Halfass

You know, when someone says they don't do anything half-ass and they put 110% into their work, it is really just a glass-half-full way of saying they are going to half-ass on You instead.

Pride

It was Pride last weekend. I was out the few days before rafting so I kind of forgot and only remembered when I was wondering why a normally super busy brunch spot was kind of empty, and then saw a dude with a blue wig walk by.

I watch Rachel Maddox religiously via her vidcast. I adore her. Gay rights news is often talked about on her show coz well, she is an openly gay person herself, so I get pretty regular updates about these things. Many believe that the political establishement is actually rather removed from popular sentiments regarding gay marriage and Don't Ask Don't Tell; and specifically for Republicans, it seems like they can only be openly for it, IF like let's say their daughter is gay: case in point, Dick Cheney and Jerry Sanders. Who the hell is Jerry Sanders? Well, I heard about him on NPR actually, he is the mayor of San Diego (R) and in 2007, gave a very emotional press conference detailing the reasons why he flipped on his campaign stance in 2005 and came out in support of gay marriage. It is refreshing to see a politician (esp a R) to be willing to risk his conservative political career and just come out and support what is right. A very moving and personal press conference, worth a watch:



By the way, this press conference was given the day before he started his re-election campaign. Jerry Sanders won against 4 other conservative candidates and got re-elected, and his support for gay marriage wasn't even an issue that came up.

Maybe Malia or Sasha has to be gay before Obama gets a move on about actually repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell and publicly stand up for marriage equality.

Butter

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Context: Friend makes update to Facebook status. 18 Comments ensue. Excerpts below.
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Friend: (status) Butter is better! Stop eating margarine and go find some grass fed, organic butter! http://bit.ly/YiW9J

Douche#1: Use some other spread or just eat food that tastes good in the first place. Butter's almost nothing but saturated fat. < ... >

Me: Saturated fat tastes good.

<...>

Douche#2 (yes a different guy): No, butter is not better! Use olive oil spread.

Douche#2: Douche#1,who paid to get you to say that? The reality is that butter contains milk solids, milkfat, aka butter fat aka the stuff that lines your arterial walls as plaque and causes blood clots. Butter is made from calf's milk which turns "60 lb calfs into 350 lb cows" -- its not real food. If you want fat try vegetable oils, olive oil, etc. ... Stop eating meat and exercise. If you do eat meat, eat only a small, small portion of meat. Meat is "survival food" -- meaning it should be only eaten as a last ditch effort for survival.

Douche#2: "Numerous subsequent studies costing hundreds of millions of dollars, have failed to conclusively back up this claim.5"
Except you can watch a video of what happens to a patient who has arteries blocked by butter fat and meat fats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHE1ig4k64M

Friend: wow, didnt think I would spawn such a response. I think the point is just don't eat margarine. That was what I took away. Nutrition is a new science, but research HAS shown that certain fats are critical to digesting certain nutrients. Certainly this article isn't saying to go out and eat a butter sandwich, if you aren't an idiot, you should get the point.

Douche#2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6CK9RIDFaY

<...>

Me: Mmmm.....mascapone, creme fraiche and double devon cream. Yum.

Friend: for serious Jane!!!

<...>

Douche#2: YOU DO NOT NEED A COW'S MILK OR ANY PRODUCT PRODUCED BY PROCESSING COW MILK. ESSENTIAL FATS ARE A PART OF VEGETABLES, NOT COW MILK.

Douche#2: EF (Essential Fats) are found in: Flaxseed oil (best source), Canola oil (Cheaper source), flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, hempseed oil, hempseeds, grapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachio nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds (raw), olive oil, olives, borage oil, evening primrose oil, black currant seed oil, chestnut oil. Replace hydrogenated fats (like margarine), cholesterol-based fats (butter/dairy products), and poly-saturated fats (common cooking oils) with healthy EFA-based fats when possible. For example, instead of margarine or butter on your warm (not hot) vegetables, use flaxseed and/or extra virgin olive oils with salt. (This tastes similar to margarine, as margarine is just hydrogenated oil with salt.) High heat, light, and oxygen destroy EFAs, so when consuming foods for their EFA content, try to avoid cooked or heated forms. For example, raw nuts are a better source than roasted nuts. Don't use flaxseed oil for cooking, and never re-use any type of oil.

Douche#2: Essential Fatty Acids are the "good fats" all over the news these days, and a very hot research topic. More is known about them every week as more studies come forward. Some information hasn't changed since Julius Fast wrote his book The Omega-3 Breakthrough (Tucson, Arizona: The Body Press 1987, ISBN 0-89586-625-0). For example, good fats compete with bad fats, so it's important to minimize the intake of trans fats and cholesterol (animal fat) while consuming enough good fats. Also, good fats raise your HDL or "good cholesterol". One of the jobs of this High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) or "good cholesterol" is to grab your bad cholesterol, LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein), and escort it to the liver where it is broken down and excreted. In other words, these good fats attack some of the damage already done by the bad fats. This is very important in an age when so many Americans are struggling to get their cholesterol down, and fight heart disease and obesity.

Me: i think being a douche is bad for your health.

Sane Person: Point: Jane. Holy balls my homepage is full of preachings from a health nut. If I wanted my eyes to bleed I'd have gone to PETA's website.

Cairo

If you're going to watch or listen to ONE political speech, listen to this one.
What a gutsy, profound and poignant speech.



In the middle of the speech, yes, some guy DID yell out "WE LOVE YOU!", like it was a rock concert. At the end, the audience began to chant "OBAMA! OBAMA!".


