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December 25, 2008

Dear Santa

Dear Santa

I know you've been watching. This year I was a little naughty, but I hope I was at least entertaining. It'd be really cool if you could see it in your heart to still give me something from my list this year:

Check back later, Santa. I'm not done with this list yet.

Love,
Ian

UPDATES:

Posted by KinCross at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2008

A little help with my diet, please

This week, I tried something new: I saw a nutritionist about my diet and health.

Among other things, he recommended the following diet for me:

Basic Strategy

* Eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables (arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, watercress, bok choy, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, rutabaga, Chinese cabbage, daikon, radishes, kohlrabi, kale).
* No snacking between meals.
* Supplement with and/or consume Omega-3 fats.
* Low to moderate intake of animal proteins.
* No fruit.
* No eggs.
* No consumption of trans fats or fried foods.
* Cut down the chemical load on the body.
* Eat at least every four hours. Do not let yoruself get hungry during this program.
* Make your own sald dressings; store bought dressings in most cases have additives and rancid processed oils.
* Avoid tap water.
* You may drink herbal non-caffeinated teas.
* No grains, including gluten-free grains with the following exceptions (one of the following each day): (1) One 8-inch whole wheat or rice tortilla, (2) One cup of brown rice, (3) One bowl of Ezekial/sprouted grain cereal for breakfast.

Eating Schedule

* Eat lightly in the morning; whole grain (Ezekial) cereals or cottage cheese and fruit.
* Eat lightly at lunch; especially salad or cooked vegetables and fish.
* Eat a substantial dinner (helps to avoid late snacking); protein and vegetables.
* Drink mineral water or parsley tea to avoid snacking; especially in late afternoon.

Plenty Foods (The Good List)

* Fresh vegetables (raw or steamed) but no corn or white potatoes
* Legumes
* Poultry (skin removed)
* Avocadoes and olives

Moderation Foods (The Careful List)

* Raw nuts (walnuts are highest in Omega-3 fats) and seeds (including tahini)
* Cottage cheese
* Cold-pressed vegetable, nut and seed oils
* Beans (including hummus) and lentils are allowed, but no refried or baked beans
* No more than 2 ounces of dairy per day - enough for some salad dressing

Avoid (The Bad List)

* Milk, cream cheese, sour cream
* Starchy vegetables - potatoes (incl. French fries), corn, squash
* Fried foods, trans or hyrogenated fats, margarine
* Caffeine
* Alcohol
* Refined sugar
* Preserved meats, including ham, bacon, sausages, salami, hot dogs, smoked meats
* Fruit juice
* Red meat
* No grains except as noted above

If you know my diet, you'll notice that just about everything I usually eat is on the Avoid list. =)

What I need help with is figuring out what I can eat now. Specifically, dishes and ideas.

Breakfast
The diet mentions sprouted grain cereal. Where do I even find that?
Are there "breakfast" veggies?
I usually eat breakfast at the office, so something that can be had there would be a plus.
Or I can figure out how to wake up earlier and do breakfast at home.

Lunch
Sounds like salad are about my only option here, but maybe there's something else.
There's a limited kitchen at the office and I've made my own salads there in the past.

Dinner
About 2-3 weeknights a week, I can cook at home. Maybe.
I imagine, then, that I should look into stuff I can cook in batches and then eat as leftovers throughout the week. What travels well?
I have a wok now, so I can do light stirfry, which may be the easiest way for me to go.

Open to any and all ideas you may have.

Ian

Posted by KinCross at 2:21 PM | Comments (0)

December 10, 2008

Now I can tell you...

I've been working on something big. Out of necessity, I've had to keep it hush-hush, but now that it's out in the public, the story can be told:

Posted by KinCross at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

Good Idea / Bad Idea

Because... this is a good/bad idea.

Mississippi burning, anyone?

Courtesy of: The Daily Show

Posted by KinCross at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

"Love Like" by Shihan

Posted by KinCross at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)

December 9, 2008

RIP, Bob Petrillose

If you've been to Cornell in the past 40 years--most likely as a student--you've probably run into Bob Petrillose, whether or not you knew him by name.

He was everything that was The Hot Truck.

He passed away last night.

When I was at Cornell, The Hot Truck was parked on Stewart, just west of the West Campus dorms and it served up tasty, late-night treats every night, even in the summer, always served on french bread with sauce and cheese.

Many a night was spent hanging out in front of the truck waiting for whatever flavour of french bread pizza was ordered. It had its own dialect (and a dictionry) for ordering. "Grease and garden" for mayo and lettuce. "Heavy" for garlic. Don't know if he ever came up with a name that stuck for the sriracha, but for the summer that I was there, "Saigon" got the point across.

I used to hang out in the truck, chatting with Bob while he slung out the grub and a co-worker of mine from the CIT Helpdesk would moonlight there. It was a fun time.

I ran into him once, at a Friendly's, seeing him with his wife before he went to work that evening. It's always fun to see people outside of their usual contexts and I remember it was particularly sweet to see him with his wife that night, a couple who'd been together for years and years.

Thanks for the good times and free sandwiches, Bob, and the way you showed your love to thousands of us each year.

RIP.

Posted by KinCross at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)

December 4, 2008

Hey, Vincent

We love you. We miss you.

We're still here, making you proud.

We'll see you again when it's our time, too.

The splash you left is still rippling throughout the world.

Posted by KinCross at 9:37 AM | Comments (0)

December 1, 2008

The Haunted Mansion (Counter-Strike Version)

A recreation of Disney's Haunted Mansion theme park ride using Counter-Strike's map editor:

Posted by KinCross at 1:15 PM | Comments (0)

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Clip

Posted by KinCross at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)