Quickbooks knows homicide.

Don’t you love Google Voice’s attempt at translation?

Food Rules and dining out: Yamagata-style

So I like going out to lunch (a lot), but that doesn’t exactly fit into the “Food Rules” I’m trying to follow.  The smart thing (especially with the people I go to lunch with) might be to find some new friends, and eat at home or at the office, but why make sacrifices?  So as I progress, I’m going to try to give some ideas on what you could eat.

Today we decided to go to Yamagata (or Yummygata depending on who you talk to.)  Unfortunately, until modern nutritional science approves large quantities of butter and margarine, hibachi isn’t exactly the most health conscious decision one can make.  In these kind of situations, as in, the food is unhealthy across the menu, you really have two choices.  1) Don’t eat (which I’m not a huge fan of) or 2) Minimize the damage.  In the case of Yamagata, it’s really not terribly hard to do.

The Meal

First, I chose the healthiest protein I could find on the menu.  In the case of Yamagata, this is most likely their shrimp.  Although it’s still cooked in saturated fats on the grill, you can at least keep the calories and fat content to a fraction of the beef dishes.  As in most hibachi restaurants, you have a variety of choices of what goes ON your protein.  Here you’d want to steer away from the sweet sauces, such as Teriyaki, and towards whatever is cooked in a simple soy sauce.

Second, although it pains my soul to do so, you have to do away with the fried rice.  A typical serving of fried rice at a hibachi restaurant can wield a whopping 220 calories, five grams of fat, and half of your daily suggested intake of cholesterol per 1/2 cup.  If you eat 2 cups of fried rice (and you’re typically served more) that’s an awe-inspiring 880 calories, 20 grams of fat, and 2 days worth of cholesterol.  That’s more than a regular sized cheeseburger at Five Guys!  Rather than subject your body to that, opt instead for regular steamed rice.  Although plain white rice contains virtually no meaningful nutritional value, it’s calorie and fat content (~450 and < 1g, respectively) are a far cry from the amount you get with the fried version.

The only real point I struggled with was the sauteed veggies.  Even though they’re vegetables, they’re still being cooked (or as Pollan would probably say, destroyed) in large quantities of saturated fats.  There’s really no better option, so you kind of have to grin and bear this portion of the meal.  It just gives you a good reason to workout in the evening, right?

Lastly, most of these places serve both a cup of onion soup and a small side salad.  Although you might be tempted to go with the salad, remember, unless it’s a vinaigrette, most salad dressings are loaded with sugars.  Compare that with a single serving of onion soup which can yield a mere 25 calories.  Go with two servings of soup, and minimize the calories you’re getting from the saturated fats using in cooking your meal.

The Result

If I have fairly accurate nutritional values for everything I ate at lunch today, it comes out to 1,014 calories and about 18g of fat.  Not the perfect meal, but certainly doable if you eat a reasonable dinner (and workout).

Food Rules

A couple of weeks ago I decided to pick up a copy of Michael Pollan’s book, “Food Rules” at Barnes & Noble.  I don’t know what really drew me to the book, other than the simplicity of what a glanced over in the store.  I was searching for some new health inspiration.

A little backstory for those that don’t know … I lost75 lbs. between Oct. ’08 and May ’09, and while I’ve kept most of that weight off.  I would say I’ve probably gained about 10-15 lbs. since I stopped really watching what I ate.  Previously, I used the iPhone app “Lose It!” to keep track of the calories I was eating each day, and kept to the plan the app laid out.  Call it boredom, or laziness, or disinterest, but I got away from the process that got me to where I was.  Enter my search at Barnes & Noble.

Pollan’s inspiration for “Food Rules” is his two previous books, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food.”  His “rules” (63 in total) aren’t too strange or outlandish, in fact, most of them are downright commonsense.  Pollan is frequently is quoted by an over-arching seven word phrase, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”  How much easier could that get?  Now I should make a brief note, nowhere in his any of his books does Pollan mention his plan as one that will help one specifically lose weight, but going by his principles, it’d be very hard to not be healthy.

So I’ve decided, in order to shed my final 45 lbs., to follow Pollan’s rules with a little bit of calorie counting thrown in.  I plan on blogging a couple of times a week with how things are going and tips to follow Pollan’s rules.  I hope to find out if the approach he writes about is really sustainable.  If you’re interested, I highly recommend you purchase either “Food Rules” or “In Defense of Food.”  Until tomorrow, happy eating!

