).
The sandwich cookie (the one iced Too Much in the photo) racks up 329 calories and, in the Weight Watchers world, 8 whole points — EIGHT! Have another, why don’t you?
After my adjustments, a single satisfying cookie has only 114 calories and 2 1/2 Weight Watchers points — and that’s still a lot
My cookies aren’t abstemious-tasting in the least. They’re very good carrot cookies — in fact, they’re very good cookies, no qualification, especially after sitting a day. They’re less cakey than most carrot cookies and packed with the vanilla and spice flavor I added. The drizzle of icing was an added touch (and an added 1/2 point) but hardly necessary.

SO … DAY 365 … You’d think the words would be pouring forth … but they’re not. It’s been quite a year, one I’ll look back on with considerable pride, remembering how much I learned, realizing how many new vegetables and combinations I tried just because it was fun, all the people who’ve welcomed me into their kitchens. What’s next? I’m not sure. I’ve been vascillating back and forth for a few weeks now. End on a high (as well as sweet?!) note? Continue as is but posting less frequently? Less likely, launch another venture? For now, I’m going to take a few days off to see how “life without blogging” feels.

CARROT COOKIES
Bookmark or print this recipe only
Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 60 minutes
Serves 24

1/3 cup pecans (vs 1 cup walnuts)
1 cup grated carrots (from 2 medium carrots)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar (vs 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons)
1/3 cup brown sugar (vs 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons)
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla (vs 1/2 teaspoon)
1/3 cup currants (vs 1/2 cup bigger raisins)

1 cup flour (vs 1 1/8 cup flour)
2 teaspoons Penzeys baking spice or cinnamon (vs 1 teaspoon cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (my addition)
1/4 teaspoon ginger (my addition)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt

ICING
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese aka Neufchatel (vs 8 ounces cream cheese)
1 tablespoon honey (vs 1/4 cup honey)

Preheat oven to 375.

Place pecans in a single layer oven dish, put in oven immediately, before oven is preheated. Remove when aromatic and toasted (about the time they’re needed for the cookies, as it turns out), then chop finely.

Grate the carrot and let drain over a colander.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars til smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, beat for about 2 minutes. Gently add in nuts, carrots and currants.

(What follows is an unorthodox but effective technique. It substitutes for separately mixing the flour, spices, baking soda and salt.) Measure the flour, spices, baking soda and salt onto the top of the wet mixture but don’t incorporate. With a spoon, gently and lightly stir together the dry ingredients on top of the wet mixture, still not incorporating. Now turn the mixer back on and mix the wet and dry ingredients until combined.

Using two spoons, one to scoop and one to scrape, transfer scoops of dough (it’ll be wet) onto a cookie sheet (use parchment if you don’t have good cookie sheets) leaving space between the cookies for spreading. Bake for about 12 minutes. Let cool and drizzle with icing.

ICING Mix the icing ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon. Transfer to the corner of a small ziplock bag. Spin the corner and drizzle the cookies with icing. (It’s a soft icing so if you’re going to transport, you might want to do this after arrival.)

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
AS SPECIFIED BY THE RECIPE, per cookie: 329 Cal (51% from Fat, 7% from Protein, 42% from Carb); 6 g Protein; 19 g Tot Fat; 9 g Sat Fat; 36 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb34; 42 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 209 mg Sodium; 57 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 8 points — EIGHT POINTS!!

AFTER “ALANNA-SIZING” per cookie: 114 Cal (49% from Fat, 6% from Protein, 45% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 6 g Tot Fat; 3 g Sat Fat; 13 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; NetCarb 12; 15 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 103 mg Sodium; 24 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 2 1/2 points

ALANNA’s TIPS
When you see this ◄ in the title and the Recipe Box, you know the recipe’s a personal favorite. Tastes vary, of course, but the mark is one indication of another vegetable recipe that’s worth paying attention to.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT’S DUE
Adapted from Gourmet, April 2004

(c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

The Bounty is the true story of a mutiny, way back when England was still a super power on high seas… no I’m serious (I laughed my ass off at that too… try mastering dental hygiene next time).

The Bounty boasts an impressive cast that included relative newcomer and anti-semitic Mel Gibson, Sir Anthony Hopkins (although I don’t believe he had received that ridiculous honor of being Knighted back then), Sir Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Liam Neeson.

