TAD Gear in Action

thank goodness for cargo pocket drain holes...

Seiko Black Monster

about 7 yrs old.

How to Make Dough and Get Baked

I may never buy bread again.
Making bread is so easy and fun! Try it at least one time! Our first loaf has been turned into: french toast, garlic bread, sandwiches, and cheese toast. We're still learning but it's a fun process.

I'll make it even easier by giving you ingredients and directions right here for one large loaf.

2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 cups unbleached bread flour
2-3 tsp salt
2-3 tsp olive oil
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp kosher or sea salt

oven
bowl
wooden spoon
plastic wrap
9 in oven proof skillet

Put water into a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water then stir until dissolved. Stir in 2 cups of flour and salt, stirring for about 2 mins till mixture is smooth. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the remaining 2 cups of flour for about two minutes until the flour is all mixed in and the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. If the ball is too sticky add more flour.

Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. Or you can let it rise slower in the fridge overnight so it will absorb more yeast flavor then take it out 2 hours before shaping the bread and let it stand in a warm place to rise again.

Knead the dough then section or shape it however you prefer. In this case easiest thing here is one big ball. We pinched a edge of the ball and worked it underneath, then pinched another edge and worked it under again until we just had a beautiful round ball of dough.

Brush the dough with olive oil then sprinkle with the rosemary and sea salt. Put the dough into the oiled skillet.



Preheat oven to 500 F. Place skillet in oven then reduce oven to 400 F. Bake for about 30 - 35 min until the bread is browned and sounds hollow when you tap it with your finger. Remove loaf from pan and cool on rack.

Be proud of yourself and eat your homemade bread!

Fuzzy towelie makes bathie worth it.

A Beginner's Thoughts on Swimming Laps

Last night I was cranking out some incredibly fast laps for a beginner and my mind wandered a bit.

Why are swimming pools designed so that one swims back and forth, having to do a flip turn (which i have yet to do correctly) or stop and turn around and swim in the other direction? Runners don't work out on a track where they run down then stop, kick off a wall and turn 180 degrees and run back where they came from. Right?

The goal is to keep it about actual swimming.

A flip turn is an artificial action dictated by swimming pool design. For that matter, so is the diving start.

Design #1 The Swimming pool track.
Swimming pools should be designed like running tracks with two parallel straights with two arcs connecting them and lanes in concentric fashion. The starting lanes would be in staggered fashion. The finish would be determined by an overhead camera. Need to resolve how to keep concentric lane lines in place. Maybe actual walls built to separate each lane.

Design #2 The Endless Swimming pool lap.
Ok this design would be a combination of an "endless" pool and an olympic pool. A current is generated so swimmers swim mostly in place with some room for swimmers that lag behind. The winner is the person that is ahead when the time elapses. The current could be kept constant during the race or actually get more forceful as more time elapses.

There. Keeping swimming as pure as possible in an artificial environment. Maybe I will feel differently when I learn the flip turn.

Design #3 The Steeplechase.
Ok I was about to end this post when I thought: how about a steeplechase design? A swimming obstacle course in which competitors have to swim on the surface and underwater through and over various barriers. This would be fun!

Sly Stone called homeless by New York Post because he lives in a van

I came across this article http://tinyurl.com/6c79szn by the New York Post stating that Sly Stone was "homeless and living in a van in L.A."

Now I don't know who the funk Sly Stone is but the NY Post is casting living in vans in a bad light. Sly is not homeless. He is houseless! His van is his home.

It seems a lot smarter than all the people who buy too much home and pay a mortgage for 30 yrs, or end up in foreclosure.

A Recovering Car Addict's and Failed Zen Minimalist's* Guide to Buying a New Car.

(The title of this post was going to be "Buying a Car" but I figured that would give everyone that knows me palpitations.)

A car is probably the second most expensive item purchase one will make aside from a home (I'm guessing the third most expensive single item purchase is a cubic zirconium ring). Anyhow, so a wrong car purchase can adversely affect your finances for a few years if you make a mistake.

Buying a new car:

DON'T

Don't argue with me. Do not buy a new car. I love cars. I love new cars. But I don't plan on ever buying a new one again unless I somehow end up with over $600K in cash. There is no reason for you to pay for that initial depreciation.

I have an answer to all you(r) but(t)s. Here they are in a Zen minimalist 575 haiku:

Febreze steam cleaner.
Carfax history report.
Mechanic's review.

Bam.
Papa.

*everything is about zen minimalism these days isn't it? As the blog says, I'm a failed minimalist but I'm trying.

Quick Praise of the Public Library

I just finished reading Clark Howard's brand new book "Living Large in Lean Times". I made a reservation online at the local library website, they gave me a call when it was in, I literally ran to the library (bonus points) and ended up being the first patron to check out this book.

Bam. Saving money by borrowing a book on saving money. and running to the library and back to boot. That was a good day.

So just a reminder, see what is available at the public library first before you buy a book or magazine. I'd rather buy one that I cannot borrow or read there. Go to Barnes and Noble and make your wishlist then see if it's out yet at your local. The next cool thing is soon the local library will lend out Kindle compatible e-books. You don't even have to buy a Kindle. Just download to your computer or mobile device.

