The End?

Well, here I’ve sat at post 201 for the past 6 months… and as you probably noticed I’m not really that engaged in this project anymore – OH SO IT SEEMS.

The Wrath of Nino on Facebook!

In all honesty, I’ve actually been posting almost daily over on my Facebook page – I find the interface to be, well, “stupid-proof” and effortless to use.   I basically link to things that interest me, comment on these things, and then respond to other’s comments on these topics… JUST LIKE I USE TO HERE.  Also, I’m done being frustrated with WordPress, it’s slow, unwieldy, hard to use, and doesn’t support script, (even after author’s here have begged for it for years), so it’s time for a change.

The Wrath of Nino on Facebook!

So yah, I’m officially ending The Wrath of El Nino as a working blog – but officially inviting you to my Wrath of Nino Facebook page

I’ll leave this page up to provide the link.  Thanks to all who have read my blog in the past, and hope you join me on Facebook, (no FB account required)

The Wrath of Nino on Facebook!

Excellent Salad @ Home

I haven’t written much in the way of nutrition lately, mostly because I fell off the wagon and gained some weight back over the past 6 months, (nothing major, but enough to be ashamed!)  My mom is currently eating an “all-natural diet”, not because she has to lose weight, but for personal reasons.  Having been eating nothing but boxed mac and cheese and frozen pizzas for the past 6 months, I decided it was time to start eating right again and have been toying with an “all-natural” diet.

It’s pretty darn straight forward:  as my Mom puts it, “if CAVEMEN could have conceivably found/killed it and ate it, you can too”… now yes, I realize that cavemen were more hunter/gatherers without the convenience of an agrarian society, but YOU KNOW WHAT SHE MEANT!  (smartass).  In other words, if you look at the ingredients in food, 2 “tip-offs” of whether you can eat something or not on an “all-natural” diet would be:

1. It has more than a few, (maybe 3-4 ingredients, tops),    -and/or-
2. Ingredients have names you can either not pronounce or sound like either an alien species or a poison an alien species would inject into you.

I'm looking at you, Mr. Sodium Tripolyphosphate!

This does, however, hinder quite a few of my previous no-brainer food choices, and while much healthier, there are a few downsides too, namely the cost and the time in prep.

Just to get me started, my mom helped me come up with a 4 meal prep.  “Bacon Chicken salad w/Olive Oil Lemon Dressing and Almond garnish” – with a little prep and not much cash, you can create several meals to be had over the course of a week!

The Salad

Pretty straight-forward here, you will see it is all “all-natural”

Romaine Lettuce – easier to digest than Iceberg for alot of people, including myself.
98% Lean Turkey Bacon – this is a BIT of a cheat, because there are a few things in here that are not “all-natural”, but if you want to get REALLY fancy and pricey, all natural, organic versions are out there.
Roma Tomatoes - because they aren’t as juicy, keep longer and don’t “soggy up” your salad.
Carrots, Celery, Green Peppers – pretty standard salad fare here.
Boneless Chicken Breast – boneless for easier prep, cook enough to cube up for about 4 big salads, we’re going big time here, make the prep. time worth the meal count.

Prep. involves pretty much just cooking and dicing up alot of this stuff.  Special notes on the chicken and bacon, which you want to cut up BEFORE cooking for easier prep.  Chicken into 1in cubes, bacon is pretty easy, just line them up and cut down the length of the bacon pile in 1/4 inch strips.

The Dressing

No, don’t get me wrong, I realize that Lemon juice and Olive oil doesn’t sound very appetizing together, but when you get it all mixed up, it is surprisingly tasty, cheap, and makes a TON!

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1 minced garlic (maybe 1/2 teaspoon? more if you like garlic!)

1 cup olive oil (I used Canola but olive oil should work too)

Honey  ( I squeezed for 4 seconds…however much that is!! more or less to taste) I found that if you warm up honey in microwave first…it makes it more liquidy and thin…seems to mix better in the dressing

1 teaspoon oregano

Put all in your new shaker bottle and shake to mix. MAKE SURE LID IS SECURED FIRST!!:)

<Courtesy of my mom, who emailed me the recipe after talking about it but not remember the exact portions of each ingredient>

It’s very light, a little fruity, and has almost no bite at all except from the slight acidity of the lemon and the oregano, very tasty!

The Garnish

Finally, the (in my humble opinion) best part, the almonds!  Basically you want to get raw, uncooked almonds, either from your baking section or snack section of your food store… you do NOT want cooked or flavored almonds, which have a tendency to be “preserved”  – A CURSE WORD!  You take the raw almonds, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and bake those suckers for 10-15min at 350′, or until you can easily smell the decliciousy (my word) nut smell.   This give your almonds that baked, cruncy taste the meshes well with the softer, milder fixin’s of the salad proper.   In one word: amazing.

