Sunday, February 08, 2004
It could just be the fish...
but I always feel like a bum on Sundays. I don't mean that I actually feel like a homeless person, but that I feel like I just plain don't have anything to do. Other than maybe sweep the apartment, everything I usually have to do on the weekend gets done on Saturdays. Y'know, stuff like errands, shopping, cleaning... stuff. Sundays, on the other hand, I don't have anything important to do. Were I still in school, I would probably be madly finishing assignments and projects and things, but I'm not, so thankfully I'm spared that particular torture. At least when you're in school you tend not to ever go for any significant lengths of time without being truly bored.
Note that when I say "bored", I don't mean "saying I'm bored but really I have stuff to do that I just don't feel like doing at the moment'. That's procrastination, and is a completely different ballgame. It is entirely possible to be bored-meaning-procratinating for entire days at a time. From the Procrastinator's Creed:
That last one is also recursive, so in order to start a term paper, one must first take out the trash, and prior to that, trim one's toenails. I'm not sure what needs to happen before you start counting stucco-spikes on the ceiling however.
The 24 Hour Comic
So in case you read PVP, Scott Kurtz has decided to attempt the greatest challenge yet devised for those in the comic book artistry profession: The 24 Hour Comic. This is a fiendish little exercise devised by Scott McCloud in an effort to see just how much creativity and endurance a comic artist has. The goal is simple: Draw a 24 page comic in 24 hours. Sounds easy, but I can only imagine the kind of difficulties one can face. Going from nothing, to outlining a comic plot, laying everything out, drawing it, possibly inking it... and 24 pages is quite a lot. I envy the people who have managed to finish it, with or without the rules addendums that may or may not be added (Neil Gaiman proposed the difference that if not finished in 24 hours, instead of going over to finish, end it right there). If I were more inclined, and could actually write/draw a comic worth any amount of salt, I'd probably try to make one of these myself.
Thinking of clever way of saying "links" gets tiresome
Return to Sender. Another webcomic, this time about a guy named Often (yes, that's really his name) and his (rather looney) friend Collette, and the mysterious mail slot that is found in Often's apartment. The artist was going fine for a while, producing 2 chapters, but has since headed back to school, so updates are much slower now. Still, it's good to hear she's still working at it when she can, since the story is really quite good so far.
Ahh, the wonderful things one can do with Java. Not even the areas of zombie infestation simulation are off-limits to this versatile language. Quite fun to watch the little people run as they realize they cannot fight back against the zombie horde! Muahahahahah!
This is quite possibly the coolest camera gizmo I have ever seen. I so totally want one. If it weren't that I keep spending my money on stupid things like beer, movies and skates. At any rate, you can basically get this thing to have your camera work in crazy time-frames and at cool times. From setting sensors to take wildlife pictures to doing time-lapse to making funky distorted surreal cat skulls, this does it all.
Oh look! An eagle!
I have come to the conclusion that the person who made Shake-N-Bake should rightfully have millions of dollars and a really big house somewhere warm. This stuff makes the best chicken and fish, with very minimal effort. To further illustrate, I have another recipe! (Not the aforementioned eagle...)
What you need:
-Some Shake-N-Bake. One box should do, as it will bread about 4 fillets/chicken pieces. I like the extra crispy original.
-Something to put the Shake-N-Bake on. Usually chicken, but fish works really well too. Best bet, that I think at least, is to get either boneless chicken breasts or salmon fillets.
-Rice. I use Basmati, but Uncle Ben's does just as well. 1/2 cup is good for 2 people.
-Water. From the tap. If you use the 1/2 cup of rice, you need 1 cup of water.
-Vegetables. Doesn't really matter what kind as long as you have about a handful for each person, but the back of the SNB box has some recommendations.
What you do:
1. Shake the fish/chicken in the Shake-N-Bake so that they're breaded. Put them on a pizza pan or baking sheet.
2. Put the vegetables on the pan with the meat, and maybe toss some kind of sauce on them. Again, SNB box has recommendations. Place pan in a pre-heated 400 degree F oven. Wait for 20-30 minutes.
3. While that's going, bring water to a boil and put the rice in. Once the rice is in, reduce heat to low, put the lid on the pot and don't touch it in the slightest for 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, remove rice from heat (still not touching the lid) and let it sit for 10.
5. By that time, everything should finish up at once and you can eat it all. Tartar sauce is good to have handy if you're having fish, and if it's chicken, for the last 5 minutes of baking, toss some tomato sauce and grated mozza on them.