According to history, Democrats are getting off pretty easy

My my, we’ve become pretty thin skinned over the past 200 years … just a little history lesson of vigilante violence during the beginning of the American Revolution.

Via Wikipedia

“John Malcolm (died 1788) was a sea captain, army officer, and British customs official who was the victim of the most publicized tarring and feathering incident during the American Revolution.

A Bostonian, Captain Malcolm was a staunch supporter of royal authority. During the War of the Regulation, he traveled to the province of North Carolina to help put down the uprising. While working for the customs service, he pursued his duties with a zeal that made him unpopular. In November 1773, sailors in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, tarred and feathered him. Malcolm got off relatively easy in this attack, since the tar and feathers were applied while he was still fully clothed.

As a hard-line Loyalist, Malcolm often faced abuse and provocation from Boston’s Patriots, the critics of British authority. People often “hooted” at him in the streets, but Governor Thomas Hutchinson urged him not to respond.

A confrontation with Patriot shoemaker George Hewes thrust Malcolm into the spotlight. On January 25, 1774, according to the account in the Massachusetts Gazette, Hewes saw Malcolm threatening to strike a boy with his cane. When Hewes intervened to stop Malcolm, the two men began arguing, with Malcolm insisting that Hewes should not interfere in the business of a gentleman. When Hewes replied that at least he (Hewes) had never been tarred and feathered, Malcolm struck Hewes hard on the forehead with the cane, knocking him unconscious.

That night, a crowd seized Malcolm in his house and dragged him into King Street in order to punish him for the attack on Hewes and the boy. Some Patriot leaders, believing that mob violence hurt their cause, tried to dissuade the crowd, arguing that Malcolm should be turned over to the justice system. Hewes, who had recovered, also protested against the attack on Malcolm. The crowd refused to relent, however, citing (among other arguments) the fact that Ebenezer Richardson, a customs official who had killed Boston teenager Christopher Seider, had escaped punishment by receiving a royal pardon. Malcolm was stripped to the waist and covered with tar and feathers. The crowd then took him to the Liberty Tree and told him to apologize for his behavior and renounce his customs commission. When Malcolm refused, the crowd put a rope around his neck and threatened to hang him. This did not break him, but when they threatened to cut off his ears, Malcolm relented and was sent home. The event was reported in newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic.

After these events, Malcolm moved to England, where he unsuccessfully ran for Parliament against John Wilkes, the controversial champion of colonial rights.”

But seriously, why did no one tell me about all the blondes in Canada?

Tired, tired, tired. That sums up my day. I’ve walked across most of the eastern part of downtown Vancouver going to all of the “pavilions” each country brings to the Olympics. By far the best one I went to was the Sochi 2014 House put together by Russia. They gave a great overview of what the 2014 Winter Games will be like in the resort city of Sochi.

I’ll try to post a more detailed update tonight.

Someone should’ve told me how many blondes there were in Canada

I stepped off of the train from Seattle yesterday into an absolutely mad house. I didn’t figure it would be anything less here in Vancouver, but the crowds and the energy I’ve observed in Vancouver far exceed what I thought they would be. The closest comparison I can think of would be the Final Four. Except, whereas the Final Four has four teams competing with a total of 60 athletes, the Olympics have 82 nations and thousands of athletes.

Walking around downtown Vancouver, you hear random (and very frequent) outbursts of “Oh, Canada,” and the subsequent chant of “U-S-A.” So far, I’ve met people from England, Poland, Russia, Findland, Sweden, Cuba, Latvia, Kazakhstan (they’re NOT Borat fans, btw), and obviously, Canada. Across the board everyone has been tremendously friendly and personable. I think Canadians (at least here in B.C.) are very similar to west Texans in terms of their hospitality. Alright, well, I am off to see some more of downtown, and maybe try to catch some of the pavilions at Yaletown. More posts to come soon!

P.s. Someone should’ve told me how many blondes there were in Canada. Seriously.

P.s.s. People can’t get enough of the word “y’all.” I’m still trying to figure that one out.

