The Daily Amoeba

So.. yeah Im going to update my blog more often.. riiight

Guess I shouldnt have said that right before the new Harry Potter book was released.

I went to the beach this weekend with a bunch of friends from work. Good times were had by all. We were at the beach from 3pm till 11 then a 1.5 hr drive home. Its really nice living close to a beach like that. Carlos and I will surely go once he gets here.

Saw the new Willy Wonka movie despite my misgivings about it. It turned out to be very good, I would reccommend it.

As for the new harry potter book, of course it totally rocks. So im going to stop typing on this silly thing and get back to it!

Im a terrible lazy blogger. Ooops.

Anyway, life has been busy. Super awesome news - Carlos accepted a job in Portland and will soon be joining me here! WooHoo! Anubis and I are very excited about this.

And for those of you who like pictures I finally uploaded some pics to my Flickr account. you can see them by going here. I must say I was annoyed to learn that I cant have more than 3 "sets" (photo albums) and I have a monthly bandwidth limit unless I want to give them money. Lame. Disk space is ridiculously cheap, Im sure they make enough from ads that they dont have to squeeze money out of the masses, but I digress.

Mom and Bethany came out here to visit me a few weeks ago. It was really nice to have them here & show them around Portland. We checked out the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden. For you columbus folks, the Rose Garden is something like the one in the Park of Roses except multiplied by about 50. Portland is, afterall, called the City of Roses. Dont ask me why.

Carlos was here for the 4th, as were my friends from the east Brette and Tomo. Anna has relocated out here now as well. Go Bucks! Move west! :) After Carlos and I went to the Japanese Garden I decided to get a membership. It is really nice to be able to just go to the garden when ever I want. The hike from the MAX station in Washington Park was only about 45min (~2.1miles of very easy terrain) and there are special member only hours in the mornings. I should take advantage of that, maybe tomorrow.

Ive been told that rain is extremely rare after July 1 for about 3 months here and its starting to show. Believe it or not the grass is actually turning brown (the hiking pics on my flickr account will show bright green, mossy forests in this area). It is hard to believe that a place as wet as Portland has such a dry summer.

Ive decided to give running another try. Ive tried it before but each time my lower abdomen protests very loudly. Carlos did some asking around and most people seem to think its just weak lower abs, so I have started (slowly) running during the week at the gym after work. So far so good - no searing pain in my abdomen. Im hoping this will improve my hiking. Biking doesnt do too much for your calves, well, at least biking like I bike ;) I get muscular thighs but not terribly strong calves. I notice this the most when im hiking up steep inclines. I have an opportunity to hike a fairly steep trail this wednesday to see if Ive made any progress.

Portland is still awesome. I am definitely glad I moved up here. Still havent gone down town to hear any jazz yet, but it is definitely on my list. Well, except for going to hear Dave Holland during the jazz festival.

I got some planters for my porch. In one I have petunias and in the other i have herbs - rosemary, chives, and basil. The basil wasnt so healthy looking when I got it but boy is it growing strong. The chives are doing ok and the rosemary seems healthy, while not growing any more stems. They all taste so awesome, so much better than dried herbs and definitely better than the "fresh" herbs from the super market.

Speaking of markets, I went to the Beaverton Farmer's market today. it is a pretty amazing market. You can get bread, meat, fish, flowers, baked goods, and of course produce. It was mind boggling. The most amazing thing to me was the berries. Stands upon stands of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and marion berries (look like really long black berries, ive heard them described as a black berry/boysenberry mix) for $2.50 a pint. $2.50 a pint for raspberries ?!? I remember paying $3 for half a pint in ohio, and the berries were moldy a lot of times. I guess that is one of the perks of living in berry land. I got giant radishes (about the size of 2 golf balls stacked vertically), carrots, strawberries, blueberries the size of nickles (or quarters in some cases), and wax beans. I need to get a market basket - today I had a trader joes paper bag. The really amazing thing is that alot of the meat and produce was from organic farms. AND this is just one of a multitude of portland area farmers markets. Did I mention this place rocks?

