28thNov 08
Posted at: 1:10 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
To say I'm a coffee nerd is a mild way of stating it. I'd been turned on to coffee years ago when going through college. I needed the energy to deal with my crappy teachers monotone voice. Since then, I've dove into the world of coffee without stopping. Purchasing the equipment I could afford to justify, convincing my boss we needed an espresso machine at the office. And have been named the office Barista. Heck I'd love to be a Barista if it paid more!
Right as I type this message I'm doing something I've never done before, and that's order coffee through a chat interface. The company is CafeBritt.com and they are without a doubt...awesome. Based in Miani (distribution center most likely), they get their beans from Costa Rica and Peru. They have a lot of varieties, and are caring enough to have organic, fair-trade, and shade grown. They've since started offering all sorts of other things like chocolates and the like.
The thing I enjoy about this company is their Internet presence. They've recently re-designed their website (a much needed improvement), and have embraced the internet like no other coffee company. I don't see Starbucks doing an order via chat window thing. Not that I like Starbucks overpriced beans.
Oh, and one other thing about CafeBritt is the shipping you get. So it's Friday today, and I wouldn't doubt it if I saw the case of coffee show up on Tuesday next week. It's the fastest shipping I've ever seen. Not only that, but they have great staff ready to take your orders. Anyway enough gushing over a coffee company. I'd like to take some coffee photography to accompany this post. Maybe I'll see what I can setup in my kitchen.
Cafebritt.com - give it a try!
20thNov 08
Posted at: 1:00 pm · Filed under Excersize
The subject of this post was what struck me pretty hard this morning. As I hauled my ass out of bed this morning at yet another ungodly hour. I quickly stepped into my clothes and checked the themometer...yeah -8°C isn't a fun tempurature to go run in. Of course I knew I'd be fine once I started running.
Backing up a bit though, need to tell you what sort of effects my body had since the first run. Lets just say my Plantar fasciosis (the band of tendons on the bottom of your foot) got stretched/pulled/yanked/hurt...whatever it was, the thing has made walking painful. To give you an idea of the pain, it's like repeatedly stepping on a nail that goes through the area right in front of your heal. Yeah not lots of fun with that sensation. I saw my chiropractor yesterday and will be seeing someone today at Calgarys Sports Clinic to see what I can do. I'm not giving up now, so my tendon can quite frankly fuck off.
Speaking of never giving up, I am fortunate enough to have met a local athelete named Greg Kolodziejzyk. He's the brother of my company's accountant. He wanted to practice his speech infront of us, and to put it mildly I was inspired. Now I know it doesn't take a whole lot for me to be inspired, but it was quite the honor of listening to his speech. Greg has two world records, one for furthest distance travelled in 24 on human power, both on land on flat water. Two cycling events really...one turned a wheel, one turned a propeller. So similar, but different. He created his own craft (bike and boat), and is currently making another boat thingy (looks more like a floating submarine) to cross the Atlantic Ocean. His point that he was driving at is 'don't ever quit'. Pretty powerful words coming from someone who pushed his body to limits unimaginable by most people.
I will fix my body. I won't quit. I will continue this running thing, or God help me my legs will still be moving when they wheel me into the hospital with asploded joints.
17thNov 08
Posted at: 7:24 pm · Filed under Excersize, Stay at Home Dad
Yeah I pulled a Forest Gump today and went for a run. Pretty freaking crazy all things considered. I've NEVER been a runner. Lets just say I didn't have the body for it (less than fit), the mind for it(lazy), and no drive(lack of support?). The closest thing to it was the Ultimate I played a couple years ago...which gave me shin splints and a desire to never do it again.
So what happened? Well G and I go to the market in Calgary on the weekends to do our grocery shopping, and you can always find 'extras' there. Like the dude playing the violin, or new book releases, etc. This week we met this guy who was...well huge. 360lbs isn't light, and I'm not making this up. Within 9 1/2 months he lost 137lbs (http://www.runningforyourlife.ca). Just his general attitude and the fact he did it made me think I could stand to lose some weight that I've been putting on.
So he pushed me to come out running. At the fucking ungodly hour of 6am (I get up around 8:30 these days) I went for my first run. Five other people including myself decided to brave Calgary's fine weather. It was dark, icy, snowy, and cold...great day to start something new. I thought I'd be trailing the pack but to my surprise I was right in the middle. Everyone said I was doing a heck of a lot better than they'd expected, but of course I still feel like I could do better. I'm just more impressed with the fact I got out there this morning. Hardest part of going running...putting your shoes on.
Maybe I should explain my motives...my son. I know this sound corny...but I want to be the best dad I can be, and setting a good example is part of it. I want to show him that you can do anything when you set your mind to it. I want to show him how amazing our country is. I want to be able to keep up to him when he's running around a park. I want to run up a flight of stairs and not feel like i'm going to collapse at the top. And most of all...I want a healthy body.
Here's the start to something new. Please God keep my knees together, and I'll do the rest.