RMR: THOR

Welcome to another edition of Redbox Movie Review. THOR.
For those that cannot afford to read the whole review, here is my twitter version:

Stop, Hammertime. The real star of Thor is the Pinzgauer. Natalie Portman is ok too. Worth $1

No, Pinzgauer is not the name of the blond actor who played Thor. We'll get to him in a minute. A Pinzgauer is an Austrian built utility vehicle, their version of the Humvee. And it is awesome.
I haven't had so much lust for a vehicle since, well, last week. Second place goes to the Airstream trailer in the movie, making me forget the quality control issues they are supposed to have. The Jar Jar Binks award goes to Acura for ham fisted product placement. I don't think SHIELD would drive something like that. Not when they have the government's money at their disposal.

Ok ladies. Now we can discuss your object of lust. When Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth is first seen with his shirt off, my girlfriend let out a loud involuntary gasp. Well, I'm pretty sure it was her. Hell it coulda been me. The damn guy is blond and built like a marble statue. I guess I should lift some weights.

Natalie Portman was also good in this movie. Since the Professional, I kinda wrote her off. She's one of these actresses who has a stellar reputation for being so smart and talented, but I don't think she started getting good till Black Swan and No Strings Attached.

Overall I enjoyed this movie and thought it was definitely worth a dollar. The computer graphics seemed heavy handed at times but I guess that's Asgard for you. It had a perfect balance of action, comedy, drama, and romance. I hope the Pinzgauer is in the sequel!

Lightning Quick Movie Review: Blitz

Been getting some complaints about my reviews being not lightning quick enough. I agree. After all, if Ernest Hemingway could write the greatest 6 word short story (For sale. baby shoes. never used.) the least I could do is make my review Twitterable, in 140 characters or less.

So from now on Lightning Quick Movie Reviews is LQMR. And redbox is now RDBX And dang, what do i do if the movie title is long? Abbreviate that too? Maybe start out reviewing movies with short titles!

Here goes!

LQMR: BLITZ. Jason Statham plays usual tough guy role. Subtitles a must to understand cockney accents. Worth $1 from rdbx.

bam.
papa.

The Grudge

"I won't buy GM cars anymore because they took bailout money".
I nodded politely to the person saying this, noting his preference for Volkswagens...
Wait! Didn't we fight the Germans in the Second World War? NAZIS! What are we doing buying their cars then? What is the statute of limitations on holding a grudge?

Well, if you hold a grudge indefinitely, consider the major producers of cars available in the US. Who are you going to buy from?

Ford - took bailout money too. Henry was an antisemite.
BMW, Audi, VW - we battled the Nazi Germans in WWII
Toyota, Honda, etc - remember Pearl Harbor?
Ferrari, Lambo - yeah, that pesky WWII again.
Britain - Revolutionary War. You teabaggers better not be driving a British car...

So where to plunk down your grudge-stained cash? Well here is my answer.
France would be ideal since they have been our greatest allies since the Revolutionary War. Hell, they gave us the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately there are no current French cars sold in the States. So that leaves China owned Volvo (Swedish) or Hyundai and Kia from (South) Korea.

Whew. It's tough being so principled.

Made in the USA

I am adding a permanent list on the side of my blog for Made In USA items. If you have worn out something and need a new one, consider a product Made in USA. By my definition it is a product whose profits go to the most Americans. I'm guessing aside from a home the largest purchase and impact one can make is by buying a car made in USA.

The items with an asterisk are products I have had personal experience with and probably will have reviewed here. Remember not to substitute patriotism for quality!

Selling Sticker Designs.

A quick update on one of my income streams - designing stickers and selling them on Cafepress. Despite having 9 stellar and thought provoking designs as linked on this blog, sales are slow. The top seller is "0.0 hate running" by a landslide. Man, you people must really hate running.

I know times are tough but I am amazed that more people are not picking up these stickers - for $4 it communicates to the world what is on your mind and in your heart, especially if it is TOFU, FUGU, Running, or Made in USA.

So give me some feedback, you accidental readers who stumbled onto this blog.
1) what do you think about my designs?
2) what would you like to see designed?

Leave me some comments. IF you want me to design something, let me know. I can make it happen. My Illustrator program is locked and loaded.

Money Saving Tip: Library

I enjoy books, magazines and movies but am tired of spending money on them. Solution? Go to the library and read all the magazines you want to! (then go to Barnes and Noble and read the rest). Borrow any books and dvd's available. The books and dvd's you actually buy should be the ones you will constantly re-read or re-watch.

- "Let's go to the library!"

"The dvd's are always scratched and there are buggars stuck to the book pages!" -

-"..."

-"you mean boogers."



Bonus Tip: Borrow dvd's and books from the library right when the library gets them in order to minimize book boogers and scratches in the dvd's! Also wash your hands after reading library material.

Ban the (Still) Racist Popcorn Factory

I am appealing to all popcorn fans out there to take their business elsewhere and not to support the Popcorn Factory. Almost a year ago I brought this issue to your attention. The Popcorn Factory is still using two racist Asian caricatures to depict their popcorn flavors. One is dressed as a sushi chef and the other wields chopsticks. The both have slanted eyes. (the cowboy next to the sushi chef is half Asian.)

This is not acceptable. It teaches people that racism is ok as long as it is directed towards Asians. If there were caricatures of other races this would be big news.

One year ago I wrote to the Popcorn Factory and got a response that they would bring it to the attention of their designers. Yet the images are still in their catalog and on their website. I guess they don't take it seriously. In fact, in popular culture it seems more acceptable to be racist to Asians than other races.

Let's stop this now. Let the Popcorn Factory know how you feel. Here is their contact information below.

And remember, everytime someone buys from the Popcorn Factory, a cute Asian kid cries.

1-888-216-0235
orders@thepopcornfactory.com
service@thepopcornfactory.com