This 1984 epic tells the tale of the famous vessel that travelled to the Far East to obtain bread fruit plants for their King. Lt. William Bligh (Hopkins) is obsessed with rounding Cape Horn, the Southern tip of South America a quicker route than the more travelled one around Africa, but a journey that is often avoided because of bad weather. Stubborn asshole that he is, Bligh puts his crew in danger in his attempt to round the Cape, but ultimately fails after some 2 months. Much to his dissapointment, he retreats from his quest, and decides to take the longer journey around Africa to reach his destination. Along the way, he berates, scolds, chastises, punishes, whips, tortures and administers discipline which he of course “applies with an even hand”.

When they do arrive at their destination of Tahiti, the men are met with scores of naked Island women….. supple, freshly sun baked, caramel colored breasts as far as the eye can see…. women who’s bodies have obviously been forged from a lifetime of aquatic activities…. in other words paradise (try to imagine an island populated with nothing but one thousand naked Patrick Swayze’s and you will begin to understand the magnitude of this old world Club Med). The men enjoy their vacation from duty, and indulge themselves in the pleasures of the flesh to no end. All the men that is except for Bligh. Bligh apparently is not fond of native titties but instead desires the slender form of Mr. Fletcher Christian (ironic that it was my buddy Fletch who once described the Bounty as Bligh’s battle with his own sexuality… and then returned to sipping from the next available cock).

Whatever his reason, Bligh determines that it is time for them to depart. Let’s see, return to the open ocean, or remain on an island made of boobs? Tough choice. Leaving wasn’t enough for Bligh however, as he felt his crew had lapsed so far from the standard of British sailors that he ruled over them with an iron fist. Pushed beyond the brink, the crew led by Mr. Christian eventually took the ship. Those not sympathetic to the cause, were banished to the sea with Bligh and many of the officers on board a small sailing boat.

The Bounty then split time between Christian, the mutineers and their boners as they returned to Tahiti, and Bligh and his band of unfortunates as they enjoyed the spoils of a sip of water and the random retarded pigeon that happened to get caught in their sails. While Bligh and his men did return safely home, what happened to Christian and his men is speculation. According to the film they found refuge on an island where they lived out their days fucking their brains out.

The greatest aspect of this movie is the language. Let me give the British some credit here. They know how to swear at one another, and do it in such a way that they sound dignified. By adding the term ‘Sir’ to any curse riddled declaration it almost sounds polite. Throughout the Bounty, you will be bombarded with statements like:

“Damn you Mr. Christian! Damn you sir!”

“Filth, sir! Filthy, Mr. Christian! Still filthy! Look!”

“Mr. Fryer, sir! Come back here!”

“By law, I am the first! Do you understand? God damn your height! And now you may dismiss, sir! ”

“God damn your eyes, man! You turned your back on me!”

“I am in hell, sir! I am in hell!”

“He was insubordinate, cowardly and insubordinate, he frightened the men, I did not put that fear there, he did. So he will be lashed and we will go around the Horn. Are you frightened to go around the Horn, Mr. Christian? Are you a coward too, sir?” (probably one of the finest scenes in the movie as Hopkins mouth is spitting and smiling while his eye is twitching…. it’s supposed to be a moment of high tension, but comes off deliciously as pure comedy)

The Bounty is a well filmed and acted movie, but the egos of the actors were more than even this ship could bare. That is why it is loaded with over the top lines that were over performed to the point where they became ridiculous. And if you are looking for native breasts (not the saggy knee slappers you catch in the National Geographic mind you), then the Bounty is the film for you.

Hamlin Grade: 6.5

Tit Counter

Timothy Dalton is the one true James Bond,
pat

Did you hear that Murray Cook is retiring from the Wiggles, and that Dan Zanes has accepted an offer to take his place as the new “red” Wiggle?!?!

No, you didn’t hear that, because I didn’t have time to write it up as my April Fool’s joke on Sunday. Oh well.

My enthusiasm for the “holiday” waned a bit after last year’s post about taking my family to Iraq caused such a fuss with some readers who have no sense of humor.

So I toned it down this year and came up with the idea of Dan Zanes joining the Wiggles. It’s funny because, according to some parent bloggers, those two artists are polar opposites (not in my house — we enjoy both types of music).

But then I just didn’t have the time to write it.

In reality, I’d kind of like to see some sort of collaboration between Zanes and The Wiggles, either in concert or in the studio. Do you think that could ever happen in real life? Or should I save it for next year’s April Fool’s joke?

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