9thNov 08
Posted at: 9:34 pm · Filed under Stay at Home Dad, foods
As seen in "1000 Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World" It's a bloody dictionary sized book.
A quick, chunky soup ideal for a fall dinner. Able to be served in chunky style, or pureed with cream. It's delicate, simple, and downright tasty stuff. I doubled the recipe without a problem.
Ingredients
1 Leek
1 tbsp oil
1 garlic clove
3 cups vegetable bouillon
1-2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes
3/4 granted carrot
S&P to taste
chopped parsley
I hate detailed instructions on how to cook something. Please write me if you really want the details.
Slice the cleaned leek into rings. Saute with garlic over medium high heat in the oil. Cook for a couple min. Don't burn it! Add bouillon, bay leaf, cumin, and S&P. Bring to boil (couple min). Add potatoes and cook until perfect. Don't over cook the potatoes! Once the potatoes are done, add the shredded carrot. You could add chunky carrots, just add them at the same time as the potatoes. I liked the shredded carrot, as it gave it a uniqueness to it. Cook for a couple minutes, removed the bay leaves, and serve. Sprinkle generously with parsley. I used the curly kind of parsley, not the Italian flat style. Was very nice!
Took maybe 40 minutes to cook/prepare. Nice and delicate with a fresh taste.
I took the left overs (double batch left me with enough for two servings), blended half in the blender to give a chunky texture. Added 1/4 cup milk, and 4 tbsp of heavy cream, and brought to a very slow boil. Once reduced a bit, I topped with parsley. A great double dose of a fantastic soup in two styles. I'm sure this would be a fantastic base for any meat additions if you so choose. Maybe some shredded chicken or a spicy sausage.
7thNov 08
Posted at: 12:58 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
The new TV series 'Legend of the Seeker' aired at the end of October 2008. Done by the same numbskulls who did Xena and Hercules. So in keeping with the same old style, they've produced this new series which is based around the books by Terry Goodkind. The setting is much like any fantasy book. There's usually a bad guy, a good guy with an unlikely chance of defeating said bad guy, the fair maiden, the wise wizard, and some other characters who help out the good guy win. Is this original? Not really...but unlike say Lord of the Rings, this series is actually quite mature. Dealing with such subjects as Pedophilia and Sadism. Not a kids book, and something some people might say is over the top.
I've read the series, enjoyed half of it, and am just finishing the last book now. It's a good read, and has its highlights. Of course each book is basically a struggle to survive, and in the end they always pull through. In some ways I hope this last book doesn't follow that and Richard blows the whole world up or something just to be different than the rest of the time.
Anyway back to the series. To put it bluntly, I nearly puked. Yeah some of the story is there, the characters are there, but not even close to the book. I won't get into the details of the story, but what they did was just make it a giant mess. It's as messy as my kids diaper and smells just as bad. They didn't have to rearrange the story line to make it make sense...in fact they rearranged it, and made it even more confusing. Talk about messing with a good thing.
The casting was equally as bad. They chose this Craig Horner guy, to play the part of Richard Cypher(Rahl), who looks like he should be in some teen romance movie. He's introduced to the audience in this sad panty wetter scene of him fixing a bridge with his shirt off. Which BTW doesn't happen in the book. Cough*Blatent grab for female watchers*cough.
Kahlan's character is an 'okay' choice, but I was expecting someone a little different. She looks like she could kick Richards ass in an arm wrestle.
Zedd, yeah maybe I was expecting someone more hunched, less tall and lean. The guy they used is a tard if you ask me.
Darken Rahl, who the fuck is that guy? Not who I would have expected to be this uber powerful wizard who creeps people out. He's in this faux palace which looks to be made from styrofoam and finger paint. Anyway I think even i could kick this guys ass in a fight. They claim he 'moves around palaces, and you don't know what he'll look like'. Uhh...story fail. He's not the type to run away from anyone yet they say that's what he's going to do in the show. What a joke.
Did I expect they would stick to the story 100%? No...that would be silly, no movie has really ever done that. But they made a giant mess out of the story, chose the wrong cast, and added HORRIBLE blue screen scenes. Yucky poo! I won't be watching this anymore. You wrecked my fantasy world Sam Raimi.
9thOct 08
Posted at: 1:40 am · Filed under Uncategorized
I've recently got myself a new toy (at the same time removing a lot of old crap from my area). An MSI Wind 10" 'netbook'. Basically it's a tiny toy laptop...but more at the same time. I used to work on a 15" laptop, so losing 5" is a HUGE deal. All of a sudden you have to make sure your applications will let you work at this small of a resolution, and at the same time you need to be comfortable with the tiny keyboard. It is however quite easy to get used to. Next thing you know, you'll be thinking that you don't need anything more.
i've been editing this site, and preparing to dive into making themes for fun/money. Hopefully it goes well, but in the mean time I've tried to get myself setup with the right applications. I'll be trying GIMP again for editing images...and if i wasn't already bald as a baby I might just lose my hair. I'll post back as to how the new version stacks up against the old. Anyway not much to report...same old same old. BTW, i love Picasa for photo editing on the MSI Wind. So nice!