Funniest TV Ad I’ve Seen In Awhile

Top 10 Songs of 2009

 ”Hellhole Retrace” – Girls

1.  ”1901″ – Phoenix

2.  ”Stillness Is The Move” – Dirty Projectors

3.  ”Two Weeks” – Grizzly Bear

4.  ”Little Secrets” – Passion Pit

5.  ”My Girls” – Animal Collective

6.  ”My Life Would Suck Without You” – Kelly Clarkson

7.  ”The Rake’s Song” – The Decemberists

8.  ”Hellhole Retrace” – Girls

9.  ”my love” – jj

10. “Islands” – The xx

Grammy Nominations Predictions

Tomorrow night the nominations for the 2010 Grammy awards will be announced.  The Grammy awards are notoriously tricky to pick, especially the nominees.  I’m going to give it my best shot, though …

Album of the Year

Taylor Swift, Fearless

Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown

Maxwell, BLACKsummers’night

Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreaks

Lady Gaga, The Fame

- Who should be nominated?

Allen Toussaint, The Bright Mississippi

Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King

Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It’s Blitz

Record of the Year

Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Lady Gaga, Poker Face

Taylor Swift, You Belong With Me

Kings of Leon, Use Somebody

Green Day, 21 Guns

Song of the Year

Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Lady Gaga, Poker Face

Maxwell, Pretty Wings

Kanye West, Heartless

U2, If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight

Good Job, Microsoft

So apparently, Microsoft CAN make a great operating system.

Although I’ve been using the Windows 7 Release Candidate for a couple of months now, I’ve found myself using Microsoft’s latest OS more and more over the last couple of days.  First, because of some last minute testing before it was deployed to the two Windows users in the office.  Second, because I needed to check the ODBC functionality for our on-going FileMaker/MySQL project in the office.

What’s really surprised me so far, is my willingness to use Windows 7 vs.. Apple’s Snow Leopard.  Given, some of the desire is simply a result of Windows 7 being the “new” thing.  But, so far, I’ve really found Windows 7 to be the equal to Snow Leopard.

I really hope Microsoft is able to counter some of the attacks it’s gotten (mostly from the Apple community, I would say). Some of the things they’ve mentioned so far:

• The “transition” from XP to 7 isn’t nearly as awful as some people (and the “Get A Mac” Ads) are trying to make it.  The app provided by Microsoft, Easy Transfer, really does a great job of taking the user step-by-step through the transition process.  All you really need is an external hard drive and the ability to read directions.  Given, it took a little while (~ 45 min.), but that was nearly 20 GB of files each way.  Moreover, everything was exactly where it needed to be.  Documents were in the documents folder, media carried over correctly, bookmarks were saved in Internet Explorer, even generic folders on the hard drive were carried over correctly.  Sure applications don’t transfer, but guess what?  They’re not going to do that in the transition to a Mac either, and in fact, some programs might not even exist in Snow Leopard.
• Speaking of application transitions, Windows 7 does a great job of using “XP Compatibility Mode” for those legacy applications people might have.  I sure would’ve liked something similar for the programs that simply refused to work after my Snow Leopard upgrade.
• One other thing that occurred to me while using Windows 7 was Apple’s selling point of Snow Leopard having Exchange support out of the box.  Well, that’s fantastic, and the implementation Apple’s Mail and iCal is fairly seamless.  However, just like Entourage, the Mail/iCal combo still isn’t Outlook.  Nothing ever well be, even Microsoft’s upcoming Outlook for Mac.  Why would Microsoft worry about building in Exchange support for Windows Mail (or similar software solution)?  Besides, from all accounts, Exchange Server 2010 looks to offer full Outlook Web Access across all major web browsers. And seriously, I’d like to know who’s using Exchange e-mail and doesn’t have access to a copy of Outlook?  Even the poorest of college students are probably offered a free copy on their campus.  The lack of intelligence and diligence to take advantage of the available technology isn’t Microsoft’s fault.

Now I should mention I don’t plan on completely switching from Snow Leopard anytime soon, the applications I use the most (Coda, Transmit, Sequel Pro, TextEdit) don’t have a good equal in Windows. But that goes both ways. I plan on doing all blogging exclusively under Windows thanks to Windows Live Writer (the best blogging software I’ve ever used). More software like that, and the excellent Windows 7 should put a little more pressure on Apple’s development teams. Now if Microsoft could just make a decent cell phone …