Flats

Today I remembered why I named this blog Running in Flats.  I had started to wear heals to work.  I was basically used to some foot fatigue, but Ihad to walk as fast as possible and get a lot of stuff done, all day long.  From about 5:45am to whenever, I basically jog.  My thighs ache, my calves ache, the bottoms of my feet and toes are sore, my shins burn.  So, I am going to allow myself an extravagant purchase.  The time has come for Nike Shox, for the end of the quarter rush to get everything done.  These shoes spring me into the day.  I got all black, so they're discreet.  Good shoes can make the difference between a bad day and a good day; although sometime you have those crazy-haired days no matter what shoes you wear. 

Sunchokes

On a whim, I bought sunchokes; something I have never tried before.  I have been hearing good things about them lately, nutritionally speaking.  Turns out they are ugly and small.  I haven't determined yet if they need to be peeled, but I hope not, they are small and oddly shaped; they look really hard to peel.  In cooking, I have found success by following recipes as closely as possible the first time I prepare them.  But, I have been getting better at intuitive cooking.  So, today I am wimging it with sunchokes.  The name and appearance of these roots should turn anyone away.  But I'm trying to be more adventurous.  I am going to prepare a recipe like the one listed on this link, herb sunchoke au gratin.  I have all of the ingredients, except that I am going to use rutabaga instead of potatoes.  Any my thyme keeps dying, or getting eaten by bugs, so I only have oregano and rosemary, maybe cilantro.  We'll see how it turns out.

**UPDATE:  They do not need to be peeled, but they should be cooked thoroughly.  This version turned out hard and dry. It was not good and most of it got tossed out...next time I will parboil them before I do anything.

Greens and Rice

I became a vegetarian at the New Year.  I try not to call it a New Year's Resolution, because those are rarely kept, and hardly maintained.  But, I try to eat better: less meat, more vegetables, I joined a CSA to get some inspiration.  I wouldn't say the CSA is cheaper, and I probably won't do it for long, but it is more adventurous, it forces me to eat more greens than ever, and it reminds me that my ancestors ate these weeds, so they must be good for me.  I get things like mustard weed, or was it mustard greens...whatever, its leafy, and it looks like it would grow in a crack of the sidewalk.  But, I also get purple carrots, dwarf blue kale, kohlrabi, avocados and citrus.  The avocados alone are almost worth the weekly fee.  So, tonight I mixed up greens and rice, short grain brown rice simmered slowly with sauteed onions, swiss chard, spinach and kale.  I threw in a couple cloves of garlic, fresh oregano, salt and pepper, and a little soy sauce.  Serve with grated parmesian.  Quick, vegetarian, hearty, and full of healthy vegetables.  Load it up with brocolli, asparagus, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, sausage and/or shrimp. Its easy to make lots and it reheats well the next night. 

Revenue Goals

As we approach the end of the quarter, I find myself constantly refernecing "the revenue goals".  An entity at work who guilts me into taking a later train, just so I can get in one more experiment.  "Guilts" isn't really the right word, its more like goads, goads me into wanting to finish my project.  I want to succeed, I want my boss to be proud and I want to be able to say "I did it, like I said I would."  Because what more is meeting a deadline, than keeping my word.  I said I would have my project finished, so I have to do everything possible to have my project finished, right?  For now I chose to stay, to work as hard as I can right up to the deadline.  Revenue goals.

Reading

I just finished Pasadena by David Ebershoff.  I never did finish The World According to Garp, but it was drivel.  I thoroughly enjoyed Pasadena.  I live in Southern California, so it has a special significance to read about a fictional town that is largely based on my home town.  It genuinely reflects the culture here, including the elite.  They were land owners and successful ranchers, not blue bloods.  Our culture here is so intwined with Mexican and Spanish culture.  The story was compelling, mysterious, and tragic. But it was also a reminder that California offers so much opportunity for the deticated.  It wasn't an easy place to live in the past and it isn't an easy place to live now...but if you work really hard, you can achieve anything.

Something Scientific

Ever wonder how something works, biologically or chemically? Leave a comment with your question about biology, chemistry.

For now, enjoy a quick lesson on hormones: the fundamentals.

1) Your hormones are part of the Endocrine System.
2) Hormomes come from glands, which are part of the Endocrine System.
3) Hormones are tiny molecules, sort of like aspirin or vitamins, that travel through your body to interact with other glands or organs.
4) Each gland has a specific purpose, they produce a few hormones that control parts of the body.
     NOTE: follow this link, Endocrine System, for a great,
     brief description of each gland, organ and hormone, with
     pictures. 
5) Hormones control  or participate in almost every aspect of life.  They make us feel hungry, sad, euphoric, dehydrated, everything.  (They don't make us feel pain, that is controlled by the Nervous System, a system that parallels the Endocrine System in function by providing the electricity to stimulate the production, release and use of the molecules in the body.) 

Some details-
Endocrinologists learn about Endocrinology from diagrams like that to the left.  There are infinitely many more details about the Endocrine System than those represented in this diagram.  This is a simplified look at a woman's monthly reproductive cycle, all of which is controlled by hormones.

Problems with your hormones can lead to many diseases, from diabetes to reproductive problems, as described here, here and here.

Key:
-LH=Leutenizing Hormone
-FHS=Folicle Stimulating Hormone
-GnRH=Gonatropin Releasing Hormone  

Remarkable Read

I am reading John Irving's The World According to Garp.  It is a 20th anniversary edition, and yet it is old, yellowed and has that bubble writing popular in the 70's.  There are pages of rapturous praise, all lauding John Irving and the brilliance of Garp.  I have made it to page 272, a little less than half way through and I'm not sure this is a book I want to finish.  What am I missing?  I have a lot of time to read lately and will probably find out how this thing ends.  But, I hope something good happens.  And by good, I mean sorrowful or soaring, let it be insightful.  This is the kind of book that will soon be made into an Oscar nominated drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  No wait, he's too old...Shia Labeouf  It is mellowdramatic yet somehow dull.  It is slightly tragic, and perhaps liberating, but in a way that makes you feel oily.  Why are so many books about louts who only think about sex?  I'm not all that interested in what T.S. Garp has to say, but I suppose I will stick around to find out. 

While perusing Wikipedia, I find that Robin Williams starred in a film adaptation in the 80's, which means it is definetely due for a remake.  But then I find, that the reason I am not loving the book is exactly why people like it.  "The story is decidedly rich with (in the words of the fictional Garp's teacher) "lunacy and sorrow", and the sometimes ridiculous chains of events the characters experience still resonate with painful truth."  I couldn't have said it better, and in fact I didn't say it better.  It's the "ridiculous chains of events" that I am not buying.  If it is supposed to be ridiculous, then it isn't quite ridiculous enough.  "Lunacy and sorrow".  The reviews might be better than the book.