Just thought I’d share   I’d like to start posting more health related posts on my blog – I am getting full-tilt back into nutrition and fitness starting June 15th… why June 15th?  Well, for one I get paid that day and can get started back at the gym, but also because I find that when I backslide on my health, it is always good to give yourself a deadline to get back on track, otherwise you can spend months in false-starts trying to get going again

Works for me anyways

Real Friends – A How-To on “Unfriending” on Facebook

I have found myself using Facebook less and less over the past year or so… I found myself assaulted by game announcements, pictures of kids I have never and would never see in real-life, drama and angst from people I hadn’t seen in years and, in all honesty, would probably never see again.  It was overload and I didn’t need it.  Where I work, I deal with being constantly bombarded with crap like this so I really didn’t need to come home and hear it on Facebook.

Lately, I have been wanting to integrate my internet footprint onto Facebook, sharing things of interest from my blog, my RSS feeder, my Youtube account, etc., and thought Facebook would be a great outlet as a part of that, however I just couldn’t stomach the inane ramblings of so called “friends”…. so I did it.

God YES! REMOVE REMOVE!!

I unfriended.

In the ego-driven world of Facebook, I hit the “unfriend” and forever silenced people that, while I cared about each of their individual well-beings as people, could care less about their daily dealings.  I call it “ego-driven” because that’s exactly what Facebook becomes.  –>  If someone invites you to be their friend, you begin collecting them on Facebook like they are trophies, “AMG I HAZ 3000 friends on FACEBOOK, I IZ HAWT!”  No, you aren’t.  You just don’t care who you are friends with and are opening yourself up to getting daily updates on how someone’s little Timmy’s is doing on their potty training… you know… little Timmy, son of that person you USE to know in high school and barely ever talked to and who never actually talks to YOU anymore.  But all-be-damned little Timmy ALMOST had a bowl movement in his little trainie-potty yesterday, and by golly you’ll know about it!

I got another Facebook friend! QOOT!

So, like a proud and majestic Native American warrior, I resolved to discarded my trophy “scalps” and sorted out only people who I could actually LABEL a REAL LIFE friend or family member.

I went from just under 200 friends down to 87.   That’s right folks, I committed to telling over a 100 people I no longer required hearing about their lives on a spastically  daily basis and ended our Facebook relationship.

Now, I know what some might be saying who read that… “but Rich, why didn’t you just hide their newsfeed updates… it’s an option and you just click —” NO!!!    You are missing my point here… if they aren’t friends, why are they listed as a friend on Facebook?  Why should I have to go through and IGNORE a “friend”… ??

I’m finding my time on Facebook to be much more relaxing and productive!  No longer do I get page after page of mindless drool, but rather updates from people I actually care to HEAR about!  Can you even imagine Facebook doing that?!  I didn’t either, but it does now!!   Here are a few tips I kept in mind as I went through this process – follow them, and Facebook can help you keep in touch with people you care about too!

When going through your long list of friends that you worked hard to accumulate since starting Facebook, your main question is, “why is this person my friend?”

Did you use to go to school with this person, and haven’t seen them since?
Is this person just a casual acquaintance… you knew this person in passing but have never actually hung out?
Is this person an extended family member, (ie. distant cousins), you never see anymore and never messages you?
Is this person a spouse of a friend?
Is this person a children of friend?
Is this person a friend because you are “suppose” to be,  (see spouse of friend, part of a club or church, etc.)?
Is this person an Internet contact you no longer have contact with, (ie. a network through a blog or other)?

Unfriending is a hard but neccesary process...

Is this person a family member of in-laws/relation through marriage… or for that matter a family member you don’t care to hear from?
Is this a person whom you use to work with, but either you or they have moved on?

You might be surprised, going through a list of people, how many people you have “friended” but don’t much act like an actual FRIEND towards…   if they aren’t your friend, why have you friended them on Facebook?  Think about it… what is your motivation for having this persons life lay bare to you… do you really care?

I don’t know… call me heartless and uncaring, but I’m glad I did it.  In the grand scheme of things, Facebook is an online tool, so why shouldn’t I use it as such, instead of some kind of social hangout where I have to DO something because it is expected or socially correct.  Oh, and as far as the feedback from “unfriending” 100 people; first, they don’t even GET a notification that you aren’t their friend anymore, you just DISAPPEAR into the shadows… and secondly, even if they DO notice, they probably don’t give a damn since they haven’t really been “friends” with you before…  so there is very little in the way of blowback on doing this, but I’ll say it anyways…

If you ARE a friend who actually cares enough to read this blog and are not just an ex-reciprocal trophy Facebook friend, I may have unfriended you in error!  Please contact me and I’ll re-add you, since obviously it was a mistake removing you if you take that kind of effort to reconnect… otherwise, have a great life and I’m sorry to say I will probably not miss hearing about little Timmy.