Carlos asked me today how come I havent been blogging lately. I told him it is because often times when I blog I just get angry (as you probably noticed). I get upset enough reading the news and I dont like to feed that anger, so I just have gotten away from blogging about news and thus blogging in general. Ill try and make more of an effort to blog regularly about what im doing because I know a lot of people who read this are curious about what Im up to.

And with that Im off like a dirty shirt...

Sorry for the lag again, life has been busy.

I got a kitty! We are converging on the name Anubis for him. He is uber cute! ;)

I saw some news today that I just had to report.

After being lambasted by a fundamentalist friend for supporting Michael Schiavo I had to post these articles regarding the results of Terri's autopsy, which show that her parents, the side the conservative church supported, were absolute liars and that the notion that this woman was "handicapped" was a bunch of fanatical nonsense

Fox News
CNN
NY Times

Oddly enough Baptist Press did not choose to cover this story.. I wonder why. Maybe because of quotes such as these (taken from the Fox News article):

"There's nothing in her autopsy report that is inconsistent with a persistent vegetative state," said Dr. Stephen J. Nelson, a medical examiner who assisted in the autopsy.

(Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner Jon) Thogmartin also said Schiavo was blind, her brain was half its normal size and she was suffering from severe osteoporosis at the time of death. Her "bones were pulpally soft from severe osteoporosis," Thogmartin said.

"The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain. ... This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons."

And from the NY Times:

"At various times, the Schindlers accused Mr. Schiavo of physically abusing his wife, and suggested that poisoning or strangulation may have led to her collapse. Mr. Schiavo has repeatedly denied abusing his wife, and the medical examiner said several times today that there was no evidence of trauma consistent with physical abuse before her collapse."

Additionally, Terri was blind in the days preceeding her death, so any video showing her supposedly "interacting" with people is absolute farce.

I suppose I shouldnt be suprised that parishoners would believe the ranting lunacy of non-medically trained pastors that Terri was not in a persistent vegative state but rather severely handicapped. After all, they voted for a president who appointed an oil man with no scientific training whatsoever to edit the White House's climate reports regarding greenhouse gases.

Im sure they will find one scientist with a completely insane theory as to how this woman with half a brain could have recovered. I cant decide if it is funny or sad that people will go to such ridiculous extents to twist events and scientific fact to coincide with their beliefs

Sigh.

Please see this entry on disjointed for more information on the export licensing issue I mentioned previously. I have included links to government documents and contact information as well. The BIS has extended the opportunity for comments until June 27. I would highly encourage all who are in industries that will be effected by this to send your comments to the BIS

one more recipe before i go...

wheat berrie fruit salad

cooked, cooled wheat berries
straberries
apple
garam masala
cinnamon
sugar (i used turbinado sugar)

cut apples and strawberries into little pieces. mix with wheat berries
add garam masala, cinnamon and sugar to taste

mmmm

I really like the chewy consistancy of wheat berries. Garam masala is kind of like an allspice type thing used in indian cooking. It has tones similar to cinnamon and nutmeg so I use it when I want that kind of flavoring.

So now we know that Newsweek's story about the Quran abuses was substantiated after all.

And all the Bush administration can say is "its too bad that these incidents have been taken out of context"

Hmm... Id like to know what the proper context of pissing on the Quran is.

Really, this whole thing about desecrating the Quran is a pile of crap. Since when do interrogators give a rats rectum about the religion of the person they are interrogating?? Of course they are going to kick their holy books around, rip pages out of them, etc if they want answers out of them. This is what interrogators do.

No one would care if an interrogator took a leak on the Bible or the Torah, but because this country is uber sensitive about not offending Muslims we now have the most ardent Christians in our government referring to the Muslim book of choice as the "Holy" Quran.