All this is basically just a paraphrasing of the back of the Shake-N-Bake box, only I think I explain it better. Otherwise, the only caveats I have is that if you don't put anything on the vegetables, like I did, they can dry out when in the oven, so I'm probably going to not do that again. Anyways, as usual, dishes! ¶ 5:07 p.m.
but I always feel like a bum on Sundays. I don't mean that I actually feel like a homeless person, but that I feel like I just plain don't have anything to do. Other than maybe sweep the apartment, everything I usually have to do on the weekend gets done on Saturdays. Y'know, stuff like errands, shopping, cleaning... stuff. Sundays, on the other hand, I don't have anything important to do. Were I still in school, I would probably be madly finishing assignments and projects and things, but I'm not, so thankfully I'm spared that particular torture. At least when you're in school you tend not to ever go for any significant lengths of time without being truly bored.
Note that when I say "bored", I don't mean "saying I'm bored but really I have stuff to do that I just don't feel like doing at the moment'. That's procrastination, and is a completely different ballgame. It is entirely possible to be bored-meaning-procratinating for entire days at a time. From the Procrastinator's Creed:
3. I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.
10. I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.
11. I obey the law of inverse excuses which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.
That last one is also recursive, so in order to start a term paper, one must first take out the trash, and prior to that, trim one's toenails. I'm not sure what needs to happen before you start counting stucco-spikes on the ceiling however.
The 24 Hour Comic
So in case you read PVP, Scott Kurtz has decided to attempt the greatest challenge yet devised for those in the comic book artistry profession: The 24 Hour Comic. This is a fiendish little exercise devised by Scott McCloud in an effort to see just how much creativity and endurance a comic artist has. The goal is simple: Draw a 24 page comic in 24 hours. Sounds easy, but I can only imagine the kind of difficulties one can face. Going from nothing, to outlining a comic plot, laying everything out, drawing it, possibly inking it... and 24 pages is quite a lot. I envy the people who have managed to finish it, with or without the rules addendums that may or may not be added (Neil Gaiman proposed the difference that if not finished in 24 hours, instead of going over to finish, end it right there). If I were more inclined, and could actually write/draw a comic worth any amount of salt, I'd probably try to make one of these myself.
Thinking of clever way of saying "links" gets tiresome
Return to Sender. Another webcomic, this time about a guy named Often (yes, that's really his name) and his (rather looney) friend Collette, and the mysterious mail slot that is found in Often's apartment. The artist was going fine for a while, producing 2 chapters, but has since headed back to school, so updates are much slower now. Still, it's good to hear she's still working at it when she can, since the story is really quite good so far.
Ahh, the wonderful things one can do with Java. Not even the areas of zombie infestation simulation are off-limits to this versatile language. Quite fun to watch the little people run as they realize they cannot fight back against the zombie horde! Muahahahahah!
This is quite possibly the coolest camera gizmo I have ever seen. I so totally want one. If it weren't that I keep spending my money on stupid things like beer, movies and skates. At any rate, you can basically get this thing to have your camera work in crazy time-frames and at cool times. From setting sensors to take wildlife pictures to doing time-lapse to making funky distorted surreal cat skulls, this does it all.
Oh look! An eagle!
I have come to the conclusion that the person who made Shake-N-Bake should rightfully have millions of dollars and a really big house somewhere warm. This stuff makes the best chicken and fish, with very minimal effort. To further illustrate, I have another recipe! (Not the aforementioned eagle...)
What you need:
-Some Shake-N-Bake. One box should do, as it will bread about 4 fillets/chicken pieces. I like the extra crispy original.
-Something to put the Shake-N-Bake on. Usually chicken, but fish works really well too. Best bet, that I think at least, is to get either boneless chicken breasts or salmon fillets.
-Rice. I use Basmati, but Uncle Ben's does just as well. 1/2 cup is good for 2 people.
-Water. From the tap. If you use the 1/2 cup of rice, you need 1 cup of water.
-Vegetables. Doesn't really matter what kind as long as you have about a handful for each person, but the back of the SNB box has some recommendations.
What you do:
1. Shake the fish/chicken in the Shake-N-Bake so that they're breaded. Put them on a pizza pan or baking sheet.
2. Put the vegetables on the pan with the meat, and maybe toss some kind of sauce on them. Again, SNB box has recommendations. Place pan in a pre-heated 400 degree F oven. Wait for 20-30 minutes.
3. While that's going, bring water to a boil and put the rice in. Once the rice is in, reduce heat to low, put the lid on the pot and don't touch it in the slightest for 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, remove rice from heat (still not touching the lid) and let it sit for 10.
5. By that time, everything should finish up at once and you can eat it all. Tartar sauce is good to have handy if you're having fish, and if it's chicken, for the last 5 minutes of baking, toss some tomato sauce and grated mozza on them.
All this is basically just a paraphrasing of the back of the Shake-N-Bake box, only I think I explain it better. Otherwise, the only caveats I have is that if you don't put anything on the vegetables, like I did, they can dry out when in the oven, so I'm probably going to not do that again. Anyways, as usual, dishes! ¶ 5:07 p.m.