2ndOct 08
Posted at: 1:46 am · Filed under Uncategorized
I used to maintain a blog about absolutely nothing at the address 'stateofmung.com'. Which eveidently was a failed social group in Calgary, AB. The group went downhill when two members started bumping uglies. But I liked the name and kept it alive. Anyway here I am however many years later and I still wish I was blogging. The problem with blogs is that they take a LOT of effort. Well they do in my case having recently spawned myself a mini-me. Then of course even if I did find some time I'd be scratching my head thinking 'what the balls am I anymore? I used to write about nerdy things I did when i was single...now the most exciting thing in my world is my kid sitting up on his own for the first time. Whoop-t-do! I mean don't get me wrong, it's pretty exciting as a parent to see your spawn do something new...but to share that with the rest of humanity is like telling people you just let go a school of brown trout. They just don't care!
Of course this 'desire to blog' also comes from the fact that a friend just told me that he doesn't seem to be able to communicate to parents. "All they want to do is talk about their kids..." which is totally true. Little Jimmy and Jane pooped a big one, or slept through the night, or threw up on their shirt, or had an ass-plosion and painted the wall across from the change table. Parents just generally blow goats at conversation. Am I any different? nope...I fall into that category of dorky parents as well. It doesn't mean I don't want to reach out and have somewhat of a social life though. Talk about what single people do, watch on their time off, or the discuss the T&A in the latest Maxim Mag (not that my feminist wife would allow such 'filth' into the house).
So here I am still thinking 'what the fuck am I going to blog about'? I guess the shit I do at work (see below), or the latest gadget, or espresso bar I've visited, or photos i've taken, or music I've let my ears jerk off to...it doesn't matter really. The desire to blog shouldn't be to appease anyone else but myself! Damnit if I want to talk about being a dad then i should be allowed to! Or if I want to slam Sarah Palin then let me shout it out. I've even felt like I've let go a bit in writing this blog entry about the desire to blog. Now I just need to find the time...stay tuned!
18thAug 08
Posted at: 2:48 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
I don't recommend this as it wouldn't be SEO compatible, but for bookmarks and printing it would work. Best to do this on the server side. Despite my warning I'll show you how to do it.
$(document).ready(function(){
document.title = document.title +' » '+ $('h2').text();
});
17thJul 08
Posted at: 11:30 am · Filed under jquery
I'd been tasked with the chore of building an interface with round form submit buttons on the site I'm currently building. This is okay cause the standard ones are boring as shit. Who wants just a square button? And no one in their right mind would want to use flat images as that'd be crazy stupid.
Here's the simple script I used to replace all of the Drupal form submit buttons. For those who don't know all submit buttons in Drupal have a class of .form-submit (by default), so running through the page and replacing buttons is relatively easy.
$('input.form-submit').each(function() {
$(this).wrap('
');
var fstext = $(this).val();
var fsid = $(this).attr("id");
$(this).parent('.actions').append(''+fstext+'');
$(this).hide();
});
$('a.form-submit').click(function() {
var fsref = $(this).attr("ref");
$('input#'+fsref).trigger('click');
});
4thApr 08
Posted at: 2:05 pm · Filed under jquery
In playing with the accordion module today, i found it clunky and messed with other modules I had going on. So i just built this simple scrap of code to accomplish what I needed. I hope someone out there sees a use for it, and feels like adding to it. Unfortunately I hadn't added any cookie storing, so each new page a person visits, and the menu will go back to the way it was. Second version I'll get something like that in place.
Basically I wanted to have expanding sections for my 'help' page. I'd rather not have too much extraneous junk on the page, and although there might be one too many DIV's here, it's pretty straightforward. Here we go...
JS
$(document).ready(function(){
if($('div.expandsection').size() > 0) {
$('ul').each(function() {
$(this).hide();
});
$('div.expandsection h4 a').click(function() {
$('div.expandsection ul:visible').each(function() {
$(this).slideUp();
});
$(this).parents().children('ul').slideToggle();
return false;
});
}
});
HTML
<p class="expandsection">
<h4>Title 1</h4>
<ul>
<li>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Etiam posuere mauris in justo.</li>
<li>Vestibulum sed tortor eget orci accumsan pharetra. Phasellus a est nec libero blandit congue.</li>
<li>Nunc tellus lorem, euismod dictum, sagittis et, hendrerit ut, felis.</li>
</ul>
CSS
Pretty basic CSS, you could style this anyway you want
h4 {
margin:1em 0 0 0;
padding:1em 0 0 0;
border-top:1px solid #ccc;
}
h4 a {
padding:0 0 0 1em;
margin:0 0 0.25em 0;
background: transparent url(images/arrow/right-gray.png) left center no-repeat;
}
Next entries »