Heres an idea. If you dont want to offend Muslims maybe you should stop killing them. Just an idea.

Those who are really to blame in this Quran desecration nonsense are the militant muslim extremists that seek to exploit any thing the US says in order to incite people against us. These Afghani clerics that grabbed a hold of this newsweek article (that turns out to be true after all) are the ones who are to blame for this killing, not Newsweek. It is just pathetic to me that people claim we have a "liberal" media that is so easily forced to shut up and retract statements by the Bush administration. Some open media. Some free country.

In other insanity, the US department of commerce is seeking to require foreign students from "countries of concern" to obtain export permits for every "sensitive" technology they learn about. These technologies include anything that could possibly be used for military application.

Here is the article.

"Students from India, which has cordial relations with the U.S., will need licenses to study, but students from Saudi Arabia -- home country for most of the participants in the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, and much of the financing and ideology behind Islamist terrorism -- will not"

Why doesnt the US just cut the crap and close its borders to all but mexican farm workers? The number of students attending graduate school in the US has dropped another 15% this year because the government is denying students f1 visas. There is a huge exodus of talent from this country and the companies that need this talent will be soon to follow.

Just sickening. Maybe someone can explain why this is good for our country. I guess it makes more fodder for wars since we will lose our technological edge.

OK, enough ranting for now. Now for a recipe!

I have been trying to incorporate more whole wheats directly into my diet. I have long been a fan of whole wheat bread, but now I am trying to eat more outright whole wheats.

I tried to make tabbouleh, a mediterranean wheat & parseley salad, but I failed. I at least have some bulgur wheat now to play with. I sucessfully made some couscous & beans for lunch. Here is the method to my madness:

~0.5 cup sweet corn
~0.25 cup onion
~0.25 - 0.5 cup cooked black beans
2 cloves garlic
1 small tomato
2 packages Goya seasoning (with achiote)
0.75 cup cooked couscous (i used whole wheat couscous)
cumin, chili powder, and salt to taste

Saute corn and onion in a little (~1tsp) olive oil. Add 1 package of the goya seasoning, minced garlic, and beans and heat through
Add couscous and another package of goya seasoning. Add chili powder and cumin to taste
Add diced tomatoes and salt to taste. You can also add salsa instead of/in addition to the tomatoes.
Heat to desired temp and serve.
Optionally top with a little grated cheddar cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

Voila!

Greetings cyber-teers

Isnt it funny that Laura Bush thinks her husband should have been interrupted on his bike ride to be told about the evacuation of the capital when a small plane veered off course into restricted airspace.

Well, if history tells us anything we should have expected the following in such an event:

Secret Service: Mr. President. The capital has been evacuated. An unidentified plane has entered restricted airspace

President: *pauses, whispers something, and continues to bike with a uncomfortable look on his face*

ala my pet goat.

OK, a cheap shot I admit it, but thats the first thing that came to my mind when I read that article.

In other news I hiked Elk mountain this week with the hiking club. 25mph wind gusts and sleet greeted us at the summit. Hardcore.

Im going backpacking at the Gorge this weekend. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us.

I have a very funny story to tell but I think I shall wait out until we know the ultimate outcome to mention it.

Soon my pets, soon.

Speaking of pets, I have decided to adopt a kitten after I return from my memorial day visit to Baltimore. June to Sept. is "kitten season" when shelters typically get inundated with kitties. So if its a kitty you desire, please adopt one at your local humane society. Petsmart stores typically work with local animal shelter also, so you can probably adopt a very nice pet there as well.

And finally, for some mushy nostalgia.

A year ago I was frantically preparing for my presentations at ISCAS. I had just finished my thesis defense, final revisions handed in, signed, and delivered to the graduate school. My obligations were nearly over (save a few finals in some typical last-quarter-ever easy classes) except for presenting two papers at ISCAS in vancouver. I was trying to find anyway not to go. I was terrified about presenting, particularly given that the chair of the session I was presenting in was a known critic (jealous colleague perhaps?) of our work. The idea of being embarrassed in front of a lot of people from all over the world was not appealing.