Some excerpts:

"Now, let me be clear: Issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.

I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons. (Applause.) Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity -- men and women -- to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles."


"It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. (Applause.) This truth transcends nations and peoples -- a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today."

Tiananmen

A little while ago, Tammer wrote a post about Tiananmen.

My RSS popped up in the middle of work about her post, and I immediately wrote back.
Here is the repost of my response.

==================================

i remember that time very well too, much better than what i remember from anything around that time.

i remember my dad went to one of the huge protests. They said more than a million people went on the streets. My dad was never very political. i remembered thinking, wow, this must be a big deal.

i didnt’ remember the typhoon. i remember what cartoon the news interrupted to show the breaking news of what’s going on in Tiananmen. It was “Dream Warrior”, in some weird font I can still see so vividly in my mind. It was on the channel I didn’t normally watch.

i remember that the night of June 3 i believe, we were having dinner with an acquaintance at the HK country club. I remember being bored and walked the halls with my sister, and we talked about how, yeah i heard there are tanks now, in the quiet somber way that kids can talk about adult things, that they know are really truly serious.

i remember the following morning, very early, my mom came into my room, woke us up, and said with tears that the tanks have gotten into the squares, and many students have died. I remember when my mom choked up, I also started to cry. I remember the rolled up orange blanket i had next to me.

i remember Zhao Ziyang.
i remember the Goddress of Democracy.
i remember later flipping some current affairs magazine, and seeing in horror, a picture of a pile of minced meat which is what happens, when a person gets rolled over by a tank.
i remember knowing, my life is not going to be the same than when it was going to be on June 3. We weren’t thinking of emigrating before. After Tiananmen, my parents decided they did not want their kids to grow up under a govt that would send tanks to roll over students.

2 years ago, i was watching pbs when frontline had a special on the famous video. The man, standing in front of the tank, and stopping it. About 10min into the documentary, I started crying uncontrollably. I was rather surprised honestly… it’s been so long. I wouldn’t think of Tiananmen as something that still at all affects me emotionally. yet i literally bawled. I had to stop watching the video.

Queen

Everytime Tammer writes a post, I feel compelled to reciprocate. I guess that's a good thing, because the only reason why I haven't been writing is really coz I've been a lazy ass, and I have been enjoying doing absolutely nothing other than work, cook, eat, Resident Evil 5 on the couch, Zookeeper in bed, and sleep at midnight.

And what a coincidence. I had a really weird ass dream last night too, so I should write about it. I dont' remember all the details now, but basically, I was escorting Queen Elizabeth in a helicopter. It's kind of like a space helicopter too. I remembered her as being very nice, and that after she left, I had this weird omg feeling about whether I touched her or not, and whether that was ok or not, but I was like, man, she is a lot more normal and sweet than other people would think.

And then there was the helicopter that was awesome. It flies kind of like a model helicopter instead it does exactly what I want it to do, and it was really fun dreaming about it. It was a bummer when I woke up that I was like, aw, I can still feel my connection to my little copter.

In other news, the garage being built underneath our place is like 3/4 complete. The new sidewalk and the new retaining walls are in, and they just have to pour the concrete to make the floor and finish the inside and you know, put a door in. It's very exciting.

They are also starting work on the horizontal extension downstairs, on which our patio would sit. The sun is starting to shine, so hopefully we can spend some early summer mornings on our deck with a nice cup of coffee.

Loan

These days, it's hard to figure out where to put your money; that is, if you are a saver of any sort. The days of 5% return for merely putting your money at ETrade or ING are gone, and well, sure it is a good time to buy stocks, IF you are doing long term investing. But what about the short term? CDs give you next to nothing as well, and keeping your money as cash is not useful to anyone, and well, pays next to nothing in interest.

Well, I'm investing in a farm.
Not just any farm, but the local farm (about 1.5hr drive away) that supplies my weekly organic, sustainable farmed and super delicious vegetables.

I have been a happy subscriber to Capay Farms, or better known as Farm Fresh To You, for a few months. I share a regular box with another friend, and half a weekly box is about right for us who cooks dinner about half the time. A month or so ago, they announced in their weekly farm news (that's included with some recipes in each box) that they have an annual Green Loan program. Every spring, the Farm goes into high gear and obviously needs a bit more cash flow than normal, so they solicit loans from their subscribers to do the big spring planting. The loans range from $1000 to $25k, and you can either get paid with 7% in produce, or 4% in cash back. There is no minimum term, but they would love to at least have the money for a year, and they will return your money within 60 days if you request for it in writing.

I figured, if I take $3000 out of my savings account, and invest in the farm, I will get 7% or $210 worth of free produce in a year, which is more than 1/4 of a year of my greens paid for. That is great, since it is money I spend anyway.

And guess what? The brothers who run the farm (they inherited it from their pioneering mother), are all around my age. Thaddeus, the farm manager, I believe is exactly my age. You can read about their various stories, about how they grew up on the farm, went off to college for Agricultural Economics and/or Engineering, and have turned a little family farm into a fantastic business, with excellent customer service and even a store front in the San Francisco Ferry Building (which I am sure is not cheap in rent).

They will host a Farm Tour on April 25 with strawberry and peaflower picking. I look forward to meeting them in person.


In this time of financial crisis, I think it is even more important to think about how we all utilize our money. It is only part of being socially responsible, to think about the utility of your money, and how it might be useful in real ways. Invest in real things. Learn about how the returns are generated. In the end, we would all be better off, including your bottomline.