Other  articles on “unfriending” on Facebook I found interesting:

Oxford University Press/OUPblog.com  – 8 Reasons to Unfriend Someone on Facebook
All Facebook.com – The 12 Step Recovery Guide For Being Unfriended on Facebook

4-Chord Song

Found this on my RSS feeder today, thought I would share it

Does anyone know why these 4 chords seem so prevalent?

I am, by no STRETCH of the imagination, musically talented or informed… but I looked them up and the Internets seems to indicate that it isn’t NECESSARILY the same 4 chords, but rather the same progression in a given key, (yah, i totally sound like I know what I”m talking about there… yup, sure do).  The chords are 1, 5, 6, 4 in whatever key you want. (e.g. E B C#m A if you’re in the key of E).

Interesting how cultural consciousness works that way LOL.

To Mr. C.E. Cheese: Seriously, Get Control of Your Patrons!

Apparently, the violence continues to pour forth from the darkest depths of the human psyche… at your neighborhood Chuck E. Cheeses?!

No, I'm not sure what he's holding... I'm assuming it's a big o' can of whoop ass?!

I posted about this phenomenon over a year ago …Blood in the Pizza [link] ,  and am just as confused and taken aback as I was then.

CRIME REPORT:  Fight leads to panic, arrests at Chuck E. Cheese -  The Commercial Appeal, Memphis TN – 02/14/2010

What POSSESSES people to act this way in the presence of their OWN CHILDREN.  I mean, I would expect maybe the CHILDREN to act like this, not the parents.  (“Where a KID can be a kid”, not where a PARENT can be a kid!)

I wish I could pass this off as some additive in the pizza, but I think it is more a comment on where our society is heading… when you are willing to punch out the parent next to you for a few extra tokens for the Toss and Win, you know something is horribly wrong at a very deep level.

Homestruck

Ok, I may have posted QUITE awhile ago about a web comic I had been following for some time now, (How I Stay Sane: Part II – April 16th, 2009), called MS Paint Adventure (i.e Problem Sleuth).

Well, that adventure has finally completed, but a NEW adventure now awaits, called Homestruck.

It’s pretty hard to describe what this running webtoon is really about… but let’s just say it kicks butt HARD.

I couldn’t find a playable link yet for the most up-to-date video, but here is the link that gives a pretty good overview of what has happened so far.  Check it out!

http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/140110/20525_endact3.php

Bored at Work?

Sitting in a training today… bored outta my mind.  Started thinking about things you can do to alleviate the mind-numbing boredom that seems unavoidable in life.  Started doing a websearch to see what other people could suggest for me to do to.

First list:  The stealth

A few requirements for this list:

1.  The activity should not be disruptive
2.  The activity should be something that is easily and quickly hidden in case the person in charge of the meeting/training starts catching on.

1. Make up stories about other people in your head.
2. Make up a song about the subject matter and sing it over and over in your head.
3. See how long you can hold your breath.
4. Try to develop psychic powers, then use ‘em.
5. Begin developing your own language
6. Plot revenge against someone.
7. Continuously yawn until everyone is yawning
8. Pick a word and count how many times the instructor/leader uses it.
9. Say a word silently to yourself (e.g. broccoli) so many times that it loses meaning. Then try to remember what it meant in the first place.  See [Link] Semantic Satiation.
10. Practice your speed typing without your keyboard on the desk.

Second List:  The More Overt

This list basically takes into consideration the idea that you could care less what other people think of you and/or you don’t care about being fired/getting in trouble.

1. Think of new pick lines. See if they work.
2. Chew on your arm until someone notices.
3. Start laughing really hard and say, “Oh, now I get it”.
4. Play rock-paper-scissors with yourself. Accuse your left hand of cheating.
5. Plug your ears and try to see if you can lip-read what the trainer/meeting leader is saying.
6. Stare at someone until they turn around. Then keep staring and give them a maniacal smile. Be sure your eyes are open real wide to enhance the effect.
7. Raise your hand for every question, but when your trainer calls on you, say,  “oh i forgot”
8. Get into a fight with yourself
9. Write a very suggestive love letter and leave it on the desk when you leave the room.
10.  Wink at random people

       Sources:
http://www.taylor.lib.oh.us/teen/chbored.html
http://quazen.com/kids-and-teens/school-time/100-things-to-do-when-bored-in-class/
http://www.thetartan.org/2005/10/17/pillbox/classdistractions