Sunday (as in the day after tomorrow) I climbed on a plane for Vancouver BC. I arrived in the afternoon and took a shuttle to the Sheraton Wall Center Hotel. There were some other conference goers around but it was generally pretty lonely. I walked to a nearby cafe to have lunch (or was it dinner?) and went back to my room after walking around the hotel a bit.

The reception was at 6ish. I knew I should go but I was nervous. I didnt know a single soul and was nearly sick to my stomach over my impending presentation the next morning. I wasted some time, ironed a shirt I didnt have to iron, and finally went downstairs to the reception.

I walked into the ballroom and saw many small groups of people around the perimiter with a huge mass of people in the middle. At exactly the instant that my knees were going to give out I spotted a familiar face, just as he spotted me. "Hey, thats the TA from that class I took last fall"

Of course, that TA was my sweet Carlos.

And the rest, as they say, is history. We were a captive audience for eachother for the entire conference. That night we walked down to the bay and had dinner at a cafe down the street from the hotel. Its amazing how much I remember about that week; I usually dont remember things in that much detail.

It is still kind of fuzzy exactly when things became "official" I tend to think it was when he kissed me for the first time the following Friday night, not even a week later. For him it was when I called him my boyfriend (i dont seem to remember when that was) It was around the same time anyway ;)

I cant wait to relive that first kiss next Friday. :-*

I read CNNs international addition. The difference in news is pretty stunning, particularly headlines

International: 55 Iraqis found dead in Iraq. Red Cross expresses concern over high civialian casualty numbers

US: Forecasters predict heavy hurricane season.
(note, the subheadlines included the headline from the international addition)

headlines on Fox News:

Newsweek apology inflames pentagon
Russia role eyed (re: oil-for-food)
Al-Sadr slams US, Saddam

and from NYTimes:

Supreme Court strikes down ban on wine shippments
US is warning North Koreans on nuclear test
Insurgents leave 15 dead in series of attacks in Iraq.

You would think that with all of the civilian casualities (not to mention those of our own troops) and all the families displaced into the desert the Iraq war would be top news. At least I think its important to know what is going on over there. After all, how many billion of our tax dollars has congress just approved to spend there? How many US children will go hungry or be poorly educated because we are spending umpteen billion on war and the military while education sinks deeper into a mindless abyss? How many iraqis will be left to "free" ?

And regarding the Newsweek mess; I think it was extremely poor journalism for them to print such an inflamatory article if their sources were shakey. So far Ive read that the only thing that can be proven regarding the Koran and a toilet is a DETAINEE ripping pages out of the Koran and trying to plug a toilet with them in protest. I think journalists are getting to a point where responsibility has gone out the window. Everyone is so eager to get their point out there (and in many cases to show the shortcomings and abuses by the US in the "war on terror") that there seems to be no concept that words do mean things.

Funny that Muslim extremists arent calling for the death of this guy, one of their own, who we know has desecrated the Koran. Im glad I dont live in a country ruled by religious extremists.

Hmm...

And in a story exclusively NOT brought to you by Fox News

A joint UN and Iraqi Ministry of Planning report on the well being of iraqis finds that at least 18,000 - 29,000 Iraqis have been killed in so called "operation iraqi freedom"

article here

I again scoured fox news for this article and didnt find a thing. Apparently republicans threw Tom DeLay a dinner party however, Im sure that is much more important than the fact that Iraqis now have incomes lower than they did in 1980.

I am a terrible, lazy person this week. I havent biked to work once. Need to do something about that. Im hoping to go hiking and biking this weekend though. I need to get into a regular routine of working out somehow. I also need to spend some time this weekend cleaning my house

Yes, I know.. how incredibly interesting. So interesting in fact that I think I will go back to my banana.